Video games have been part of society for decades now. Video games have been an adolescent and adult form of entertainment for years and the gaming industry has grown substantially since the beginning. I feel that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding video games with some people. The most controversial argument to this topic is deciding whether or not video games are prone to cause violence in society. Personally, I do not think they do.

I can understand on some levels why people would assume that video games could cause violent tendencies. For example, let us consider the incredibly popular game, “Grand Theft Auto.” There has been controversy surrounding this game because of the violent options that gamers are the power to control. For instance, gamers in the newly released “Grand Theft Auto V” are given a variety of options to have his or her protagonist engage in. Example one, gamers have the option to solicit prostitutes, kill them and then get his or her money back. Example two, gamers during the story mode at one point watch their protagonist torture a man for harboring secrets.

Although both of these are horrible situations there is no factual evidence to truly support that these fictional situations, and many more in other video games actually cause violent tendencies in society.

“It is a lot of fun and there is a ton to do in the game,” said Shippensburg University senior Devin Simonds “The missions in the story mode and all the other extra things you can explore and do is expansive. The map is so big there is a lot to explore.”

Simonds is not alone in agreeing with the entertainment value of these violent games.

“It is fiction. And fiction has always been filled with violence and depravity. Shakespeare, anybody? I am not saying the makers of “GTA V” are Shakespeare, of course,” said TheDailyCaller.com reporter Jim Treacher “or even Tarantino. Or even Uwe Boll. But they are operating in the same tradition. They are playing to the groundlings. Cheap thrills for the cheap seats. The only thing that has changed is the technology.”

This is something I could not agree more with. There is a story line to every game, and someone has to write this story. It is fiction and impressive literature in a lot of ways.

“Call of Duty” is another popular game in society that depicts violent war situations. The reality of the situation is that war is violent, and this game is depicting reality in this aspect. The weapons created by weaponry engineers are designed with the actual intent to kill and these weapons are used.

I do not understand why it is OK to allow these weapons to exist in society when these games cannot according to some people.
There is no evidence to truly support that video games cause violence in society.

In fact, according to ProCon.org, violent juvenile crime in the U.S. has been declining as violent video game popularity has increased.

The arrest rate for juvenile murders has also decreased by 71.9 percent between 1995 and 2008. During this time period the arrest rate for juvenile crimes has also decreased by 49.3 percent as video game sales have quadrupled.

Psychologists and sociologists have also found that video games give gamers the feeling of control.

Gamers gain control through the pace of the game they play by directing his or her protagonist in the game. This has been found to regulate the emotions in adolescent gamers. “I think they can be very relaxing and I do feel a strong sense of control,” said Simonds. We have all had those days where we would love to just hit someone, so rather than actually causing bodily harm I say we all invest in gaming.

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