Why Do Video Games Pave A Direct Path To Violence?

Whether or not video games pave a direct path to violence has been a debate for years now. The amount of video games that young people play has grown exponentially. Boredom, peer pressure, and influence from the media causes a large amount of young adults to play which can lead to physiological arousal and aggressive behavior.

First off, the reason there is a problem with the effects of video games is because children and teens are playing them excessively. They might be drawn towards them because they are bored; children are often left home alone and the only thing they can think of to keep them busy is to turn on the Xbox and play. Some adolescents might play because of peer pressure. If every other kid in their neighborhood is an excessive gamer, they might be influenced to play. The last reason why some children and teens play Xbox, Wii, or other game systems is because of the influence from the media. I can't count the number of times me or my brothers have seen some new game on TV that we just HAD to get. It is never good to sit down for hours and stare at a screen. But violent video games are thought to have an even more negative effect.

David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and Family shows some alarming research in his essay, "Video Game Violence and Public Policy." He states that, "Children between the ages of seven and seventeen play about eight hours a week." This just makes the affects, like physiological reactions, more obvious. Walsh's research shows that exposure to violent games can stimulate the same reactions that occur when one is engaged in a fight. And this is clearly not what we want the adolescents of America to be