Violent online game conceptual definition: Online games involves scenes such as school shooting, fighting as conflict resolution, bullying, sexual violence to both genders, and violence against women.
Violent online game operational definition: The number of hours teenagers are exposed to violent online gaming in a week.
Aggressive behavior
Aggressive behavior conceptual definition: behavior involving acts such as acts of violence to humans and animals, harsh language, damaging property, and shouting at peers or any other person.
Aggressive behavior operational definition: The frequency at which a teenager shows aggressive acts, including shouting at peers, harsh language, being violent to humans and animals, and damaging property.
Population Demographic and Psychographic
The demographic characteristics involve male and female teenagers aged 13 to 17 who are in high school. The psychographic characteristics of teenage gamers include impulsiveness, variety-seeking, risk-taking, fun-seeking, and word of mouth.
Problem Statement
Video gaming has significantly increased in the 21st century with technological advancement. However, violence among teenagers has also increased, which is portrayed by their aggressive behavior. Most teenagers play online video games because of their popularity, which paves the way for adverse effects. In 2020, approximately 100,000 violent crimes were committed by teenagers in the age bracket of 12 to 17 in the United States of America (Statista, 2023). Compared to the previous years, this number has reduced significantly, although it requires necessary measures, which can only be possible by identifying the leading causes. Not all video games involve violent content; however, more than 85% of online video games involve more than one type of violent action (Khorsandi & Li, 2022). This helps promote the killing of people and animals, sexual exploitation, obscene gestures, law-breaking tips, the use of alcohol and drugs, violence toward women, criminal behavior, foul language, and racial prejudices (Khorsandi & Li, 2022). This factor helps promote immoral behavior and aggressiveness among teenagers as they end up perceiving them as normal things that should be included in society. Frequent exposure to this content makes teenagers shift the beliefs derived from online gaming to the real world hence promoting aggressiveness.
References
Khorsandi, A., & Li, L. (2022). A multi-analysis of children and adolescents’ video gaming addiction with the AHP and topsis methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 1–12. Web.
Statista. (2023). U.S. – number of serious violent crimes by youth 2020. Web.