For this prospectus, I had to include an audience statement at the start of the paper since the Advocacy Project was supposed to be directed at a particular group.  Originally, I was confused about how I would integrate through my chosen solution into the AP; I didn't understand how to make it explicit that my solution was directed at a particular group of people. However, I soon came to realize that my chosen solution of reforming the ESRB was indirectly related to parents who are the primary video game purchasers for kids. It was then clear to me that I needed to make this relationship distinct within my AP drafts and I tried to do so.

Also, I remember finding evidence for the drafts and the prospectus for the AP was hard as all hell and many all-nighters were pulled during this quarter just to find relevant evidence for my AP. Because of this, my prospectus was really broad and turned in late simply because I had a hard time finding and articulating solutions that I was interested in discussing.

Audience Statement:

    My ideal audience for my AP project are the parents of children that play video games. Parents are the ones that are usually responsible for buying their kids video games and many are often pressured into buying games for said kids; parents naturally want to keep their kids happy and if one of their kids constantly begs for a new game, parents often feel inclined to buy it. As such, parents often blindly purchase video games unaware of the effects that some games, particularly violent ones, may have on their kids. With these facts in mind, I think it would be important to include pictures of violence from today’s most popular video games along with scholarly findings about the effects that violent video games have on aggression. In my AP project, I want to appeal to this audience’s emotions and ethics, much like how one of the PSA videos did in Advocacy Claims assignment. I want to educate readers on how violent video games have been shown to facilitate aggression within players and to have them question themselves on if they know what kind of content is in the games that they buy for their kids.

• The problem that was presented in my CP project was that online video games facilitates aggression.
• There are two major factors that influence aggression from video games that was pointed out in my CP: violence and competition. In terms of violence, scholars have noted that consistent exposure to violent video games can desensitize players to real life violence. Video games often glorify violence too; players who commit acts of violence are often rewarded, encouraging players to become more efficient and creative with the ways they commit violence. While violence is one of the most compelling explanations for aggression that results from video games, many other scholars have looked into other factors of video games that may have a greater influence on player psychology with one notable one being competition. Some scholars have found that competitive aspects of video games encourages the build-up of frustration which can thus lead to aggression.
• Possible Solutions:
• Limit suggestive themes in video games. In other words, limit the amount of blood, violence, and crude characters.
• Implement systems that restricts and punishes negative online behavior.
• Stricter enforcement of ESRB ratings.
• Educate parents and children on the dangers of playing too many violent video games.
• Introduce government regulations/legislation to video game sales based on the content of said video game.
• Feasible solutions:
• Stricter enforcement of ESRB ratings.
• I chose this solution as a feasible one because of multiple factors. Implementing a system or stricter enforcement of ESRB ratings can be very simple and cheap. All too often, parents don’t even choose to look at ESRB ratings and explanations and simply having video game sellers remind customers prior to purchasing new video games to check the ESRB rating can be effective; parents may think twice about buying violent or suggestive video games after reading what kind of content may be in said games.
• Implement systems that restricts and punishes negative online behavior.
• Regulating online behavior has proven to be tricky for video game developers over the years. However, some companies have managed to implement systems in games that can automatically punish players for committing harassment, verbal abuse, or other types of aggressive behavior. Many players are also rewarded for behaving properly in online games while players that violate the online rules of the game are punished with bans or other restrictions.
• Introduce government regulations/legislation to video game sales based on video game content.
• This solution has the highest potential at having the most effectiveness. Senators, like Hilary Clinton, have previously proposed legislation based on regulating suggestive video games. However, in terms of practicality and the cost of spending government resources to restrict access to video games, legislation may not even make it out of Congress.
• Top solution:
• Stricter enforcement of ESRB ratings.
• I think this solution is the most effective considering all costs and how easy it would be to implement. Many academics have already stressed the importance of educating parents and children about video game content and I think that expanding and enforcing ESRB ratings can help solve this problem.
• Strictly enforcing ESRB ratings on all video games can help reduce the psychological effects that some video games, particularly violent ones, have on players.
• Sources:
• Source 1: “ Resolution on Violent Video Games.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Aug. 2015, www.apa.org/about/policy/violent-video-games. 
• This source ties together many research papers done by psychologists on the effects of violent video games. Here, the APA suggests that a probable solution, based on this research, is to create education programs for parents and children about the dangers of violent video games. This is similar to my chosen solution in a sense that both solutions address the lack of knowledge about violent video games and its potential effects. However, this suggestion by the APA seems to be less cost efficient compared to just enforcing ESRB ratings.
• Source 2: Copenhaver, Allen & Ferguson, Christopher. (2018). Selling violent video game solutions: A look inside the APA's internal notes leading to the creation of the APA's 2005 resolution on violence in video games and interactive media. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 57. 77-84. 10.1016/j.ijlp.2018.01.004.
• This source helps me to analyze the APA’s “Resolution on Violent Video Games” in the broader context. This source also discusses the potential dangers of using task forces, like the APA, to investigate issues regarding violent video games. Since many states, as this source points out, is calling for the creation of task forces that may lead to inconclusive results, it is important to note that much of the public is not educated on methods to handle problems with video games.