Are Video Games the

Cause of Violence?
 Are Video Games the Cause of Violence?
Concept

The concept of my project is a radio show on the topic of video games,

and I will be debating whether or not video games are the cause of
violence. I feel that a radio show will be nice and informative as there are
many podcasts which are serious and informative and I intend to make my
radio show like that.

Why are you producing this production?

I am producing this production because I believe it will be very informative

for those aged 16-22. Violence and video games is a topic which is
relevant to people in generation z as video games have got very popular
amongst young people especially since generation z first started in 1995.
Also, mass shootings have seen a massive increase over time, especially
in America with their being more shootings than days in 2019 alone. As it
is young people who are mainly involved and affected by these tragedies,
I feel this radio show will be of interest to them.

Deadline

31st November 2019.

Target audience is

Our target audience is 16-22 year olds which fall directly under generation
z. This means I will research everything about generation z to find out
what they are interested in, what their attitudes are etc and how they are
different from other generations.

What they want to see

Generation z are interested in technology as they have grown up with it

and it’s evolving process. This means that I will need to keep going back
to include things relating to technology in terms of facts and figures. Of
course it helps that my entire project revolves around technology as video
games are technology, and also I intend to bring in somebody who is an IT
analyst and they are very involved in technology so I will have to come up
with a series of questions in which the answers should have an impact on
the younger generation.
I have also found from my research that generation z have been brought
up on social media and how it’s popularity is highest amongst those from
generation z.

What you are creating based from that research

I intend to find a way to incorporate how social media is involved in the
matter. It is already known that it is involved in the sense that social
media is how we find out about acts of violence and terror, as well as
the controversy that video games re involved, but it could also be argued
that the fact that this is being shared on social media could be fuelling
ideas into people to commit this violence, and therefore social media
could also be responsible, and this is something I will talk about in my
radio show.

Where the production will be aired (why – based on target audience)

The production will be aired and recorded in the recording booth in the
studio at Henley college. The reason for this is, every student at this
college is a generation z and falls into the smaller bracket target audience
of 16-22 year olds. Therefore, my show will be broadcast to this age range
and hopefully my point will be put across.
Crew List
Person Role Dates Needed
Owen Saunders Producer of TV Every day
programme

Charlie Swadling Producer of radio show Every day

Location Recce
Studio (TV programme/radio show)

Type of room/area: Studio

Location Address: The Henley
college
Sat Nav details (Post code):
Deanfield Ave, Henley-on-
Thames RG9 1UH

Nearest Train Station: Henley

train station

Nearest Bus stop: Bell street

Lighting Information: Solutions:

Lighting from the studio lights and room lights. Use lights to our advantage when filming. In
terms of the radio show, no lights are needed.

Sound Information: Solutions:

Sound is quite contained within the green Film with microphones and record with
screen room, will use a microphone to ensure microphones at the correct sound levels.
professional sound quality. Will use the sound
booth for the radio show, there is a recording
set up and software and microphones which
will be used.

Power Information Solutions:

Mains powers supply and our equipment will Make sure all equipment has working batteries
be battery operated. and the equipment in the studio is working
 properly before filming and recording.
Hazards Solutions:
Over hanging lights Make sure all lights are not at risk of falling
when filming.
Shooting script
Segment Information Time
Introduction Short jingle to start with 2 minutes
followed by an introduction to
who I am and what I will be
talking about.
Basic information I will start by talking about 3 minutes
violent acts that have taken
place in both the UK and USA
as we are in the UK and the
USA.
Interview A series of questions will be 8 minutes
asked to a person who is a IT
analyst and is very involved in
technology
Outro A round up and conclusion of 3 minutes
the point which I have made.
 Do Video Games cause Violence?

The idea that video games cause violence is very popular. It is a very controversial topic
which has been brought up in the media recently, especially circulating in the USA where
there have been 349 mass shootings this year alone (as of October 7th).
The idea that video games cause violence stems from the fact that there have been a lot of
school shootings in America, 22 this year alone, and of course the main audience that
plays video games are younger people, and it is younger people who commit these crimes.

Donald Trump

One of the main people to suggest this theory is US president Donald Trump. Back in
August of this year in a press conference, Trump said; "We must stop the glorification of
violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now
commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a
culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this and it has to
begin immediately”.

