For this assignment i was required to write about a certain topic where two arguments were present without actually leaning towards a certain side. Informing the reader about both sides so they can get a better idea about the topic and my abilities to depict this information to the reader.
Diego Ordonez
Matenko
Killer Stories
31 October 2022
Do the various forms of media cause violence?
When was the last time you were exposed to some sort of media whether it be the news, social media, or even video games? How did it make you feel, did you feel encouraged to imitate what you were exposed to? Almost everyone is exposed to the various forms of media on a daily basis, it’s hard to disassociate us from media especially in today’s society. Different sorts of media and their effects have been a topic of discussion for many years now. Media, whether it be social media, the news, or even video games in the most recent years have typically held a bad reputation. Major news topics seen on TV such as mass shootings, school shootings, serial killers, and or violence related crimes initiate fear in civilians, they worry for their safety, parents worry for the safety of their children, all wish to go outside and not have to fear being the next headline on the news. Who or what is to blame for these acts of violence seen around the globe. Well, the media in its various forms have been held accountable for many of these crimes. A vast number of people credit media platforms for being the reason criminals do the things they do and want something to be done about what is being distributed to the general public. But nobody wants to take into account the fact that people of all ages around the world own some sort of electronic device and or video game system. It’s due to popularity and our need for technology in today’s society that we are pushed to purchase these items from which we are exposed to the media.
Some key ideas to keep in mind are that desensitization has often made an appearance in discussions regarding whether or not appearances of violence can be derived from video games.When you watch a horror movie for the first time you become frightened from the multiple jumpscares or bloody and gore filled scenes that occur during the movie but let’s say you watch it again and again and again, by your 50th showing you won’t have the same sense of feeling you did when you first viewed these scenes. Almost as if you have gotten used to the violence or aggression. The idea of generalized imitation as well has also played a part in arguments regarding media’s relevance to violence. If you’ve ever played a video game, say a sports game and you managed to pull off all these amazing skills and made many difficult shots you’ve probably kept that in mind and at some later time in the future you played said sport in real life and tried to play as you did in game.
Many people do relate violent crimes back to the exposure of certain media platforms
Society argues that video games cause violence due to criminals having been exposed in the past to some sort of game, typically ones that are rated M for audiences older than 17. In some instances criminals have straight out made a reference to a video game once the deed was done or even during the actual occurrence, insinuating that the video game influenced their decision in committing the crime. There are multiple instances where situations like these have occurred. In trial, Ander Breveiks, 32, depicted how he used the popular video game Modern Warfare to prepare for the killing of over 70 people in Norwegian on the 22nd of july of the year 2011(Elle Crump). Not only does this show a connection between video games and the creation of violent acts but it demonstrates how anybody can be influenced by the media, not just the younger audience; but there definitely has been criminals of a younger age that have related their killings to video games. Teens as young as 15 who were known to be fans of video games have killed their teachers(Elle Crump). Teens are the most vulnerable as they are still young and still have difficulty controlling their emotions and sometimes get carried away from what violent games expose them to.
Anti game activists also argue that people can be desentized as a result of media exposure containing violent and graphic images or information most commonly seen in video games.(Bushman and Anderson,2001). Essentially, video games and all the graphic content certain video games contain can numb our feelings towards issues pertaining to the content. This in theory can lead to an increase of aggression or potential acts of violence in a person. Multiple cases of experimental research have been conducted in order to prove that being exposed to video games can increase aggression to an extent. In one experiment conducted the participants were either given a violent or non violent video game to play and then had their levels of aggression leveled using a reaction test. The reaction test consisted of a duel with an “opponent” where you had to press a button the fastest and that the loser of each round would receive a noise blast whose aggressiveness on each other was chosen by each other as well. In essence, each “opponent” had a weapon for each other since they chose the level of aggressiveness for their opponent. and as it turns out those who were exposed to violent video games ended up being more aggressive than those who were given non violent video games(Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri,et al,). This illuminates the idea that video games since those who played the violent video games were used to the violence and aggressiveness and thus used more aggressive blasts of noises toward the opponent in the reaction test.
Another point is that media outlets that share information or news on some sort of killing influences people with similar characteristics and background of the person described in the information to imitate those actions. Every detail in the information spread by the media has to be taken into account since even the smallest detail could potentially cause someone to imitate a certain crime(James N. Meindl, PhD and Jonathon W. Ivy, PhD).Social media or wherever news might pop up on might just be news for the average joe but for others reading about a mass shooter life story might be relatable and a sort of model for what they could also do as a result of what they have lived through. The thing that worries society is that imitation can be derived from not only news outlets but movies, tv shows, video games. If a scene of a protagonist demonstrating his weapon arises what sort of feelings can this bring up in certain people, “danger and toughness”(James N. Meindl, PhD and Jonathon W. Ivy, PhD). Everyone has a role model to look up and for some role models are just what they need to let out aggression and violence.
