Part 1: 

Do video games contribute to youth violence? By Britannica ProCon.org, 6/9/2021

https://videogames.procon.org/

 

Part 2: 

Entertainment

Violence

Aggression

Studies

Psychology

 

Part 3:

The author of Do video games contribute to youth violence? Begins their article by listing neutral facts about video games, such as the percent of kids that play them, how much they spend time on or spend money on video games, and also how much the video game industry makes per year. They then talk about the idea that people believe that video games are responsible for causing violence among children and teens, such as bullying and even school shootings, and how they are designed to make their children more violent, whether or not the game presents itself that way. They then go on to say that the other side of the argument (those that believe video games aren’t a major part of youth violence) argue that the studies showing a connection between videogames and violence are incomplete or aren’t as trustworthy as they like you to believe and even that violent video games can be a safe outlet to let out all of that aggression that may be inside children. From this point on until the end of the article, the author brings up nine points from each side, starting out with those who believe video games cause violence and then showing the argument for those who don’t. He brings up all of the points that are usually brought up, such as school shootings and signs of aggression in children who play it, but also somewhat obscure ones, such as the military using video games to train soldiers. The author has no conclusion but does have a box at the end with five mostly neutral facts about video games.

 

Part 4:

Overall, I agree with this author’s stance. While not explicitly stated, the structure of his article shows that they too believe that video games do not cause violent behavior in children. By providing a point of fact from those that do believe they cause violence and then immediately pointing out how they are wrong afterward and bringing up more trustworthy pieces of evidence, the author (either intentionally or unintentionally) shows they are on the side that believes video games do not cause violence in children. While not listed on their page, the author does provide facts and statistics for both sides (but mostly for the side saying video games do not cause violence). If I could ask the author some questions, these would be some of them: Do you believe that video games cause violence? (Just to make sure). Why do you list your sources in your article, but not towards the end or by themselves? Why did you structure your article the way you did? Finally, I don’t have anything in particular that I don’t understand, but I would search for articles and sources that claim video games do cause violence next just so I can see what they say about their side without the bias of those who disagree with them.

 

Part 5:

“[And, by blaming video games for violence,] we reduce the value of the political discourse on the topic because we’re looking for easy answers instead of facing hard truths.”

 

“Finding that a young man who committed a violent crime also played a popular video game, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto, is as pointless as pointing out that the criminal also wore socks.”

 

“The US Surgeon General’s list of risk factors for youth violence included abusive parents, poverty, neglect, neighborhood crime, being male, substance use, and mental health problems, but not video games.”