BY ALEXIS HOSTETTER

Personally, I play a lot of video games. I mean it goes from games like “Subway Surfers” to games like “Dead by Daylight”, “Friday the 13th”, “Call of Duty”, “The Last of Us”, etc. And most people who play games tend to play a similar wide range. But when it comes to concerns about video games it always seems to lead back to one place. Parents and educators often ask is, are these violent video games projecting violence onto high schoolers? Well, it depends on who you ask. 

If you asked me, I’d say no, most likely not. There have been many parents and schools who were concerned about the topic as well, and it’s a topic that has generated several studies. It’s mostly been concluded that violent video games do not actually cause violence between two people, but there is some evidence to suggest it can lead teenagers to break things.

We had a discussion over this topic in contemporary world issues, and it seemed as though there was a common theme. Many students said they had been playing violent video games for most of their life, and they never felt the tendency to be violent. A majority of the violence produced from video games is an “in the moment” type of anger. You may be upset that you died because of your internet, so you yell or throw something. 

These angers, however, come from any game. Take “Minecraft” for example, some people wouldn’t say it’s a violent game, but you literally play with TNT, swords, and violence. I’ve had friends who have gotten so mad over a missing diamond on Minecraft that they had a screaming fit and uninstalled the game.

Violence in a video game can be entirely subjective, in some cases. “Grand Theft Auto” (GTA) is widely viewed as violent and inappropriate, but did you know you can play the game without violence? Most of the misconception begins in the campaign era of the game, though with the online version, you are open to play it however you want. You can race cars, customize your character, sightsee, etc. 

The violence in a game comes from how someone plays and perceives it. So how would that play into the effect it has on a player? You control the effect it has on you. You choose whether to get mad at a death or to scream. You choose to say good game or talk trash. 

Anger comes alongside the installation of any game; there will always be an aspect of a game that upsets someone. It even exists in games such as “Roblox”, “Fall Guys”, and really any seemingly nonviolent game. Personally, I hate to admit it, I’ve broken a TV because I hated a character in a game. It had nothing to do with the violent aspect of the game, I just simply didn’t like the skin and let emotions control my actions. 

This is what happens with a lot of people who are subject to a game. As not every game is perfect, there will always be that one thing about a game that gives you the ick. To put into perspective on this topic, I’ve played a lot of games involving blood, killing, fighting, shooting, etc., but I just might be the softest person. 

I have no interest in violence, even though violent games tend to be the ones I choose to play. A point brought up in our discussion in contemporary world issues was that these kinds of games can often be a stress reliever, letting out anger you have rather than promoting it. 

Violence stems from the person entirely, games play almost no role in it. I’ve known people who have never played a video game in their life, and are more violent than me, who only plays aggressive games. So do violent video games really cause the violence in teens? In most cases, no, they do not.