Violent video games can be defined as a video game in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being which is why people want the games to be banned. Video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, and ManHunt are considered to be very violent video games because of the amount of killing, robbing, blood, etc that it portrays. Supporters of the banning of violent games claim that these games could encourage people, especially youth to go out and engage in these violent activities. People who play violent video games often argue that the games have no effect on their minds and how they act in the real world. I am a supporter of the banning of violent video games because it encourages our youth to act on these violent actions, causes them to focus on video games and not be active, and it causes them to misbehave.

To begin with, violent video games should be banned because it could encourage people to perform violent acts in the real world. Because violent video games allow people to shoot and kill and perform other violent acts on people without any consequences to their actions some may think that it is okay to do to others outside of the video games. An article in Psychology Today states, “After the Columbine high school massacre in 1999, family members of the shooting victims sued 25 video game companies which they blamed for the deaths. In particular, the game Doom came under intense scrutiny over reports that the Columbine shooters may have been influenced by the spectacle of shooting various targets to accumulate points.” This helps further prove that violent video games can influence players to carryout the violent acts in person.

Violent video games can also cause our youth to be inactive because they are so focused on playing games. Being inactive can lead to a number of health issues such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. “Addicted gamers often face this problem because they tend to sit in one place for a long time and hence their body practically misses out on any kind of physical activity.”, stated in an article by TechSpirited.com this proves that playing any kind of video games can be unhealthy for children because they are encouraged to sit in the house all day and play games, only leaving to eat which is unhealthy. Violent video games can also have a negative effect on children’s brains according to the TechSpirited.com article as well, “Playing violent video games a lot makes an individual's brain less responsive to violence. This unknowingly leads to and increased aggressive behavior, as over time, the brain does not perceive that aggression to be anything abnormal.” the longer children are exposed to violent video games the more they are likely to be desensitized to violence and this may also cause them to act out in a violent manner.

Lastly, violent video games can cause children to misbehave because it allows them to think that the violent behavior is acceptable. The video games also show them inappropriate ways to express their anger or frustrations which is violence against others. An article from the Centre for Educational Neuroscience states, “after playing

violent games participants are more likely to ‘punish’ unseen opponents in a task with loud noise bursts, compared to peers who had played a non-violent video game” because the game players want to punish the opponents in the video games they may also want to punish other children at school or even at home. Video game players may argue that violent video games do not encourage children to misbehave because there has not been an increase in sales of violent video games according to an article in Psychology Today.

In conclusion, there will always be controversy surrounding violent video games and whether or not they have any affect on today’s youth and if there should be a ban on who can purchase the violent video games. I strongly support the idea of the ban of violent video games to children because the games encourage the youth to act out violently, being consumed in playing the video games will lead to inactivity and health concerns, and the video games also encourage children to misbehave.