video games

Do Video games have a negative effect on their audience?

Ever since the birth of the modern day video games there has been debate about the effect they have on there audience, people see it as a cause for concern as most video games are typically played by a younger audience and the age restrictions on the games while informed are alot easier to bypass as they are not viewed in cinemas so the only person controlling who plays the game is the retailer and the parent so it is alot easier to play an 18 rated game on release than watch an 18 rated film in the cinema if you are under 18.

Producers of video games think very carefully of how they will market there work to people they put people into catagories There are 7 accepted categories that producers split audiences into firtst indicated by Young and Rubicam, there are 7 sorts of customers on the planet. Wayfarers, aspirers, succeeders, reformers, strugglers, the standard, and the surrendered. These 7 classes hold 7 distinct characteristics.

Succeeders are confident and to a great degree concentrated on their short, and long haul objectives. Frequently planned, sorted out, and in control, succeeders are consistently put into responsible positions. They look for reward and stature in everything they do . They lead a busy way of life life so jump at the chance to unwind from time to time.

Aspirers are made more determined by what others, think, and say and regularly don't take any risks of their own. They can be seen as materialistic, an care about what people see them as so will spend money on possessions like cars and designer clothes.

Pioneers or explorers crave new discoveries and they appreciate challenge, and are thought of as young at heart on the most fundamental level regardless of the possibility that they don't seem youthful all things considered. pioneers are frequently the first to attempt new things, they appreciate new sensations, encounters, and thoughts, and are not afraid to take a stab in the dark if they feel it will pay off.

the mainstream individuals can be exceptionally stuck in their ways, deciding on a more classic way of like they follow what other people do and value domestic pleasures. They are OK with security and regularly places "we" before "me"  They are the biggest group of the 7 classes.  

Reformers do what they want. They believe their own judgment and live free ways of life. Reformers are regularly seen as scholarly and are the money driven of the classes. They like authenticity, and are known not stress, and won't purchase or have a go at something on the grounds that it's new or mainstream.

The resigned comprise for the most part of elderly individuals whose qualities are unaltered, and have developed over numerous years They look for security, and normal living.

Strugglers are frequently seen by other people as victims,They are frequently unwilling to make a special effort to accomplish something and invest a considerable measure of their energy and cash on liquor and other things no.  without any points or objectives, squandering their life and neglecting to make any fortunes for themselves.

when you want the define and audience, the audience's social grade is a standout amongst the most essential things to consider. an audience is classified into six social grades, A, B, C1, C2, D, and E. Each of these social groups represents  a class of society. Grade A comprises of the upper white collar middle class. These individuals are experts in their respective professions, and regularly work administrative or higher level occupations such as management rather than trades. Grade B is comprised of the lower white collar class or lower middle class. These individuals work in admin, professional, and management. The white collar class are unlikely to work in an occupation higher that admin. Grade C1 are the lower working class. They work in lower administrative, or supervisory occupations, however can likewise be managerial or professional. Grade C2 is skilled common laborers. These individuals are for the most part gifted, or very talented trade laborers who do manual work as a profession. Grade D contains the lower regular workers. These individuals are regularly untalented or semi-talented tradespeople. finally, Grade E easygoing specialists, or the lowest social grade. These individuals will either work every now and then or will be in unemployed. Retired people and individuals on disability or unemployment benefits are incorporated into this grade.

Consider the effects debate, game producers put a lot of time and money into capturing their target audience and providing a games that will appeal to them, how ever as gaming grown into the mainstream culture and is consumed by such a large audience it has increased the risk of gaming having a negative effect on the audience, it argues that in the same ways that an advert would make a consumer want to buy a product a violent video game could have the same effect on the mind of its viewer and make them want to commit violent acts.

This poll shows the majority of the the general public in 2016 do not agree with the old societal view of video games and their effect on the public. However science disagrees according to a study by an american task force published august 2015 that compiled multiple studies and drew a conclusion from the entire body of work they found '[video games] demonstrates a consistent relationship between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behaviors, cognition, and affect' according to the APA Task Force on Violent Media report.  The report found that the gaming market is mostly aimed towards younger generation even with age ratings the games get into the hands of young children, they found that 90% of children [under 18] play video games with 85% of those games played containing some form of violence this does not bode well for the developers, The report cited the 2012 sandy hook school shootings in which Adam Lanza gunned down 26 people in including 20 children, it was later discovered that Lanza was obsessed with violent video games, prompting call from congress to place restrictions on the industry, this link of violence is backed up by a study conducted by Dmitri A. Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute which concluded that children who are exposed to violent video games become desensitized to violence which can mean they are more likely to act violently and aggressively them selves and are less likely to act emphatically.

There is some strong opposition on the matter from some campaigners such as Dr Christopher Ferguson ‘department chair of psychology and communications at Texas A&M International University in Laredo’ has studied the link made for years and has not come across any solid link between virtual and real life violence, he argues that violence committed by young people is at an 40-year low he argues that public opinion is ageist and because of the quick rise of the gaming industry and the violent nature gaming has been used as a scape-goat for violence by the youth where as the video game argument is not mentioned in cases with older people committing similar crimes. He cites 65 year-old jimmy dykes who shot a bus driver the kidnapped a 5-year old and imprisoned him in a bunker for days, he argues people do not look at these crimes catalysts as heavily as if a 20 year old gamer had committed the same crime. He does not write off the idea completely however saying that the only observed links are with people who has pre existing mental health issues.

The hypodermic needle argument is one often linked to the effect of video games violence and real like, the argument was conceived in the 1920s and tried to explain how audiences react to mass media it suggested that when watching a screen or looking at a poster the audience will passively receive the information, so the information enters the viewer's mind and is not processed or challenged which leaves the information unmediated. The model suggests we are manipulated by the creators of media and the behaviours of the audience can be easily changed by those producing said media, it assumes that the audience is passive and heterogenous, The hypodermic needle model quickly proved to be too clumsy for researchers in the modern age of mass-media where the whole world is filled with media and everyone isn't a mindless drone like the hypodermic needle model predicted, the two step theory is based more on the idea of opinion leaders who filter the information that the audience will believe it suggests instead of consumers taking in every piece of information they see passively they look to a ‘opinion leader’ who will have the respect of its audience which means they will be much more likely to act on something endorsed by this leader over something they stumbled across, the two step theory has become common in the video game discussion, this theory works both ways though for example a liberal is more likely to write off a remark made by Donald trump even if it has the same message as Bernie sanders only because a liberal is pre-opposed to Donald trump and will therefore give less thought to a statement made by him over someone they idolise like Bernie sanders.

Video games do however have positive proven effects on those who play the games studies show that children who play video games regularly are better at following instructions and can massively improve a child's problem solving skills for example simple games like ‘cut the rope’ and game where you must solve various puzzles and challenges by cutting ropes can be massively beneficial to a child in short bursts. They can be used to train more than just children's ‘defenses news’ reported that the army now use video games to help train their soldiers with situational awareness in combat, many strategy games require the player to be aware and prepared of sudden and unexpected situational changes in the games environment and must react accordingly these are all valuable life skills.