Daniel Pelaez Guevara

May 26, 2019

Prof. Schmerler

English 1121

Research Proposal

Since the creation of video games, people have lashed out against their creation and their inference on society. Parents, and now even politicians, are throwing video games under the bus. They claim that video games are causing their children to develop into nonfunctioning people in society. They originally claimed that people who spend all day playing video game end up living with their parents and are “bums”. They are now claiming that video games are now bad for the development of children and that violent video games lead to people committing violent crimes such as mass shooting. In this proposal, I would like to see if people who play video games can enjoy games and still be develop into a proper citizen in modern society.

In the news, mass shootings are usually blamed on two things, mental depression and video games. In the news article from The Irish Times, written by Deidre Falvey, it states, “Research conducted this year at York University, using a large sample, backs other studies showing no direct link between games and violent behavior.” The article covered the Florida shooting at a local Gaming Bar that was holding a competition. This research showing that video games and violence don’t go hand in hand. When it comes to being a working member of society people assume that gamers can’t make a living and should just get a “real job. Gamers now can make millions just off playing video games. A gamer who made it big is known as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. He is one of the best players in a game known as “Fortnite” and has made it big from streaming his time in the game. According to ESPN, “And finally, like street busking, there are donations. (The largest donation Blevins can remember receiving is $40,000.) Off subscriptions alone, Blevins makes an estimated $300,000 a month. That’s not factoring in his sponsorships, which include Samsung, Red Bull and Uber Eats, or the revenue from YouTube, Instagram and other sites.” He makes more money from playing video games in 1 month than most Americans make in one year. This shows that in society, gamers can contribute and not live in their parent’s basement.

 

Sources

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/24710688/fortnite-legend-ninja-living-stream .E. Ten. Accessed on 5/13/19

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/florida-shooting-could-videogames-be-to-blame-1.3609347. D. Falvery. Accessed on 5/13/19