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  • Essay / The effects of violent video games: The effects of...

    Children today are exposed to more graphic violence in video games than any previous generation. Indeed, the media note that the profit extends beyond the lives of the adolescents who play these games. However, over time, two types of opinions have formed about violence in video games. James D. Sauer is a graduate of the School of Phycology. In his article "Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure on In-Game and Post-Game Aggression," Sauer describes that adolescents acquire forms of aggression and violence after playing certain games. Not all video games provoke post-match aggression, but this is documented in his article: “Players who committed in-game violence through a heroic character showed less post-match aggression. Radboud University graduate Isabela Granic sheds light on why young people actually benefit from playing violent video games. For example, in his article “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” Granic illustrates that children learn much more efficient social skills, motor skills, and an understanding of humans as a whole. The author notes: "While adolescents and adults often resort to self-disclosure and direct discussion with close friends to resolve emotional problems, children use play to resolve them through narratives based on simulations, played alone or with others” (Granic 67). What the author means is that children use different forms of actions to express their feelings. While Sauer's cause and effect approach to adolescent play and Granic's physiological approach and their findings on the effects on children led me to observe a new approach to understanding the complexity of young minds players. However, what are the causes of violent video games and do they actually have a negative or positive effect on in-game and post-game aggression? In Sauer's article "Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure On In-Game and Postgame Aggression," James, a phycology graduate, explains in detail why children choose violence or less violent games. Additionally, how the outcome of violent play affects children's actions shortly after play ends. Reviewing the work of physiology professor Helen Fisher, Sauer concludes that playing a wide variety of games can have different effects on a child. Documented by Sauer, “To the extent that this task is representative of real risk taking in a driving context, Fischer et al. found that racing games can have negative effects on road safety: increased risky behaviors, risk-promoting cognitions, and positive attitudes toward reckless driving” (Sauer 206). A child is not required to shoot a gun in a game like Call of Duty or rob a bank in GTA V, the end result is that the child would think these things are accepted in society. Most games children play today depict some type of violence. However, parents overlook this fact: the games contain warnings about violence, language and even nudity. From my personal experience, children will ask for the hottest games of the moment and parents will buy the game to satisfy their needs and