Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression

In this article, Grace Shin uses many examples of video game addiction to create a sense of urgency to come to a solution to the ongoing problem of video game violence. One such example is her explanation of the shooting on April 20, 1999 at Columbine high school. This shooting was said to be provoked by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's addiction to the popular video game, Doom. Since the creation of Doom, video games have continued to become more and more violent and have continued to provoke people to act upon skills that they have aquired in the game. Since this shooting, many other shootings, deaths, and murders have occured due to accessive playing of violent video games. Such acts include the shooting at Virginia Tech, the murder of Daniel Petric's parents, the suicide of Shawn Woolley, and many others. This article was written at this time to create awareness of the damages that excessive video game playing can cause. It prepared us for the awful things that have occurred after it was written, and for the future acts that will occur.

How Video Games are Good for the Brain

Emily Anthes' article entitled "How Video Games are Good for the Brain" is a great example of ethos. She quotes many who have studied, and gained a great knowledge about video games.

She begins by sharing that scientists are searching for the "potential benefits" of video games. These scientists have found that video games can "boost mental function, improving everything from vision to memory." Scientists is the most important word it this statement. This means that these tests were conducted by a credible source.

In the next paragraph, Anthes quotes Eric Kolpfer, director of MIT's Education Arcade. He states that "Video games are hard... People don’t like to play easy games, and games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems.’’ She continues by quoting John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at MIT. Professors are some of the more credible source that can be used in articles, especially professors from prestigious universities, such as MIT.

Two paragraphs later, Anthes recounts a study done by Richard Haier, a pediatric neurologist and professor emeritus at the School of Medicine at the University of California at Irvine. He did a study on how tetris alters the brain. He found that after playing tetris for 3 months, one's brain became much more effecient in processing problems. Richard Haier is an extremely credible source, because he is a pediatric neurologist. This means that not only does he study the brain and nerves, and their functions, his main focus is how they function in adolescents. He is also an emeritus professor, which makes him even more credible.

Through the use of these sources, Anthes created an extensive support of her argument, how video games are good for the brain.

Just a Game?

I hate to use an article from the Ensign as the article that I use for fallacies, but the article entitled "Just a Game?" contains many statements that can be used to persuade people to believe that video games are addicting. The article begins with many examples of rhetorical situations that persuade people to believe that playing excessive video games makes you less prone to be a good member of the church. It shares the story of Jason, who quit the track team because he was too busy with "online quests" and "raids." They state that because Jason stays up so late playing video games, he is unable to wake up for early morning seminary. They also share other examples of becoming addicted to video games, which make these people neglect family prayer, family scripture, or attending stake events. In the section, "fallacies on pathos" on the book Writing and Rhetoric, it states that articles become fallacious when they "exaggerate the significance of an issue." (McInelly, 69) While video games are addicting, one's church standing is not in jeopardy if they play video games. A person can play video games, even excessively, and still be an obedient member of the church.

Is video-game addiction a mental disorder?

Lindsey Tanner's article entitled "Is video-game addiction a mental disorder?" is a great example of how language tools are used to build emotion into writing. Tanner begins by using an attention getting device. She states, "The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars." This is a great example of imagery. When reading this statement, you can almost visualize a person that keeps to themself, has no social life, and that doesn't care about the things that are important, but only cares about his "guild" or his "online quests."

In the very next sentence, Tanner uses a great example of analogy. She states, " The culprit isn’t alcohol or drugs. It’s video games, which for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend." This comparison of video games and heroin really explains how addictive video games can be. Heroin is one of the most addicting substances that exists in the world. It is also one of the hardest drugs to overcome. If video games are as addicting as heroin, then it would be nearly impossible to overcome a video game addiction without a pressing effort from the person who is addicted.

Later in this article, Tanner shares a story of a woman who bought the popular online video game, World of Warcraft, for her 15 year old son. Soon thereafter, her son became serverely addicted to playing the game, and would spend most days playing 6-12 hours a day. The woman shared another great example of an analogy. She states, "it’s like I went out and bought him his first Jack Daniel’s." Comparing an addicting substance, such as hard liquor, to any video game, demonstrates how serious video game addiction can become.

Roy DiSilva admits in his article on Buzzle.com that he is an "incessant" video game player. He loves video games and playing them but he admits that they have a negative impact on the body and mind. He makes his arguments with the help of several language tools, the first of which is the rhetorical question. In the first paragraph of the article he asks, "What is the harm in playing video games anyways?" DiSilva includes this question not only because it is a question that he would as himself but it also gets the reader to think think for his or herself about the effects of video games before he gives his reasons.

