Violencia en videojuegos dirigidos a niños, adolescentes y jóvenes

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43. Do violent Videogames contribute to youth violence?
English Course
Teacher Claudia
Student Ana Chantal Belmont Del Valle
Thursday, May 5th, 2022.
Introduction.
The accelerated development of violent video
games, and their great popularity among the
new generations, make them an increasingly
worrying issue, which is not reduced to a specific
type of society or country, says Luis Alberto
Notario Barrera, master in Cultural Studies of the
Caribbean, Director of the magazine Cuba, and
he´s Author of the article video games and
violence.
Notes for reflection.

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The aggressive behaviors in adolescents and youth people who frequently consume video
games where cruelty is appealed, are not an isolated event, addiction which causes in the
player the same symptoms that addicts to any type of drug suffer. That begins to be, in
most of the world, a generalized reality.

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According to Notario Barrera, at least three percent of European teens between 12 and
18 years old suffer from addiction to the Internet or computer games, and its estimated
that in countries such as South Korea, Taiwan or China the figures are even higher. These
spend eight to ten hours a day in front of the screen and sixteen on weekends.
And also he said that the average age at which an American child starts in computer games
is six years, and at ten they begin to use those videogames designed for mobile phones.

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In my opinion, the worrying thing is that these are not limited to showing a violent act
before a passive spectator, as a certain film or television program could do. But, given its
interactive nature, demands the player to identify with the character and act for him.
Also its playful character causes a certain distancing, which prevents users from
rationalizing the magnitude of the act they commit.
In addition, the Author said that the systematic use opens the possibility of settling a
vision of reality in which the other is always an enemy and must be eliminated. These
stereotypes of representation can affect a particular nation equally, but in particular case
in women. Who are generally shown as a victim unable to fend for themselves, or through
sexed body models with exaggerated voluptuousness.

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I think that something similar happens with war games, which sometimes show war
situations and scenarios with real references. These have generated the addiction of
thousands of kids, teens and young people, who learn to assume it as fun or as a
means of solving conflicts.
Some experts even argue that they could be used to stimulate them to join the
American war machine.

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At the end of the 70s Death Race appeared on the market, the first product to outrage
public opinion, because it consisted of running over as many "gremlins" as possible,
without hitting the crosses that were left on the road.
Then others such as Custer's Revenge, distributed by the Atari industry in 1983, which not
only included violent actions, but also had an explicitly sexual content.

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It should be noted that, by the emergence of genres such as FPS (First Person Shooter),
and Role-playing, which places the player "in the skin" of the protagonist of the story.
Among the products developed from FPS technology are highly violent games like:
Doom, Manhunt, Postal, Carmageddon and the famous GTA (Grand Theft Auto).
In GTA the player, only for play and earn more money, can hit to death those he finds on
his way, and also the user wins some firearms. Which snatches to the bleeding and
lifeless victims.

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Its important to mention that, according to the digital site on technology
http://www.neoteo.com In 2003 the Rockstar Company, producer of GTA, received a
lawsuit from an American family that had lost one of their members.
It turns out that two teens shot the victim from a car, imitating the modus operandi of the
main characters of this game. The teenagers were 14 and 16 years old, so from that
moment on GTA became a forbidden game for children.

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Conclusion.
Associating violent behaviors only with the systematic practice of video games
significantly limits the analysis of the phenomenon, a comprehensive analysis it
should be consider taking into account that the influence by other elements such as
the family, the school and social context where the subjects develop.

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Everyone, at some point in our daily lives, are exposed to films of violent content, and
not all of us commit robberies or murders. That depends on a number of factors, such as
the subject's personality, family environment and social conditions. Information from the
media, the internet and social networks are one more factor that can positively or
negatively influence the perspective of teens and youth.

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The video games as technology at last, supposes a new learning of a whole of skills, from
the motor and cognitive areas, which obviously benefit the people.
Much of our daily life activities consist in new information technologies and video games
are an instrument that allows children, teens and young people connecting with them.
What we must pay attention to, is the time of use and the type of video games. Its the
responsibility of the family and the school, which must offer other possibilities and spaces
of creation so that the children and teens don’t become video addict.
MANY THANKS!!!