First-Person Shooter Game (FPS) Condemned by top U.S Schools
These are just a few of the questions scholars have been examining as video games have proceeded to become extremely popular with young people (and adults). The most contentious subject in game studies is the “first-person shooter” subgenre. First-person shooters are video games in which the player controls a protagonist whose main objective is to kill different other characters as they move through the game’s levels. Shooter games were the second most popular genre, with 50.5 percent of respondents reporting playing them in the previous year, according to a global study of gamers conducted in 2020. Over the past ten years, the market for first-person shooter games has continuously grown. While addictive gambling has been a major peril amongst youngsters, unregulated violent video games have their massive social pitfalls. Unless of course, players choose credible platforms such as captaingambling.com, which has been abiding by the principles of responsible gambling in the strictest of senses. In one analysis that included 381 studies on the effects of gaming, the authors came to the conclusion that “violent video game effects should remain a societal concern.” According to recent research from the American Psychological Association, people are more likely to blame violent video games for school shootings. When the shooting occurred at a school and the perpetrator was a white male, video games were eight times more likely to be mentioned in the news According to researchers who examined more than 200,000 news articles about 204 mass shootings over a 40-year period. Similar results were obtained from another study including college students. Numerous studies indicate that this particular game type makes kids, teens, and young adults more aggressive while lessening their capacity for empathy.
Negative impacts of FPS games:
Even while more research is needed, there is currently enough proof to confidently state that playing first-person shooters can be detrimental to young people’s development and wellness. In one study, college students were required to spend several hours playing either violent or peaceful video games. The game players were immersed in a Good Samaritan simulation when a fight broke out nearby where they were sitting, with one person assaulting the other before fleeing and leaving the victim in need of help. When compared to the students playing the non-violent games, the violent game players waited for 450 percent longer to assist the individual in need. What has changed over the past several years is that we now have a better grasp of why some games seem to elicit more of a response than others in different situations. With stricter gun control amendments and policies being introduced, games promoting guns and violence are still flooding the markets.
- Structure and content of the game:
In order to get points, several first-person shooters instruct their players to explore a virtual world alone and kill anything that moves. Others employ a similar first-person approach but call for teamwork, the use of strategy and creative thinking to accomplish objectives, and the completion of challenging tasks. In the two categories of games mentioned above, mindless “kill, kill, kill” games produce greater negative consequences than games with intricate plots that call for intricate techniques. This is due to the fact that the former type lulls players into a state of mind that is akin to hypnosis, in which they are more likely to naively absorb themes and imagery from the game while tuning out the outside world. The second, more challenging games are equally immersive but in a very different way—the virtual world in which they’re playing causes players to become more aware and more engaged.
- Aggression can also be sparked by difficulty:
Age is a second related problem brought up by more current gaming studies by American Psychological Association (APA). While violent video games can lead to more aggressive behavior in children, the difficulty of the game frequently has a similar impact independent of the game’s content. Simply, games that are excessively challenging or complex, cause children to become extremely frustrated. When parents and other adults are assisting kids in making game selections, things can get complicated. It’s crucial to choose games that are demanding enough to keep players interested and having fun, but not so difficult as to frustrate younger players. Although game designers such as Monolith productions, Epic games, Irrational games, etc. make an effort to match age-appropriate material with age-appropriate playing ability, each child is unique. Because of this, it can be difficult to judge whether the most recent game featuring all of your child’s favorite pop culture figures is too simple or too challenging for them.
Conclusion:
Although there is an ongoing discussion about how video games may encourage violent behavior according to new research published by the American Psychological Association, psychologists and policymakers worry that there may be a “contagion effect” to major shootings. The number of school shootings in the US that resulted in injuries or fatalities rose to 51 in 2022, the highest annual total since Education Week started keeping track of such incidents in 2018. Some of the dreadful incidents happened in Benito juarez high school, Chicago; Cleveland high school, Portland; Suitland high school, and Forestville among others. Prior to 2022, last year’s 35 school shootings that resulted in injury or fatalities were the highest amount. Role-playing shooter games and research on prior attacks were both discovered to have been used by a few past shooters. Additionally, others who criticized the game claimed that it was simply disrespectful to the feelings of shooting victims, children, and educators around the nation who are worried about safety. Family members of school shooting victims have criticized the game as harmful and risky, with many of them working on new safety initiatives to better equip other schools.