Right after this first rhetorical question he asks two more one right after the other: are there any negative effects of video games? and, should we take all the video games ever made and dump them into a canal? The second of these two questions not only works as a rhetorical question but is an exaggeration which tries to make a point. It leads back to the first question of whether video games have any negative consequences and implies the question of how bad the consequences are and if they merit extreme action- dumping all the video games ever made (which is impossible) into a canal.

DiSilva uses personification when he states, "If you ask a computer whom you would like to inflict physical harm to, chances are the computer will point a trembling finger towards their owners." Computers to not have limbs that have fingers that can tremple. Neither do they have a brain that can understand human language and answer in a self-aware way. This use of personification makes the use of online and video games worse and also brings up the additional issue of the cost of video games and the harmful effects of non-genuine software.

Perfect Timing for an Activist's Agenda

People with an agenda are always looking for ways to further their cause. Those who are vehemently opposed to graphic and violent video games use tragedies that occur as evidence to prove that video games bring about negative consequences. Consider the shootings at Columbine and more recently at Virginia Tech; the shooters at both of these events were tied to heavy exposure to violent video games. Jack Thompson, a former attorney well known for his activism in banning video games, as well as other forms of media that he considers "obscene," such as rap music. In a perfect use of kairos, he used the situation at hand after the Virginia Tech shootings to publicly reaffirm his views that graphic and violent video games should be banned. In this article recounting his interview on FOX News soon after the shootings occurred, Thompson declared that the video game 'Counter-Strike' was to blame for Seung-Hui Cho's violent outburst. The article also states that this is not the first shooting that Thompson has used to further what has been called his "crusade" against video games. Jack Thompson takes advantage of events and situations that get a lot of media coverage to bring the issue of violence in video games to the foreground and to try and pass legislation regulating such games.

Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression

Grace Shin's article, "Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression," is a great example of logos. She shares many facts and statistics to prove that video games cause an increase of violence and aggression in children.

In the first paragraph, shares a study which was conducted to show how often teenagers play video games a week. The study shows that "almost a third played video games daily, and that 7% played for at least 30 hours a week." Shin continues in explaining that many of these video games are "bloody, shoot-em'-up video games," which have a lasting effect on all people. She uses the example of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two boys responsible for the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. These boys loved the video game "Doom," which is a game that was liscensed by the United States Military to teach soldiers how to effectively shoot weapons. They created their own version of the game, which they displayed in a class project, in which two people were dressed in trench coats, and they went and shot all of the athletes in the school. Less than a year later, they performed the same shooting which they had planned in their version of the game.

The article continues in sharing studies conducted to prove that violent video games cause increased aggression. Calvert and Tan conducted a study in which they compared the effects of playing violent video games versus watching someone else play violent video games. The results showed that people who played violent video games had "an increased heart rate, reported more feelings of dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts." Another study conducted with second-grade boys compared the effect of violent versus non-violent video games. After these second-graders played these violent video games, the exhibited increased aggression in their free play time, while those who played non-violent video games did not show signs on aggression.

Each of these studies and facts were used to show that video games do cause increased aggression.

Video Games Effect the Brain- For Better and For Worse

In Douglas A. Gentile's article, "Video Games Effect the Brain- For Better and For Worse," he directs the first half of his article directly to video game addicts. He uses facts that prove that video games help strengthen our brain capacity. He states, "Well designed video games are natural teachers... Gamers repeat actions as they play, and repetition is one precondition for long-term potentiation—the strengthening of brain-cell connections (synapses) through repeated use that is thought to underlie memory storage and learning." Gentile's statement helps strengthen a video gamers argument that video games actually make them smarter. 

Gentile also writes that video games can improve your periphery vision. He states, "One neuroscience study, published in Nature, showed that playing action video games can improve visual attention to the periphery of a computer screen."He also shares other studies that show that video games help make fine discriminations among different shades of grey, and how they improve one's ability to work as a group. Each of these studies help a video gamer persuade his or her parents to believe that video games improve their life style, rather than hinder their ability to interact with society. 

Gentile goes on to explain that video games improve a surgeon's ability to perform surgery. A survey was conducted in which 33 laparoscopic surgeons played video games for different time periods. They found that "a surgeons’ amount of game time was a better predictor of advanced surgical skill in the training drills than their number of years in practice or number of real-life surgeries performed."

By sharing all of these statistics, video game addicts can prove that video games improve their mental capacity, their vision, their ability to perform group work, and their ability to focus. This strengthens a gamers argument that video games are not a harmful addiction, because they improve one's lifestyle. 

group research summary

Elizabeth K. Carll, "Violent Video Games: Rehearsing Aggression," The Chronicle of
Higher Education, vol. 53.45, July 13, 2007. Opposing View Points Resource Center.
Web. 25 Feb. 2010.

