Video Games

Think of all  people you hate. Even if there is nobody you “hate” just think of all the people who annoy you, slow you down, get in you way, make fun of you, or just plan piss you off. All the anger and aggressive feeling are part of being human. Now what if there was a way to to act out these violent urges in a safe way. Wouldn’t you want to vent all the violence  you’re feeling so you can think and act with a level head. With an interactive experience like the kind video games offer, anything is possible. Video games have the potential to be so much more, they can challenge use to think differently and ask you questions that other media can’t. Many people don’t understand the benefits of video games, ether because there too foreign, or they have not tried then. games should not be restricted by people who don’t understand them and restricting them to minors is the first step to heavier restrictions.
    Violence is part of the human condition. Even the smallest things can cause irritation and acting out ageist them is nature, but in modern society acting out or “getting physical” is discouraged. Critics of video games claim that games desensitize people to violence in real life but there’s no proof other than that it makes people more aggressive. “In 2006, three psychologists published a study showing that exposure to violence in video games results in a lack of empathy in response to incidences of violence in real life. Professor Nicholas Carnegey of Iowa State University, one of the authors of the study, explained that people who play violent video games tend to become habituated, or numbed, to violent scenes. They also have a higher tendency to experience feelings of hostility and aggression”(Lee,M.,and Laura Finley). And while this may be true “there is still a controversy about violent video games play in promoting violence in real life”(Lee,M.,and Laura Finley) meaning that there is not enough soiled evidence to prove it. People need an outlet and video games have been called a “ safe environment for cutting lose” by Micah Issitt and Katherine Walker. Since 1992/1993 violent crimes committed by teen has gone down as gaming has grown more and more popular. “juvenile crime statistics dropped sharply as violence in video games crested and have not spiked since. ‘Just as violent video games were pouring into American homes on the crest of the personal-computer wave, juvenile violence began to plummet,’according to University of Pennsylvania criminologist Lawrence Shermen. ‘Juvenile murder charges dropped by about two-thrids from 1993 to the end of the decade and show no signs of going back up. If video games are so deadly, why has their widespread use been followed by reductions in murder?’”(Do Video Games). While these statics are not directly related, it’s hard to dismiss the motion that they are, “Just as violent video games were pouring into American homes on the crest of the personal-computer wave, juvenile violence began to plummet”(Do Video Games).

Critics of have also attack video games be say that they are addictive. With people saying “We spend hours--hours!-- every single day playing this damn game. My fingers wake me, aching, in the middle of the night. I have headaches from the countless hours I spend staring at the screen. I hate this game, but I can’t stop playing. Quiting smoking was never this hard”(Do Video Games), and “In South Korea, the epicenter of online gaming, game addiction reportedly claimed 10 lives in 2005, mainly by cutting circulation when sitting for hours at the screen.”(Do Video Games). this might seen pretty damning evidence, “but some prominent addiction experts say even those who play games excessively rarely meet all the characteristic of addiction”(Do Video Games). But it’s not so much that they’re addictive but that video games are conditioning people to do certain things.

“According to Stanford University researcher Nick Yee ‘Most games -- which get harder as the player becomes more skilled -- use designs based on behavioral conditioning according to Yee, which conditions players to work harder and faster as they improve, creating a kind of digital treadmill of which players are often unaware”(Do Video Games).

This kind of of conditioning is called Operant conditioning, something that was discovered by a man named B.F. Skinner. He said that if you can get someone or something to make a decision to do something and be rewarded for it, he then show that he could change the number of times they to preform that action, this showed that they could be condition to make a specific choice. “lots of games are built around this discovery” (Portnow, et. al. Skinner Box). now let’s be very clear “being conditioned to do something and be addicted to something are very different”(Portnow, et. al. Skinner Box). I think that if gamers when more aware of this; that there would be less of us how show sines of addiction. And those who did, who are actually addicted to video games would get noticed and be able to get some help. As ugly as it is, there are some people who get addicted to games. When this happiness it usually doesn’t turn out well. “After a 14 year-old savagely murdered in England by a friend obsessed with a game”(Do Video Games). Its these extreme cases that the major news Media get a hold of and use to feed people fear of what they don’t understand. Overgeneralizing all gamers as ticking time booms waiting to go off; when most of use are just looking to blow off steam and have a good time.

Gaming is an art form and a media. As a medium it should be allotted first amendment projection. This clam has been attacked time and again by critics calling games obscene. obscene materials are not giving the same rights as other work and are far game for restrictions and regulations, but first it has to fail the miller test. the miller or three prong obscenity test requires three thing

    “1) That an average person in the community find the work objectionable
     2) That the work describe in an offence way sexual content as defined by law
     3) That the work as a hole lacks literary, artist, political, or scientific value as a hole”

(Portnow et. al. Free Speech).

For a video game to fail all is almost unheard of. Now not all video games should be for all age gropes. witch is why the Entertainment software ratings bored or ESRB was formed. The organization was formed to inform parents of a game’s content so they could make better decisions about witch games there kids should and shouldn’t play. “A 2009 study by the FTC(federal trade commission) found that 87 percent of parents were satisfied with the computer and video game ratings”(Gallagher, Michael D). The FTC also said “the computer and video game industry "outpaces" other entertainment industries in restricting marketing of mature-rated products to children”(Gallagher, Michael D). The games industry is leading all other entertainment industries in restricting mature content, and yet there in the cross hairs. is it just my or does that seen a little messed up?

    Video games have so much to offer, and the surface has barely been scratched. People rarely consider the possibility of using video games as an educational tools. And are so quick to dismiss anything innovative because of the stereotype that video games a child's play thing. To restrict video games now would denine the human race a means of exploring parts of the human condition that we can not though other media. And for the government to step in now would be a violation of the first amendment.   

Work Cited

“Do Video Games Make Kids More Violent?” CQ Researcher, 17 Nov. 2010: 948-949

Gallagher, Michael D. "Should It Be Illegal for Kids to Buy Violent Video Games? NO."         U.S. News Digital Weekly 2.21 (2010): 10. Points of View Reference Center.         EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.

James, Portnow, Daniel Floyd, and Allison Theus. "Video Galleries : Extra Credits : Free         Speech." The Escapist. 2 Sept. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.     <http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/1961-Free-Speech>.


Portnow, James, Daniel Floyd, and Allison Theus. "Video Galleries : Extra Credits : The         Skinner Box." The Escapist. 25 Nov. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.     <http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2487-The-Skinner-Box>.


Lee, M., and Laura Finley. "Counterpoint: Video Games are Addictive and Promote         Irresponsible Behavior." Points of View: Video Games (2009): 3. Points of

ViewReference Center. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.

Issitt, Micah, and Katherine Walker. "Point: Video Games Should Be Celebrated and             Improved Rather than Prohibited." Points of View: Video Games (2009): 2. Points             of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.