“Wonder what could be so enticing that people globally spend 3 billion hours every week doing
it? Try video games…” (Savacool). 4.3 million hours every day are dedicated to the love of
video games, which also results in a billion dollar industry as the Entertainment Software
Association indicates that, “United States customers spent $7 billion on computer and video
games last year!” (“Dangerous Games?”). Gaming is an enormous industry because playing
these games is not just for adolescents—adults enjoy them too, and although many argue against
the violent games, they forget that fundamentally these are not reality. They are only games.
Playing violent video games is harmless for teens because they are entertaining, can be a form of
stress relief, and are no different from other games and media.
Most teens play games like Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Combat (at least at first) because these
games are entertaining. Many youth, especially male, find that kicking back on their gaming
chair and escaping to their virtual world tops their list of leisure activities, especially if it
involves playing with a few friends (whether they are next to them in the gaming room or
playing remotely from across the globe). Current research suggests that gaming with friends
only increases the entertainment value, and “a recent study by Andrew Przybylski, a researcher
at the University of Essex in England, finds that at least part of the attraction is the chance to
explore aspects of our ‘ideal selves’ in a make-believe world without consequences” (Savacool).
Teens enjoy many activities with friends: going to the movies, mall, or amusement parks; talking
on the phone or through social media; or sometimes just hanging out at a home or coffee shop.
Adolescents may select any of these activities based on their preference for entertainment. To
some, playing these types of video games are no different from a shopping trip or seeing the
newest romantic flick. Their lives are so cluttered with school, social obligations, and extracurricular activities that their leisure time can be few and far between, so playing video games—
even violent ones—can be a welcomed distraction from the more serious parts of their lives.
Some argue that not all video games are the problem; the violent ones are the threat. Some of the
most popular, top-selling games depict tremendous violence, and some say this exposure to
violence as entertainment can cause teens actually be more violent. However, there are no clear
studies directly connecting violent games and violent youth without other influential factors
muddying the waters, and there is evidence that youth violence has decreased since many of
these violent games have become popular (“Dangerous Game?”). If there were a direct
connection between playing these games and aggression, surely teen violence would be on the
rise as more of these games are created and distributed—but it is not.
The more teens play these games, the more they realize that not only are these games
entertaining, but they are also a great stress reliever. Youth face stress daily with pressure from
school, parents, coaches, peers, and even from themselves. Having a positive outlet to blow off
steam is essential for a well-balanced individual. “Some studies suggest that playing electronic
games provides a form of stress relief” (Savacool). Some students run, others read, and still
others blow up enemy camps and kill their digital nemesis. For years, people have punched their
pillows, squeezed stress balls, or worked out with the heavy bag at the gym to relieve their stress
without great concern over the basic violence demonstrated in these actions. Now, pressing the
buttons on the controller is just one more route to “violently” relieve stress without hurting
anyone else. Certainly some may argue that a person does not need violence to relieve stress,
and this point is valid because many find yoga, running, or meditation to be exceptional stress
reduction techniques. However, every individual is different. Just because yoga helps relieve a
person’s stress does not mean that running would serve the same purpose. In fact, running and
yoga might increase stress if a person has an aversion to the activity. There is nothing abnormal
about wanting to relieve stress differently. “Certainly, violent instincts are part of what make us
human...and videogames do a superb job of placing the physical element of violence, quite
literally, in our hands” (Shamoon 31). With the controller, and thereby the violence, in one’s
hand, stress relief can be attained effortlessly.
Most influentially, the emphasis should be placed on the “games” portion of video games.
Playing games that require killing, shooting, bombing, or any other form of violence is no
different from the violence depicted in other forms of media or in other games that have existed
for centuries. Brad Wardell, a video game creator argues that “‘—kids were pretending to be
violent in their play long before there were video games, and the game industry catered to that
existing tendency’” (Shamoon 31-32). How teens play and what they find entertaining has not
changed in centuries; the medium used to play is the divergence. “…[experts recognize that]
video games are just that—games—and that playing them is no more harmful than watching
graphic movies or TV shows” (“Firefight”). If one argues that teens should not play violent video
games because they are harmful, then one must also argue against classic games of cops and
robbers and war movies. These games and media depict some of the same violent circumstances
as the video games; therefore, playing video games does not expose teens to violence that they
would not have encountered otherwise. Some may argue that violence in the past or in other
forms is not an excuse for continued violence. Society definitely needs to learn and grow from
its mistakes. Nevertheless, it fails to account for the lack of connection between any of these
violent media forms (including video games) and actual violence, and preventing teens from
playing these games or viewing this media will not prevent them from seeing this type of
violence. “Besides the games’ combative content isn’t anything most teens haven’t seen before,
others argue. In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling, Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out that
even fairy tales are violent. In the original version of ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ for example, the
children kill the witch by baking her in an oven" (“Firefight”). If laws forbid certain video
games because of their violence, where does the censorship stop? Will the classics of Hans
Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm be placed on the chopping block as well?
Clearly, the entertainment and stress relief value of violent video games is important to teens,
and since these games are no different from other games or forms of media teen consume,
playing these video games is harmless. “Paul Smith [a lawyer defending the video game
community] said, ‘We have a history in this country of new mediums coming along and people
vastly overreacting to them, thinking the sky is falling, and our children are going to be turned
into criminals. Crime novels, movies, and rock music all were seen initially as threats [and]…in
the 1950s…social scientists warned senators that half the juvenile delinquency in this country
was being caused by reading comic books’” (Bravin). Undoubtedly, the US has much bigger
problems than comic books, rock and roll, crime novels—or even violent video games. Our
country needs to tackle some of the real issues it faces, like poverty, the national debt, and
political unrest, and let the video games stay on the sideline.
Works Cited
Bravin, Jess. "Are Violent Videogames a Threat to Society?." Wall Street Journal (Classroom
edition). Jan. 2011: 6-7. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
"Dangerous Games?" Scholastic Action. Dec. 11 2006: 6+. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
"Firefight." Current Events. 05 Sep. 2011: 7+. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
Savacool, Julia. "Gamers can't Escape Reality." USA TODAY, 01 Apr 2014, pp. B.6. SIRS
Discoverer, http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com.
Shamoon, Evan. "SIX MILLION WAYS TO DIE." Computer Gaming World Nov. 2006: 30.
Middle Search Main Edition. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.