Joshua Lopez

Period 1
12/27/14
Mrs. Allison

Are Video Games Causing Real

Life Violence?
There are many mysteries in this world. Why is there so much war in the
middle east? Why do people commit terrorism? How can we stop violence? Why is
there so much violence? Well for that question, many people think the answer is
violent video games? People think that playing violent video games causes real life
violence, but playing video games doesnt cause violence because of a few reasons.
There isnt enough evidence to support the theory, you have to consider the his/her
background, and there is more than one reason to violence.
One reason to back this up, is that there isnt any actual and strong evidence
to back this theory up. In the article Do violent video games lead to real violence?,
by Julia Layton, on paragraph 4, it states, Video games as we now know them have
really only existed since the mid-1970s, so there's nowhere near the amount of
empirical evidence for or against their violent effects than there is surrounding
This quote means that there is no evidence that comes from experimentation and
observations to support the theory that video games affect a person. Another piece
of evidence is on the other article Do violent video games lead to real violence, by
Kim Hone-McMahan, on paragraph 7, saying, In-depth, evidence-based research
about the effects of violent video games is rare. Still, the Dayton Daily News
reported recently that a new Ohio State University study shows that playing violent
video games can make people more aggressive over time, though its impossible to
link such games to violent criminal behavior like the Sandy Hook Elementary School

Joshua Lopez
Period 1
12/27/14
Mrs. Allison
shootings. This means that there is insufficient evidence to link video games giving
people passive-aggressive behaviors. The third piece of evidence is on the same
article, on paragraph 9 where vice president Joe Biden states, there is no hard data
to prove that excessively violent video games can cause people to engage in
behavior that is anti-social , including using guns. What Biden is trying to say is
that we have no data that is good enough to support the theory that video games
cause real violence.
Another reason is the childrens background and childhood. On the article,
Do Violent Video Games lead to real violence. by Kim Hone-McMahan, it states,
parents need to pay attention to what their children are doing and step up when
something goes amiss on paragraph 23. This means the parents of the child has to
make sure their child knows the difference between right and wrong. Also on
paragraph 4 and 5, a clinical nurse for mental illness, Kathy Royer, states that the
mental illnesses is only caused by family issues. What she means is that family
issues is the main cause for all the shootings not video games, further more proving
my topic. On paragraph 24 and 25, it states, But it has gotten to the point that
some parents are fearful of their childs reactions I talk to a lot of parents and
they are afraid to discipline their kids I have never seen so many kids who are
disrespectful, and mouthy, and nasty. This quote shows that the parents spoiled
their kids too much, that the kids end up being mean and disrespectful to their
parents. This makes the parents too scared to discipline and teach their kids what is
right or wrong.

Joshua Lopez
Period 1
12/27/14
Mrs. Allison
Finally, we cant put the blame individually on video games. First of all, on
paragraph 11 in the article Do violent video games lead to real violence?, it says,
Entertainment media have always made good scapegoats for abrogating behaviors
among young people. In the 1950s, lots of people blamed comic books for kids
acting badly [source: CBS News]. In the 1960s, rock 'n' roll made kids do drugs
[source:Paul]. In the '80s, heavy-metal music was causing teens to commit suicide
[source: Tewksbury]. The 1999 Columbine massacre, with its unprecedented
number of victims, might have ushered in the official age of blame the video
games. This means that society is always looking for a scapegoat and they are
blaming video game, but they cant blame it solely on video games. In the article,
Do violent video games lead to real violence? Royer states, But assigning blame
solely to video games is a mistake. What Royer is trying to say is that blaming
video games by itself is a mistake. Also on paragraph 6, Royer says, Nothing ever
is just one thing. Its always a combination of things. This means that problems are
cause by multiple reasons not just one reason.
However violent video games do subsidize to violence because it makes them
more used to violence. For example, there was a shooting in 1997 committed by 16year old Evan Ramsey. Ramsey played this game called Doom where you shoot
things until you die. Ramsey then explained he was surprised to find out that
shooting people is wrong, which brings many people to believe that it was video
games that caused this tragedy to happen. However it wasnt just video games that
caused this because it was his parents job to explain to him that shooting people is
wrong.

Joshua Lopez
Period 1
12/27/14
Mrs. Allison
All in all, video games doesnt cause real life violence because there is
insufficient evidence, you have to ruminate the persons background and childhood,
and there is more than one reason to a problem. Even though video games doesnt
cause real life violence, we still dont know why its caused. Hopefully we find the
reason and we can end all the violence.

Works Cited
"Do Violent Video Games Lead to Real Violence?" Www.ohio.com. Web. 07 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/do-violent-video-games-lead-to-real-violence1.375519>.
"Do Violent Video Games Lead to Real Violence? - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks.
Web. 04 Jan. 2015. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/video-gameviolence.htm>.