Essay

Dora E. Figueroa Rodríguez
Information Rated E

In the past there were many forms of entertainment. Not only for children, who could have been easily entertained with wooden toys or playing hop- scotch, but for teenagers and adults who used to gather in public places to have dances or organize picnics. However, entertainment today is defined by technology instead of lifeless toys orsocial activities. Video games are the center of entertainment now. But how does this affect our society? How does this affect our children’s upbringing? The answers rest in what is seen and experienced within these video games. Right now studies show us the affects of these video games. The violence in video games is having negative effects on children, teenagers, and adults.
Many parents entera video game store with the idea of getting a present for their well behaved child. They look for a game store with the idea of getting a present for their well behaved child. They look for a game that’s rated E. (E for everyone) A video game rated E has content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/orinfrequent use of mild language. So as before, the proud parents buy the game for their child believing that it is a safe game, because it’s rated E. They might know that rated E means anyone can play it, but they may be unaware of the mild violence that can affect their child’s behavior. For instance, let’s say these parents bought the video game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker rated E. The cover ofthe game has a capital E, so they believe it’s a suitable game for their child. What they don’t know is the back cover it shows another capital E, but this one includes a little description of the game in a single word: violence. Not mild violence, as the rating established by The Entertainment Software Rating Board promises for video games rated E, but just plain violence. This game features a boywith a sword who goes around the word stabbing everybody who gets in the way of his mission in order to fulfill his destiny. So apparently, the video game the proud parents bought for their child is unintentionally showing him that in order to get what you want in life you have to fight. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the well behaved child, after playing this video game, throws a tantrum for icecream or anything else he might want. Heaven forbid he might stab his older brother for not taking him to the park. If these are negative effects video games rated E might cause imagine the negative effects video games rated T, for teenagers, are already having.
Video games rated T have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestivethemes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. MIT Professor Henry Jenkins has made several studies involving video games and how the availability of video games has lead to an epidemic of youth violence according to federal crime statistics. They indicate that the rate of juvenile violence crime in the United States is rising. He mentions that manyviolent acts mimicked from video games. Some of the violent acts include the use of weapons such as guns, knives, baseball bats; or in other cases it just goes down to using fists. Many of the teenagers who get ideas from video games are usually ignorant. They are trying to get revenge on somebody, or are trying to get away with everything they want. The best example to illustrate this behaviorwould be to go straight to a video game rated T like Naughty bear. This game is rated T because it contains violence, but the story inside the booklet reveals the reasons behind the violence. The story is about a bear who is a social outcast. The other bears never invite him to their parties; and when he tries to be nice, the other bears just laugh at him, so he wants to get even. The point of...