Videogames are not to blame for violent behavior in kids and teens.
 

mr obvious says thats full of shit. it is impossible to believe that exposing young children to hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of violent images and simulations has NO effect on them. common sense tells you its going to have some effect. anyone remember this dude [Pavlov]?

I disagree because I think that games like FPS can have a cathartic effect.

I've been playing them most of my life.....and I turned out....ok.

maybe it's because I'm not a dog. :confused:

nothing worse that a violent zombie

You can't argue with the statistics. It's the best study yet done into this.

And stop just pasting pictures of people as an argument! It's annoying and lazy and makes you look really arrogant and pretentious: "hey, anyone heard of this guy? Well I have, and I have a very small knowledge of what he did."

_
Bluefusion says:
04/17/2008 09:57
Well, I don't believe you can say absolutely that video games have no blame whatsoever in causing violence in children. I think it's a false dichotomy to say that either video games are to blame entirely or not to blame at all for violence. Even the authors of the book make the point about people who play mature games exclusively. If we believe this is a black and white issue, then we're making the same mistake Jack Thompson makes.

Any media--be it movies, television, and music, has the potential to increase aggression in certain people. So can playing sports such as football and wrestling. What we want to know is whether video games merit any particular scrutiny. I think the debate needs to be reframed as, "How does the possibility of increasing violence in video games compare with already socially accepted media and activities?"

This is a much more sensible question, and it allows reasonable discussion. Of course, I believe researchers will find that there is no real special link between video games and violence, even as this report bears out.
_________________

thank you atari.

people, its not that video games cause violence, its that it is obvious that they have a contribution. we live in a super violent society. in the city I live in there are over 500 homicides a year, plus three times that number of shootings and stabbings. now, I know for a FACT that video games did NOT cause this violence, BUT, it is also clear to me that it is simplistic to rule them outright simply because we enjoy playing them. My point, dont let your little children play these games, follow the instructions on the game itself. if it is for adults, then leave it for adults, is that so hard?

How is it obvious? You could compare it to hunting, as everyone did in the past. Computer games are replacing that.

Why are you quoting those statistics without providing correlating statistics of game use in your area? You are clearly just trying to be emotionally prevocative.

It's not because we enjoy them. I hardly think it likely that these US government funded psychologists are altering their results because they like computer games.

I agree about following the guidelines, they're often too disturbing.

You say "leave it for adults". But what if games make adults violent?

I take back what I said previously.

thanks to WoW, I have an overwhelming compulsion to punch gnomes in the face (irl).

I've got an eating disorder in which I have an insatiable desire to eat mushrooms. I also have a bizarre obsession with princesses.


ALL BECAUSE OF VIDEO GAMES!!!!!!

I think we should all be asking why violent video games are entertaining in the first place?

People's obsession with violence causes violent video games; if there wasn't a market for it, it wouldn't exist.

Videogames were to blame for all the chicks leaving our dorm room when the boys and I pounced on game.

Sometimes it was worth it, though.

There are many things that can bring out the animal in us,
but I would say that the media incites the most violence, allround.


Euro 2000

Violent video games/movies/art influence people... everything that you ever experience influences you in SOME way. If a person is already disfunctional, video games might influence them in the wrong way -- but so could art, a book, a movie, a television show, etc. Why not just ban EVERYTHING, since ANYTHING could influence a person negatively?

Video games are a way more advanced version of something like Dungeons and Dragons. You're taking a role in some way and doing something. You could very well roll a 6-sided die and "kill the dragon" and that could bring out the homicidal rages in you just the same. So, what's the difference? I don't think "fantasy" and "reality" should be linked like this... the reality is, a video game doesn't "set" a person off... a person who is influenced by shit like that is already set off to begin with.

I think videogames, television, and film have influenced me to have OCD tendencies.

it's certainly not to blame for my violent behaviour. ha ha ha.

i'm gonna go play GTA.

I honestly think the most violent I've ever felt is when playing a puzzle game. My pulse starts racing as my stacks get to the top of the screen. On the other hand, shooting a bunch of things never really did anything for me on any level.

Good point.

don;t believe the hype. OF COURSE violent video games and violent movies and shit like that affect children negatively. OF COURSE IT DOES.

the same fuckers that try to pretend it does not are the fuckers that spend millions and hundreds of millions to showcase their product with childrens TV advetrtisements, and to imbed adverts into the videop games themselves. the fucking assholes.

they would have us believe that their imbedded advertisements work to raise revenue and to create a customer base but that the vioence and chaos and outright gore in many video games are doijng NOTHING to a child's head and development? fuck a whole lot of that.

OF COURSE it affects them negatively.

go read about the cyhildren that ahve hurt or killed other children and feel no remorse at all, who kept thinking "it was like a video game". enjoy the end times everyone.

the point is to not allow children to play games like grand theft auto, or call of duty or any such violent games meant for adults, or at least for teenagers.

the parents that buy theirkids this shit are the fucking problem, and the ones that do not care enough to check what their kids are playing are the fucking problem. go ahead and buy your 10 year olf a computer and a PS3 you fucking morons.

Sorry, but I can't help but laugh. It looks likes his shooting water from his ass.

