“Blood and Gore”, “Intense Violence”, “Strong Sexual Content”, “Use of Drugs” are phrases that gamers of the modern age are no stranger to. These labels are given by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) towards violent video games in order to give consumers a heads-up on what they are getting themselves into. According to Miller (2011), violence in video games is quite mainstream as the majority of video game titles that went through ESRB’s rating system ended up being labelled as violent. Furthermore, statistics show that over 90% of video games considered appropriate for children from age 10 and above have ESRB’s “violent” video game labelling on them. This means that children will already be exposed to video game violence at a young age. Although juvenile crime rates recently have been on a decline, it still holds true that violent video games should be banned because these games are found to increase aggressive or hostile behaviour in players and cause players to become addicted and lose track of their priorities.
First and foremost, violent video games should be banned because these games are found to increase aggressive or hostile behaviour in players. According to Riva et al. (2017), these video games contain a myriad of weapons that players can use to kill true-to-life characters in the game. These scenarios in-game are alarmingly realistic and have a very high possibility to induce an urge in players to want to do so in real life as well, due to the high level of immersion that the majority of these games offer. For example, the game “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” contains simulated real-life weapons such as the AK-47, FAMAS, and MP7, which function similarly to their real-world counterparts. In addition, negative cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses that people would usually portray when they encounter blood and gore are suppressed with prolonged and constant exposure to violent video games, which leads to players developing a desensitization towards violence (Engelhardt et al. 2011). This will in turn cause players to act violently as they fall under the notion that the consequences of their actions are minimal. In brief, video games that are violent in nature have been found time and time again contributing to rash or irrational behaviour and thinking, be it physically, mentally or emotionally.
Additionally, violent video games should be banned because these games also result in players getting addicted to it and in turn, lose their sense of priority. Noman (2019) reported that brand new games of this genre which turn out to be extremely appealing to the younger generation are released on a daily basis, and due to their popular demand, they are going off the shelves at a blazing fast rate. This can turn out to be problematic as these games can be very addictive if the player is not bounded or supervised by another trusted person. An unsupervised gamer is prone to spend long periods daily playing games which will affect their studies, social life as well as their health due to the sedentary lifestyle they will be forced into. Moreover, as players get addicted to these violent video games, they begin to display traits such as being easily frustrated, disregarding their responsibilities in order to play games, procrastinating their tasks, and the lack of discipline to control the length of their gaming sessions (Mathews, Morrell & Molle 2019). We can see that addiction, indiscipline, and the inability to prioritize tasks are problems that stem from playing violent video games excessively thus warranting its ban of use.
Alternatively, critics could also argue that violent video games are not to be blamed as studies have shown that despite the significant increase in violent video game sales recently, violent juvenile crime rates have also plummeted steeply. According to Toppo (2019), the number of violent juvenile crime rates in the United States since the early 2000s has been halved when compared to the previous figure 10 years ago, as stated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This study leads critics to the idea that violent video games have no connection with crime rates. They claim that despite the United States having considerably lenient gun laws, the fact that crime rates continue to drop shows that players are not being influenced by the violent elements in games and will not develop any desensitization towards violence.
Nevertheless, this argument is weak because there are many other factors that can contribute to the decline in violent juvenile crime rates apart from violent video games sales. Lassiter (cited in Targeted News Service 2019) reported that the decline in juvenile crime rates is an outcome of many steady and strong collaborations between juvenile justice departments with law enforcement agencies, government agencies, and non-government organisations (NGOs) which hold programs and campaigns for the society in order to increase awareness of the importance of moral behaviour.
In conclusion, although cases of aggression and violence, especially in youths, have reduced over the years. There is no doubt that a ban against violent video games should be imposed as these games could potentially engender aggressiveness and hostility in players as well as cause players to overindulge in these games, which results in them ignoring their responsibilities. If violent video games continue to be unrestricted, they could negatively affect the society and cause a multitude of unwanted commotion that will ultimately result in the downfall of a society. It is clear that addiction to violent video games troubles many of the young generation nowadays, especially students, as many of them will suffer from bad grades and an overall decline in their studies as they spend too much time playing these video games thus neglecting their studies. As a result, the government should still consider banning violent video games as they are largely responsible for enticing the younger generation to act rebelliously and insensibly.