While this side argues that media does cause violence others argue that it does not and media has been used as a scapegoat to try to make sense of certain crimes. The media has always been speculated to be the cause of mass shootings or killings with little to no evidence. Take in account the shooter that was involved in the Virginia tech rampage and how it was asserted that violent games were responsible for the misfortune even though it was derived that he was not shown to be an “avid gamer”(Christopher J. Ferguson). This illuminates the sensibility of the topic of mass shooters and how people don’t really wanna touch on the real and actual probable causes for the killings that happen today, it’s easier for people to just blame the media. There’s a reason the media has gotten to this point of being used as a scapegoat, people have given it a bad reputation by uploading articles that feed into the idea that it is causing violence and society eats it all up. Studies from Christopher J. Ferguson depict how there is a lot of “publication bias” as well as “poor and unstandardized measures of aggression” which reflect the idea that media has been given a bad name throughout the years.
Some make the point that press releases brainwash us into believing the media is causing violence. Press releases can vary from information we hear on the news, read in the newspaper or even overhear on the radio. Basically a lot of press releases don’t really get into all the details of works they tend to use to support or add on to the evidence. Basic summaries are made and released which can give off the wrong idea on certain information such as on video games and other possible sorts of media(T. Franklin Waddell). Most press releases revolving around the topic of aggression from media contain “experimental evidence” which can give the readers a “causal interpretation” that media really is the cause for the violence that is happening in our society.
Some go more in depth and call out “experimental evidence” and methods of measuring aggression or violence in general as a response to the viewpoint that video games cause violence. It is brought up that there are different levels to aggression while violence is a set definition. Someone can show mild aggression which can be derived from experiments such as the reaction test while violence revolves around the idea of causing harm or abuse(T.Franklin Waddel). In essence this side rebukes experiments that claim to determine aggression brought up as “evidence” since it’s nearly impossible to come up with a reliable method proving that media platforms can cause violence or aggression. In addition to this, some experiments using “aggression methods” have even given evidence that disproves the intended purpose to show violent video games cause aggression. In one study it was found that participants who played violent video games did not show increased levels of aggression and were even in a better mood.(Kersten, Riccarda,Greitemeyer, Tobias). This really illuminates how unreliable experimental evidence can be and how difficult it can be to create working aggression methods. There is no correlation between how someone might behave and the experimental results from measures of aggression.(Christopher J. Ferguson). In all there are different viewpoints from people who do believe that media causes violence and different viewpoints from those that don’t believe it does.
Debating on whether or not video games cause violence is one of the most popular subject matters in discussion. There are people who believe it does cause violence and that it should really be looked into while others don’t and try to refute and find flaws in sources of evidence the opposing side uses. People who believe In the idea that media causes violence focus on the relation of media to people who have committed crimes, the idea of people being desensitized and how media encourages imitation. Those who refute it believe that media is used as a scapegoat, some blame the press releases for allowing people to believe media causes violence, and some try to find flaws in experimental research which might help the opposing side. It is important to consider both sides and how these discussions can be used to fuel other debate topics.
Works Cited
Engelhardt, Bartholow, B. D., Kerr, G. T., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). This is your brain on violent video games: Neural desensitization to violence predicts increased aggression following violent video game exposure. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology., 47(5), 1033–1036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.03.027
Meindl, James N., and Jonathan W. Ivy. “Mass Shootings: The Role of the Media in Promoting Generalized Imitation.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 3, Mar. 2017, pp. 368–70. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303611.
CRUMP, ELLE. “Turn That Game Back On: Video Games, Violence and the Myth of Injury to the Public Good.” Te Mata Koi: Auckland University Law Review, vol. 20, Jan. 2014, pp. 165–88. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=113370530&site=ehost-live.
Waddell, T.Franklin. “Do Press Releases About Digital Game Research Influence Presumed Effects? How Details About Methodology and References to Societal Violence Affect the Anticipated Influence of Violent Video Games.” Mass Communication & Society, vol. 23, no. 3, May 2020, pp. 400–20. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.1080/15205436.2019.1672751.
Ferguson, Christopher J. “Video Games: The Latest Scapegoat for Violence.” Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 53, no. 42, 22 June 2007, p. B20. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25524810&site=ehost-live.
Kersten, Riccarda, and Tobias Greitemeyer. “Why Do Habitual Violent Video Game Players Believe in the Cathartic Effects of Violent Video Games? A Misinterpretation of Mood Improvement as a Reduction in Aggressive Feelings.” Aggressive Behavior, vol. 48, no. 2, Mar. 2022, pp. 219–31. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.1002/ab.22005.