Trumps competitor from the 2016 presidential election Hilary Clinton was quick to
respond:

This is not the first time Trump has suggested that video games are to blame. Here is a
tweet from Trump in 2012:
How do video games affect behaviour?

There has recently been a study that suggests that violent video games do affect some
children’s behaviour over time. The most recent research was a large-scale study that
gathered the results of all long-term studies that had monitored children across the globe.
Researchers found that some kids may be more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour,
However, Dr. Nicholas J Westers, a clinical psychologist at children’s health says to parents
that it is difficult to make a direct connection between video games and behaviour. It is
suggested that the reason video games might cause aggression in young people is because
the aggressive characters that are seen on screen could be seen as role models for younger
people.
Although many of the main video games which completely revolve around shooting such
as Call of Duty are monitored so that only 18+ year olds can play it, this is the parents
responsibility and how they let there children play certain games, however many video
games which are aimed at younger children do also contain violence. Perhaps one of the
most popular video games from recent years that children play is a game called Fortnite,
which has more or less some of the exact same attributes as games like Call of Duty. Since
Fortnite was released, there has been an increase in school shootings, and although many
could agree that this is just a coincidence, Fortnite does fall under the violent video game
category, and children could be inspired by the violence.

UK relevance

The theory that suggests that video games cause violence is certainly more popular in
America because of the amount of shootings there have been. However, relating back to
the tweet from Hilary Clinton, it is widely argued that it is not the video games that should
be blamed, but gun control. Video games are not just popular in the USA, but millions of
people in the UK have access to video games and play them on a daily basis. There has
only EVER been one school shooting in the UK (Dunblane, 1996) and after this tragic event
happened, there has not been a school shooting since. Furthermore, the man who
committed this attack was an adult, who grew up in a time when video games had not
even been invented yet, therefore the idea that he was influenced by video games is out
of the question. It was found out that the perpetrator who committed this shooting
(Thomas Hamilton) was heavily suggested to be mentally ill, creating the idea that it is a
cross between gun control and mental illness which leads to gun crime and violence.
Bobo doll theory

The bobo doll experiment was a study on aggression by psychologist Albert Bandura that
demonstrated that children are able to learn through the observation of adult behaviour.
The idea of the experiment was to show a child a video of a woman hitting the doll
repeatedly with various objects, and then see how the child acted when left in the room
with the doll, and the child would then copy the actions of the woman.
We can relate this to video games as children have the ability to be inspired by those
acting aggressively on screen and then be violent themselves in the real world.
Script
Introduction

[Jingle]
Charlie: Hello and welcome to Hot FM. I am Charlie
Swadling, and today we will be focusing on the issue
of violence, and whether or not video games are the
cause. The idea of video games being the cause of
violence has been a very controversial subject for
quite some time. The theory stems from American news
where school shootings among other mass shootings
have not been uncommon. Just this year, there has
been 22 school shootings in America, among 354
shootings this year alone, which, compared to the UK
with only one school shooting ever in 1996, is
drastically higher.
Furthermore, US president Donald Trump had his say on
the matter earlier this year, here is a clip from a
press conference back in August.
[Sound bite plays]
Charlie: So, to look more into why this is such a
common theory, I have Josh here today who is a keen
gamer and has strong views on this theory and he is
going to answer some questions I have for him today.
[Interview takes place, I will question Josh on
videogames and violence and we will talk about it a
bit]
Charlie: Well thank you for being here today Josh. We
will be looking at some more serious topics next
time, but for now, I’ve been Charlie Swadling, and
thank you for listening to the podcast.

Questions for interview:

What can you tell me about video games, and how they can have an
affect on health?
How often do you game?
Would you say that gaming affects you in any way?
Do you think that video games cause violence?
Why do you think that people have this theory?
How do you think video game companies should act upon this?
Would you say that acts of violence specifically in America are influenced
from video games?
Why do you think this is a more common issue in America?
How do you think it affects people from the UK?
Why is this not so much of an issue in the UK?
What else do you think causes violence/is the main cause of violence?
What could be done to prevent young people being influenced wrongly by
video games?