A Critical Analysis of Video Games and Their Correlation to Violence

• Main Author: Hayley, Mary A
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2014
• Subjects: Video Games; Violence; Communication
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1024; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2060&context=cmc_theses

The video game industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy, with violent video games topping the charts among fan favorites. Due to frequent violence and mass shootings that have struck our nation in recent years, the gaming industry has been subject to much blame for endorsing violent acts. While many researches and psychologists have conducted experiments and meta-analytic reviews to test the correlation between violent video games and mass shootings, the debate remains prevalent in the media, to date. This thesis will not aim to prove whether or not violent video games are largely responsible for malicious attacks, but rather analyze why the blame is often adverted specifically to the video game industry in the aftermath of public massacres. This paper will analyze the positive and negative effects of gaming, the social and behavioral tendencies often developed from playing video games, and the current controversies surrounding the industry.