On April 16, 2007, America was shocked by horrifyingnews. The Korean spree Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 more at the University of Virginia Tech, before taking his own life. In the hours and days following the shooting, memorials for the victims began appearing in every corner of the campus. Till this day, the shooting is considered to be the deadliest shooting rampage in the US history (CNN.com). The question that everybody was asking was what led to this deadly massacre? Before any further investigation, the majority of people already knew the answer: video games. They were to blame for dozens killed and wounded. According to the media, however, Cho had been diagnosed with severe mental issues and police found no evidence …show more content…
Video games have been blamed even for bullying and aggressive behavior towards women (ProCon.org). If we look at one of the most popular games on the market “Grand Theft Auto,” its characters are violent men who express their aggressive behavior by damaging properties, stealing cars, torturing people, killing innocent ones, etc. The graphics are so realistic that players become part of the violent world for hours and even days which can lead to isolation and even health problems. However, “Grand Theft Auto” is just one of the hundreds of video games which involve violence and aggression. The 2008 study Grand Theft Childhood reported that 60% of middle school boys that played at least one Mature-rated game hit or beat up someone, compared to 39% of boys that did not play Mature-rated games (PoCon.org). Indeed, violence among the young generation has been increasing rapidly and children now prefer to stay inside and play video games instead of playing outdoors and interacting with other children. Some of the most dangerous outcomes of aggression, mostly blamed on violent games, are school shootings and the Virginia Tech shooting was not the only one. Not long ago, in 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people in a Colorado movie theatre, dressed as The Joker from “Batman”. Many critics believed that …show more content…
As far as children’s future, we can use video games as a powerful tool for their education. The game market is not limited to only first-person shooters and fighting games, but it also offers many educational games designed to improve essential skills of the brain. Internet, for example, is a valuable source of hundreds of games which help build the skills that kids need to succeed in school. These educational games for young kids make learning fun with math facts, language arts, alphabet, reading and more.Scientists believe that a successful learning game requires clear goals and challenges. Games, like the early “Pac- Man” has been an example of a game which helps players develop valuable skills. The game consists of multiple goal structures, multiple difficulty levels, random elements of surprise, etc. Thanks to this design, players of the games are in control of their actions, actively peruse their own goals, are challenged to the optimal extent of their abilities, and they are given clear feedback on their performance (Squire 51). Action games, on the other hand, like “L.A Noire,” challenges the player, controlling an LAPD officer, to solve a range of cases across five departments. It may seem easy for some since it is just a game. However, the role-playing game requires abstracts and high level of