Poll: Video Games and Violence WTF

[Bulletmagnet125]

I know this topic has probably been brought up before but wtf is with people and blaming video games for violence. I was in a conversation with a few peers and video games came up and some one said those games are violent they cause a lot of violence. so i said "What game did Hitler play". I don't thing it was a good come back but there was a large argument after these words were said.I don't see how you can even bring that too the fight. It is a dumb idea and it is unfathomable to me to blame video games. Then again it is just a scape goat and a stupid one at that. I am so glad i live in a state where Jack Thompson can not practice law. well whats your opinion?

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

Well yes, but for a different reason than people think...

 

[Ronwue]

Violence existed before video games. Video games are what rock music and D&D were a bit of a while back.

 

[Berethond]

Yeah....
Not really, and not by themselves.
It's funny, your poll is a unanimous 'no'

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

Well yes, but for a different reason than people think...

Agreed. The only things that make me violent when it comes to video games are two things, withdrawal and the ass hats in the game, not the game itself.

I meant frustration but to each their own...

 

[Rednog]

I think that maybe for like an obscenely tiny fraction of the population that video games can unleash some kind of rage within them and cause them to do rash things, ie examples of kids running away over games, throwing food/things at their parents, kids killing themselves over games. I don't think it is necessarily the content of the games that makes them violent but the addiction between the person and the games.

 

[ioxles]

Games cause violence THROUGH HYPNOTISM!!

Stare into my eyes.

Yes, thats right you, Matthew. You are now controlled by me.

 

[NXMT]

The only people who blame violence on video games are non-gamers. You can't expect a credible argument from someone who is so one-sided.

Still, to say that video games are completely innocent is shit. What critics can't seem to absorb is that out of millions of gamers, some will eventually take it seriously and be fucked up. That's just the way it is.

 

[Bulletmagnet125]

OK NXMT you have a point and i do agree but most violence caused by a video game is caused by a mental infliction like depression.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

I came across some of this guy's publications as part of a research project (wasn't related, but I was goofing around while looking for relevant publications.) If you're interested, the link below takes you to a good summary of how the American Psychological Association regards games as a cause of violence in a fairly readable format. This is worse than having Fox News spew garbage on the subject - this is a respected scientific organization. The problem is the 2+2=5 reasoning behind the conclusions drawn as a result of thier studies, which in the summary, they refute. Anyway, check it out if you feel the need to get pissed off about something.

http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html

 

[lizards]

people are just looking for places to pin all the violence it was rock music a while back (big fan) and now its video games (big fan also) next it will probly be cheese

now dont get me wrong videos game can be bad for peoples health (world of warcraft) by having them sit around and play them all day

 

[Archereus]

Agreed fully. I am some one very biased on the subject. Some one can even go and said he killed 100 people because of a video games and i will still go nah, it wasnt because of that. The only people i think would actualy get violent because of violent content in a video games are those highly spoiled kids that take their video games far to seriously

 

[senataur]

I think it is quite likley that constant exposure to violent media (games or any other) would be likley to increase the tendancy to violence in any individual. I see it as another risk factor that the overindulgence in any such media could create a disconnect between the individual and reality (psychosis) that would increase the likleyhood that those violent tendancies be acted apon.

That said: in the specific case of video games, high consumption would decrease greatly the opportunity to act on any violent tendancies. The question is a bit more encompasing than the 'effects on the mind' focus than a psychological body would place in it's research.

Finaly though, I think the greater question is:
Is this a case of art imitating life or life imitating art?

It's not just video games with violent content. Prime time television and Movies, which I still think hold a far greater amount of viewer hours are equally as violent. With perhaps the niche markets being catered to by the fact that video games aren't mass broadcast allows for some more extreme exanmples.

I think the problem (if there is one) is more down to our culture as a whole and not one particular art form in it.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Video games often incite and even encourage violence towards synthetically intelligent human/humanoid avatars within virtual realities!

 

[Erana]

Murder is in everyone, in some more than others.
People with tendencies towards violence are sometimes attracted to video gaming.

But really, shouldn't cooking be considered a promoter of violence? I mean, I gut chickens. Chop through the bones of dead animals. I've fed hearts to my dog.
And what about biology? Slicing up real things for practice? Or medicene? All of these things seem much more akin to actually arming living beings than video games.
And what about people who bully and belittle others? That is real evil, albeit in a relatively insignificant form.

 

[Sacman]

yes but only to the people who can't distinguish between fantasy and reality.

 

[Beffudled Sheep]

It has the opposite effect on me. They actually stop me from going on murderous rampages.

 

[Credge]

yes but only to the people who can't distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Then that wasn't the cause of the violence. The cause of the violence was the persons inability to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. You're blaming the gun instead of the person.

 

[Good morning blues]

Video games don't cause violence, per se, but they do alter human psychology in a way that may make some people more aggressive. Saying that any medium doesn't have any sort of mental effects is just as asinine as saying that a particular medium causes violence.