The Controversy Over The Use Of Violent Video Games

Have you ever witnessed a young child playing a video game? If you can recall, did the game look age appropriate for him or her to play? Maybe not, right? Ever since the creation of video games, violent and gruesome games have made a major killing in the run also. Some actions in these games include killing zombies, shooting innocent citizens, and fighting that ends in either someone dying or hurting. Although there are games that can help children solve strategical problems, cooperate and work together to reach a common goal, and teach basic life strategies. These games can almost always cause a person to become mad when he or she may feel like he or she is losing. Although some games may have a bad effect on most people's lives, other reasons, such as their

Video games, violent ones especially, have caused such concern that the issue of whether the sale or rental of such games to children should be prohibited was brought before the Supreme Court. In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that video games, like plays, movies, and books, qualify for First Amendment protection. “Video games,” the court declared, “communicate ideas – and even social messages.” But that didn’t stop the debate. Real-life tragedies continue to bring attention to the subject, like the revelation that the Sandy Hook Elementary School gunman was an avid video game player. Parents seeking an easy answer to whether video games are good or bad won’t find one, and two recent studies illustrate why. While many studies have made a connection between violent video games and aggression in adolescents, research published in August in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that teens who played mature-rated violent video games were also more likely to engage in drug and alcohol use, dangerous driving and risky sexual