Let’s imagine for a minute. You’re flying down the expressway speeding away from a horde of cops, when you finally decide to casually drop a hand grenade out of your window. This is a common sight for one of the most popular video games in the media’s eyes today. Unfortunately, this sight is easily realized for even a child, engulfing them in a world without consequence. The question is whose responsibility is it? Is it the parents for allowing the child to get their hands on such a suggestive game? Or is it the retailers themselves that sold the controversial games to our youth? This is a question that causes heated debates, especially when analyzing the latest school shooting suspect. Video games should be subject to heavier review because: They are experiencing an increase of popularity in modern culture and they have negative effects on adolescents.Videogames for many seem to have existed forever. Starting with the classic Pong all the way to the latest installment of the “Call of Duty” series, video games have made a profound effect on modern culture. They have staying power to still be popular in many households. What hasn’t stayed the same is the content found in these videogames. Looking back at some of the first videogames, sports and fantasy seemed to have ruled them all. From Tennis, to Space Invaders, to even Pac-man, games could have been enjoyed by anyone of any age. Fast forward about 20 years, and now you have a different story. Taking a look at some of the most popular videogames such as the Call of Duty and Halo franchises, one can quickly find that the ultra-realistic graphics and gore content paint a scary image. Pop culture seems to glamorize these virtual realities, aggressively being advertised in all forms. Blizzard-Activision, known as one of the giants of the videogame industry, are some of the people behind some of the most played games ever such as “The World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops” (Hawisher 98). While fun games nether less, they bear only small resemblance to some of the original best seller videogames. What’s more interesting though, is that the videogame industry is booming more than ever. Sales have skyrocketed since gaining popularity back in the 80’s. With such strong numbers associated with some of the most violent forms of media, there is a drawback. What if all of the violence portrayed in videogames has negative social impact on today’s world? Furthermore more, looking at specifically at one game, it becomes clearer why this is a problem.
Grand Theft Auto. This is the title of one of the most popular videogame series on the market right now. As the name suggests, the main objective is to commit crimes without consequence. Speaking for myself, I have never played one of these games until very recently, mainly because my parents wouldn’t allow it. After downloading it, I can understand why. Within the first ten minutes of playing the game, I found myself killing cops with flamethrowers, selling illicit drugs to racial stereotypes, and working my way up in an Asian gang ladder. Perhaps the most astounding part of the game wasn’t the content; it was that I was hooked. After playing this game for about an hour’s time, I found myself more irritable and edgy. After playing such a liberating game, I needed to remind myself that I was back into reality, and that I shouldn’t be playing out scenarios of crime in my head. I can only imagine the effect of that game on a child, blurring the lines of fantasy and reality. While this is fine and normal for most people, the problem lies in the youth of today. Just in the same way movies are giving rating based on suggestive content, videogames are also being monitored. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) is a non for profit organization with the intention of rating video games accordingly. Established in 1994, just when videogames started to really take off, was a necessary addition. Mentioned in their mission statement “To empower consumers, especially parents, with the ability to make informed decisions about the computer and video games they choose…” the ESRB has some great intentions behind them (Rating). They have an iconic rating labeled on every marketed game ranging with rating such as “EC” (Early Childhood) all the way to “AO” (Adults Only). The ESRB rating system, designed to help consumers make appropriate choices when purchasing videogames, is broken down into a simple lettering system. They group video games based on content such as, gore, education, sex, drug themes, and general violence to name a few. They review videos that the game producers send them and have reviewers fill out questionnaires on what they thought of the game. They finalize the rating shortly before the game gets released to make sure that developers have not made any last minute changes to the game which can potentially alter the rating it should receive. Over the years this process has been streamlined due the sheer amount of games they must review before they can be released.This is an excellent tool for parents to help them select more appropriate games for children. They have even has gone as far has heavy advertisement and celebrity endorsements to get their message across to the media. This plan, that may sound perfect on paper, has its own fair share of flaws.The ESRB has come under much heat for their rating system. Inconstancy and not rating some games harshly enough are often heard when talking about the ESRB. One reason for this was with the rapidly evolving game market, newer games were compared against older ones, thus giving the ratings solely based off of previous games. This is why some older games may have ratings they wouldn’t have in they were produced now. The ESRB hasn’t acknowledged this shift in modern videogames giving the ratings a distorted window when they appear on the market. One of the biggest controversies the ESRB has been involved with was also related to one of the Grand Theft Auto games. This game, although was rated “M” for 17+ players, contained a mini-game that involved the player having sexual intercourse that was pulled shortly before its release. The problem with this though, is that players can modify their copy of the game to access this content and allowed them to play it as normal. This got national attention and the ESRB went under heat by the United States government. After this