The document discusses a new BBC documentary called "The Legend of Video Games" which explores the link between violent video game content and real-life aggression in young people. It interviews students, experts, and a counselor about their views on whether extensive exposure to video game violence can negatively impact players' mental health and behavior, particularly for young people whose brains are still developing. While some argue that video games simply provide an outlet for stress, studies have shown a link between increased game play and anti-social behavior. The documentary concludes that regular exposure to graphic violence in video games for adolescents can normalize aggression and potentially cause psychological problems by blurring the boundary between fantasy and reality.

1. "Is there really a link between the violent actions that a person can play in a video game with
the aggressive behaviour inflicted in real life? Do parents need to worry about the
psychological consequences violence in video games can have on young children? And what
are the effects of the blurring of boundaries between fantasy and reality?
BBC 3’s new documentary called “The Legend of Video Games” kick-starts this brand new
series with its first episode which considers the link between whether video game players,
especially young children, notice that there is a difference between fantasy and reality. If the
boundaries between these two worlds blur, then it can have very damaging consequences on
the way a young person’s mind views their peers. Other episodes in the series consider the
importance of sexist content such as the female characters in games like Grand Theft Auto
where their clothing is very limited and also the importance of parental action in relation to
supervising children at home and noticing the age rating when buying video games.
Video games are a form of entertainment which in this modern world can be enjoyed not just
at home through consoles such as an Xbox or a PS4 but also on the go with game
applications from virtual stores such as iTunes by Apple and Google Play by Samsung. These
applications can be easily downloaded on electronic devices for instance a smart phone or a
tablet which allows a player to access their games whenever they wish. Our research team
thought it was fundamental to ask teenagers themselves of the impact of video games as
they are the main target of video games as well as being well invested in the devices
mentioned above.
We went to The Solihull Sixth Form College to ask students themselves on their personal
views of the effects that video games can have. Joe McMullen, a student in Year 13, talked
passionately about his own domestic experience of the consequences of the violent content of
video games, on his younger brother, Theo, who is currently 16. Joe stated that video games
in general as well as their violent content “make people angry, loners, antisocial”. Our team
thought this was such an interesting statement that we wanted to ask other students how much
violence they thought were in video games. The average was seven out of ten, but we wanted
to know more about the actual consequences of this level of violence.
We interviewed Mike Green, media expert, specialist and teacher of 15 years, about what he
thought. He gave a very interesting feminist perspective on how video games can change a
person’s viewpoint on what they view as morally correct and wrong. Green is concerned with
the normalisation of violent acts against female characters. He is baffled by “the idea that it is
somehow acceptable and normal and a casual thing that should be part of people’s
playtime”.
Film expert Nick Waring, on the other hand, argues that violence is just a general and normal
aspect of our lives and those video games should not be the main focus. Waring said that
“We are aggressive. We are violent. We have a bad day at work, rather than fighting we play
Grand Theft Auto.” Could it be argued that video games offer an escape from reality to allow
us to let out any internalised anger rather than in reality? Our team thought this was
acceptable for adults to do but were concerned about the implications on young children.
We asked the Student Development Counsellor at The Sixth Form College, Solihull what she
thought about effects of video games and whether she agreed with Waring’s view. On one
hand she thought that “video games don’t have to be the big ogre out there” and thought that
parents should also consider other aspects of entertainment which may be a hurdle for
children’s welfare and education like watching films or TV shows.

2. However, studies have shown that the increase of anti-social behaviour is linked to video
game play.
Our final verdict is that whilst students are still young their brains are still developing, so by
exposing an adolescent to brutal violence, it can have some major effects on their behaviour
and how they see values. This is notable if they play these video games regularly then the
effect will make the student feel that these kinds of violent acts seem normal in daily life,
such as: verbal aggression, physical violence and therefore creating psychological problems.
This documentary explains all the details and aspects of many attributes in relation to video
games.
Catch the exciting new documentary “The Legend of Video Games” on BBC3 on November
12 2017.