I played violent video games when I was 6. Never bothered me or affected me in any way. I understand fantasy and reality and the difference. I have watched horror movies MY ENTIRE LIFE. Never once have I felt anything because of it.

As I said, certain art might inspire people -- including kids -- to do things a certain way.. but those people can be influenced by EVERYTHING. And you can't ban/stop everything. You can't force the world to live in a bubble. And, quite frankly, a video game itself isn't going to make a perfectly normal person go "FUCK! I'M GOING TO GO KILL PEOPLE NOW!" It's like saying a person won't ever feel horny unless they watch porn or something... if you are a violent child/teenager/adult, it's not solely because video games made you that way. If they inspire you at all, then okay then... but I've honestly never played a video game that's even half as bad as the shit I see on television every night. Well, I don't watch television... but when I did.

If you're a parent and you're completely confident that your child understands not to reenact grand theft auto in real life, then what's the harm in letting them play the game? The "M" rating on the box is a suggestion -- the person who is playing it should be mature. In the end, I agree it is up to the parent to decide that. But a lot of kids are fine playing that kind of stuff. I knew every fatality in Mortal Kombat when I was 7 years old, and I turned out fine..

This is not a valid point. If a child is psychopathic, commits a murder, and if they have played video games will of course compare it to that. In society it is a generally accepted thing that you would feel guilt after committing a murder. The child will have absorbed this view and because they are expecting to feel guilt etc but don't they compare it to when playing a video game as the closest comparison and as an expression of their surprise (or confirmation of what they thought it would be like) that they felt nothing. A child a hundred years ago would probably have compared it to hunting.
Games do not turn children into psychopaths.

no one said it did, what we are saying is that violence in video games played by children has a negative affect on such children. it is brutally obvious and right in front of yr face. no one has posed any kind of solution involving prohibition here, just the acceptance of the above fact, that violence in video games can have a negative affect on children. it doesn't seem that far-fetched to me, and further, what is all this talk about hunting?

what the fuck does killing animals for food in the wilderness have to do with shooting people in an imaginary street for their car? and further, what the fuck did kids in the city do then, if hunting is yr blanket statement for children's entertainment pre-video games.....

It was implied by Robinstig's post.

Yes, I understand what you are saying, now back it up with something called an "argument" or something called "evidence". Please don't post on this thread anymore if you are going to continually post variations of saying it's "obvious".

It's not "brutally obvious" (interesting choice of words). In fact the opposite as everyone on this thread who played violent games as a child says that it didn't do anything bad to them. I'm fine.

No it's not far fetched. It is still wrong though.

You want prohibition of computer games and yet you're pro legalisation of marijuana, a drug that can bring about psychosis in predisposed individuals?

I didn't say hunting was entertainment nor is it relevant whether it was or not. I was just using it as an equivalent in the past, ie violent behaviour not directed towards humans.

Violent behavior? No.You'll always get the odd one that can't handle it, but I think most kids, can tell the difference between real violence and video game/movie violence. It might however, affect them in other ways.

most kids are fucking dumb as posts. stop giving them credit for being critically thinking adults. hell, not even half of adults know how to think critically, much less children who are not taught this in schools anymore.

children suck up whatever they are exposed to, and if they are exposed to violence and carnage at a young age they will grow up, like atsonicpark, with no idea whether or not the violence affected them negatively, because they are the ones being affected,

it happens man.

I don't know about violence, but video games make me hungry.

floatingslowly neeeds foood badly.

hahahah GAUNTLET!@

Yeah games are violent.

When I lose at a video game I usually punch something. Good thing my computer screen is really hard.

No, I have an idea of how I was affected: The violence didn't affect me at all, because I guess I was just REALLY SMART and knew the difference between fantasy and reality. Not every kid's that smart, granted, but I don't think you give kids ENOUGH credit, Rob. I know 13 year olds that are fucking smarter than half the adults I know. It AMAZES me how advanced kids are nowadays actually. I mean, they kind of have to be, in this computer age.

But yeah... I wasn't influenced to do anything violent at all! The most violent thing I ever did was punch someone in the face after they shoved me, when I was 16! And I've been exposed to all types of violence and horror for years. Though, like I said, I'm desensitized torwards everything now, but how could you not be, with the world we live in? Though, I will try not to use my personal bias to respond to this and will admit not as many people are as strong as I was.... I still don't think video games can be directly blamed for anything -- at least not any more so than, uh, almost ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD that a child could possibly be exposed to. So, again, let's ban everything, I guess!

advanced and being able to control a TV and an ipod or web surf means NOTHING. it has nothing to do with critical thinking, just rote memory.

Nah, man, kids have to deal with a lot more shit nowadays period. After all the school shootings and 9/11 -- I know it's cliché.. but kids seem a bit more advanced and stronger than they used to be... at least from how I remember my childhood.

Just sayin'.

ha ha ha

are you sure?? :D

jaded and cynical does not equal to advanced or intelligent man.

more than half of all 8th graders cannot read at an 8th grade level, yet they know how to push a button to make their ipod work, or how to text their friends on the phone. does nto sound advanced to me at all.

Haha okay then Rob.