This article is background source. It is a transcript of a court hearing in which Dr. Elizabeth Carll addresses Senator Sam Brownback concerning violence in video games. She argues that video games depict violence, assualt, rape, and murder as humorous and is rewarded. She says that the APA should recieve funding for research on the effects of violent video games on children so they can better educate parents and teach children how to "evaluate interactive media."

Other topics that connect with this article are video regulations and ratings and what determines what the regulations and ratings are, the many effects of video games on children, and links between increased violent behavior and video games.

Just a Game?

In the August 2009 issue of the Ensign, Charles D. Knutson and Kyle K. Oswald wrote a compelling article about the pitfalls of online gaming entitled “Just a Game?” This article is intended to help online gamers recognize that excessive game playing can damage their lives. However, I believe that this article was more directed to the parents of online gamers, so they could plan ways in which they can help their children overcome their addiction. This article is a great example of pathos.This article draws on the emotions of parents by demonstrating examples in which people have been addicted to video games. It shows that playing video games excessively damages your social life, and they make gamers more prone to violence. It uses examples which show that playing video games excessively makes people less likely to go to early-morning seminary, less likely to read the scriptures or pray together, or go to singles activities. These gamers will be too busy with their online “guild quests” and “raids,” that they won’t have enough time for other, life building activities.

If I were a parent reading this article, I would be deeply concerned for my child’s well being. This article shows how serious video game addictions can be. According to this article, playing video games excessively can lead to anger, laziness, social awkwardness, and even violence. Knutson and Oswald state that “news reports include stories of broken marriages, lost employment, failed health, even children removed from parents because of criminal neglect caused by the parents’ excessive online gaming.” Knutson and Oswald are trying to make parents aware that if their children are playing video games excessively, this is how they could turn out.

These examples in this article show parents whether or not their children are addicted to video games. They make the parents want to help their children find help, so they can overcome their addiction. It shows that video games can cause neglect to other beneficial activities, and makes parents want to help their children participate in these activities.

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Are You Sure About Those Arguments?

In his article “Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked,” Jenkins makes his argument that video games are bad for you by disputing the fallacies used by the opposite view point.

The first “myth” that he takes on is the claim that “The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence.” Jenkins counters this claim by stating that this conclusion was reached through a mixing of a post hoc fallacy and sweeping generalization. He reasons that increased violence cannot be blamed on the amount of video games on the market and though it is true that the majority of young people who have committed violent shooting are gamers, gamers are more likely to be younger and most of them have NOT committed violent crimes.

Jenkins then attacks the argument that “scientific evidence links violent game play with youth aggression,” by saying that this claim is based off of insufficient evidence and is therefore an invalid argument. This appeal to ignorance assumes that people will believe anything that has the tag of “scientific” placed on it. In order for scientific evidence to be regarded as fact it must be tested and verified to the extent that the conclusions are virtually irrefutable. Jenkins adds that correlation does not cause causation; just because people that play violent video games are aggressive does not mean that video games makes people aggressive, it could just be that aggressive people like to play aggressive video games.

Another claim used to support anti-video game agenda is that “because games are used to train soldiers to kill, they have the same impact on the kids who play them.” This argument is an oversimplification and implies a slippery slope. Jenkins contests this argument by explaining the difference between military use of games and civilian use of games. When the military uses games they have specific and defines goals in mind and play them “in a context where students actively want to learn and have a need for the information being transmitted.” If children who play video games are being “conditioned” to be aggressive and violent then it must be assumed that training and education are detached from “a meaningful and cultural context,” gamers have no goals and no resistance to being taught, and that gamers automatically and subconsciously apply what they are taught in virtual reality to actual reality, all three of which cannot be assumed automatically .

“Just a Game?” was published in the Ensign, a magazine published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as such, the content of the magazine is aimed primarily towards church members and investigators of the church.

The authors use language and terms that are common among church members but are not as well known outside of the church. For example early morning seminary is mentioned, as well as singles ward, stakes, and the Spirit. Prayer and scripture study are also referenced in passing, therefore assuming that the people who will read the article will know that family prayer and scripture study are part of Mormon doctrine and culture. The authors also mention the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the title of “Elder” when quoting church leaders, assuming that readers will accept the quotations as credible.

Of the members of the church, those who play video games and those who know people who play video games excessively are targeted. Advice is given to those who play video games and believe they have a problem (find another activity to do that you are passionate about), and advice about what to do if you know someone with a video game problem is also given (try to become more involved in their life, pray and seek guidance). The advice given is both temporal advice (seek clinical help) as well as spiritual (make a renewed effort to understand and apply the Atonement), which is further confirmation that the audience targeted is LDS.