Kendal Hill
Mrs. Van Fleet
Block 3
10 December 2011
Video games and Violent Behavior True or False: Violent videogames cause children to become more aggressive. Sorry, that was a trick question. Despite much bandying of statistics and loud talking by critics on both sides of the argument, the real answer is that there is no real answer—at least not one that’s been proved scientifically (Zipp). Video games are an appealing target for a public figure in search of a crusade. Movies and music have energetic advocates, but it’s hard to find anyone who will defend games for their artistic value, or even on the grounds of freedom of expression. Usually the strongest argument made for games is that they are harmless fun (Koffler).
A three- judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Minnesota may not enforce a law restricting the sale or rental of “adults only” or “mature” video games to its minors (Browning).
Chief U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum ruled in June 2006 that violent videogames were protected speech, even for children. He found the state proved to fail its claim that playing violent videogames caused lasting harm to the psychological well-being of minors. Rosenbaum also faulted the state for failing to address other forms of violence in the media. And he held that the state’s dependence on a voluntary rating board to determine which games should be restricted was unconstitutional because it did not permit immediate judicial supervision of the ratings (Browning). I think most of time, “The parents are the problem, not the kids. Parents will rent inappropriate games without knowing what’s in them because they want to please their kids; they want to shut them up. That’s no reason for the government to regulate the games. Video games fall under the First Amendment; they’re a form of art. Indeed, a good deal of the Bible portrays scenes of violence, and one would be hard-pressed to hold up as a proper role model the regicidal Macbeth”.
So should violence in video games be banned? Perhaps as soon as a correlation between violent behaviors in children and violent videogames can be found. Most experts believe that more years of research are needed to fully