Argumentative Essay: Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence

Our nation has changed over the years. There is no question about that. The generation that my grandfather grew up in during the 1930’s and 1940’s has often been called â€Å"The Greatest Generation† (Brokaw). Why is my generation not talked about for our inventions and advances in technology? Maybe that the downfall of our generation has been the media and the influence it has on the public? There is no doubt that the media can spin a story into a shocking and scary account produced solely on the intent to sell. This information force-fed to the public can cause fear and hatred to develop within our country and result in gun violence and bloodshed. One reason for the amount of youth violence in America is the violent content in many video games. The average adolescent spends a major part of the normal week watching or interacting with some form of the media’s products. Video games are one of these media based mediums and have become increasingly popular since the 1980’s. According to a report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, "Female gamers spent an average of 44 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and four minutes playing on the weekends, and male gamers spent an average of 58 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and 37 minutes playing on the weekends" ("Video Game Play Among Adolescents"). What can we understand from this evidence? The fact is that adolescents, male or female, are spending tremendous amounts of time each day sitting in front of a screen with a controller in hand. Although there is little evidence to conclude that violence in video games directly leads to adolescent gun violence, there are proven studies that show increased levels of anger and aggression in the human brain when... ...Federal Trade Commission. â€Å"Results of Nationwide Undercover Survey Released.† Oct. 2003. Mar. 2008. JAMA and Archives Journals. "Study Examines Video Game Play Among Adolescents." ScienceDaily 4 July 2007. 19 March 2008 . Kleck, Gary. â€Å"Targeting Firearms.† Aldine de Gruyter. 1997, pp. 94, 98-100 Mathews, Vincent.†Violent Video Games Poison the Teenage Brain: Study.† American School Board Journal. Feb2007, Vol. 194 Issue 2, p10-10 Norcia, Andrea. "The Impact of Video Games on Children." Palo Alto Medical Foundation Apr 2007 20 Mar 2008 . â€Å"Violent Video Games – Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects.† Psychology Matters. Mar. 2008 Woodard, E.H. & Gridina, N. â€Å"Media in the Home 2000, The fifth annual survey of parents and children.† The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA. Feb 2001. 20 Mar 2008 .