incident, similar cases have came up and the ESRB got away with out and consequences. That is just one example why the way the ESRB operates needs to be revised.One of the biggest reasons why the ESRB is a flawed system is because they assign ratings based on video clips produced by the companies behind the games. This causes game developers to hide suggestive content from the ESRB to receive a more amicable rating. This in turn causes games that are too violent adolescences obtainable for them. What should be done is to hire play testers to play through these games several times for themselves and base the ratings on personal experience, rather than just that the developers want them to see. Granted, it would be significantly more costly for them to play test every game because of the large amount of games that get released weekly, but I think many agree that it would be well worth it. Why does all of this rating and violence jargon matter you might ask? Well it has been proven factually that there are social consequences associated with violent games. A study done by psychologist in Sweden tested this very theory of connection between aggressive behavior and games. They took 53 children varying in sex and age and had them play violent videogames and non-violent videogames. After several hours of the experiment, they had them go outside and play to observe their behavior. What they found had proven their theory correct. They found out the in males there was a 53% increase in aggressive behavior where there was almost none found in girls. This effectively proved that “A strong significant relationship between gender and violent games were found" (Polman). That being said, it has become safer to say that videogames can lead to violent actions for male boys. Taking a step back and looking at some of the most violent games out there, it is no wonder how these games can have poor influences.Another study, this time performed at Harvard, took the issue and broke it down into the two main opinions of videogame playing. The one that believes the relationship between violence and videogames, and the one that doesn’t. They point out some interesting statistics, saying that over 97% of youth between twelve and seventeen has had large exposure to video games (“Violent Video Games”). Breaking down the issue into three parts, personality, opportunity, and motivation, they explored the depths of the psychology in video games. The professors at Harvard close the experiment with words of warning, mentions to be very careful what kind of games your child may be exposed to, especially game of violence. This is not the only concern involving adolescents and violent videogames.Another issue that arises with the popularity of videogames and their content is the issue of addiction. Many of us can relate to someone that suffers from some sort of addiction whether it is a family member or someone they just know. Found on a website that focuses on videogame addictions specifically, they state “There is increasing evidence that people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are facing very real, sometimes severe consequences associated with compulsive use of video and computer games” (“Video Game Addictive”). This goes to prove that the videogames today need to be monitored carefully before serious consequences can occur.Of course, there are always two sides to an argument. Many say that violent people are the ones playing violent games in the first place, and not the other way around. While this argument makes sense on paper, it needs to be applied in context. Violent games are in the hands of millions. With numbers like those, it is hard to argue the existence of negative side effects of these games. The other big argument of his issue is that violence is everywhere already and that videogames do not have any more of an impact then movies and television programs. The biggest flaw in this argument is that those other forms of media are not interactive. In videogames you are usually playing as a character representing yourself, actively making decisions that affect this alternate reality. Comparing this to movies and TV programs, you are simply an audience member watching the plot unfold. This is a huge difference where one encourages violent behaviors and the other simply displays them. Lastly, another argument you may hear is that it is the parent’s responsibility to make sure certain games stay out of the hands of younger ones. While it may be the ideal way to think of the issue, it’s also far from practical. Many parents are simply not knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions like that, nor have the time to obtain that knowledge.One reason this may be is because of time constraints. Many parents simply don’t have the time to take out of there hectic days to sit down with their child discuss the kind of videogames they are playing. This is not an issue of negligence, but one of time. It is tempting for a parent to simply want to come home from a long day of work and let them entertain themselves with videogames rather than take them to the park and play outside. Videogames are simply convenient. I sat down with my aunt the other day to discuss this issue, and she had some interesting things to say. When I asked about her involvement she has in her children’s videogames, she hesitantly responded “I simply don’t have the time to be involved with videogames”, and that “she doesn’t see the point of the ESRB” (Toay). This goes to show that some parents are misinformed about the ESRB and simply do not have the time or the means to evaluate their children’s habits and hobbies. This is a prime example why things needs to changed before they can potential become out of hand.Fast forwarding about twenty years, violence, sex, and drugs seem to be some of the most common themes. While perhaps it is a strong selling strategy, it may not be the most appropriate influence an adolescent. The ESRB, while known as the long established content rater, is definitely lacking in some areas. A rehash of this system is needed, due to the ever increasing amount in violence found in these games. And if that’s not reason enough, recent studies have also found that there is a link between violent games and violent behavior. With all of this being said, it would be wise to take some of this knowledge the next time you see a child hypnotized by a videogame.
