There is no verifiable link between video games and real-life violence. The only reason that anyone thinks that is because they listen to crazy people who can't understand technology and thus seek to ban it who are fond of using anecdotal evidence about random kids who attacked other people and happened to play video games.
Wait, but don't most young people play them? If, in a very conservative estimate, 50% of young American males play video games, wouldn't that mean that 50% of the whackos do, too? Possibly even more, as serious mental instability would lead to social isolation and thus to virtual forms of entertainment.
Basically, it's hogwash perpetuated by helicopter parents and elderly folks whose believe that the pinnacle of technology is somewhere around the vacuum cleaner and that anything more advanced is witchcraft.
I have played some of the most violent games out there, I enjoy them a lot.
I am probably the one of the least violent people you could ever meet in real life.
Can violent video games make people "more" violent? I think so.
Can violent video games make a non-violent person, violent? I don't think so.
I was not raised to have violent reactions to anything, my parents NEVER raised a hand to me. I received long, tedious lectures. But, by the time they were over, I knew WHY I was wrong for doing whatever it was I did wrong. My parents disciplined me, but they never did it with violence. If children are raised to believe that violence is the correct response to some situations, then they will be inclined to have a violent streak of some kind, even if it's small.
A child raised to believe that violence is an appropriate reaction to some situations could conceivably be more violent with exposure to violent games. But, if your raised to know that violence is an inappropriate response, then violent games are not enough to reverse those teachings, in my opinion.
I don't think people get violent from video games.
ProLurker
For the vast majority of people, violent video games do not cause violence in any way. In many cases it actually keeps people less violent by acting as a stress-reliever so we don't snap and take the office hostage. Now of course, there are some people who get the opposite effect: those are people who don't realize that the point of the game is to have fun, and probably shouldn't be playing video games in the first place.
People always give bullcrap about how seeing violence on TV or in video games makes them think its OK to do in real life, but 99.9% of the population can tell the difference between a game and real life. That last .1% are the sociopaths who are going to have serious problems no matter what.
"I'm not crazy, OK? I'm totally, completely sane.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go blow up this dead body."
Agent Washington, Red vs Blue
/\ true there
ProLurker
If you have ever broken a controller or a TV out of anger, you shouldn't be playing videogames. This also showcases the one kind of person who might become violent because of videogames; one who is already a violent person and would likely commit some sort of violence out of anger anyway with or without videogames. To use the same example as last time, I know a guy who I almost fully expect to hear about him breaking his TV or something, not because he plays too many videogames, but because he has rage issues and because he plays too many videogames.
i've heard this topic brought up before in relation to "should video games be banned because they do make people more violent" the group that i discussed that with immediately came to the defense of the pastime stating very clearly that they do not make people more violent.
my response to then was the same as it is now, video games are given ratings for a reason. know your limits and respect them. if you know you cant handle something then dont play it/ view it/ do it.
i for example cant handle horror movies. so knowing that i dont watch them. i know i cant handle cheesy gore, but i can handle realistic gore. so if i'm watching a movie or playing a game with gore in it i make sure to turn the cheesy kind off, or walk out and ask my friends when i can come back.
I am old, so I like golf games sometimes (boring!!!) and on some of them I am an absolute master but in real life I am a rank amateur at golf and hardly ever play.
I also play a lot of games that involve violence and other crimes as part of the gameplay and it is all good fun but in real life I am not any more tempted to commit these crimes or acts of violence than I was before I played them. In fact I think because I am busy at home playing games and developing my mental skills in some of those games, I am actually less tempted to commit real crimes or violence than if I was out at bars or clubs or just hanging around on a street corner with nothing to do.
Some people may be more impressionable than me, either because that is in their nature or perhaps because they are too young to differentiate reality from fantasy. Those same people will also be influenced however, by violence and crime in films and on tv or even peer pressure and other influences in their lives.
Video games are just an easy target because they can be so blatantly and graphically violent in nature but to a normal, mature person that can just be part of the fun. I remember in Fable, I became very good at using the crossbow and I could decapitate an enemy with a single well aimed shot. It was quite graphic and gorey but it was a skill I was quite proud of in the context of the game.
Rating games depending on the levels of violence or other adult content is probably a good thing but banning games for the same reason seems like going a step too far. After all, I can buy a novel that is filled with descriptions of horrendous violence without restrictions and to a person who's mind is susceptible to these influences, that may be a stronger trigger to act out than a video game. We don't ban books because they are violent or graphic in content and we should not ban games for these reasons either.
PEACE
no i completely agree that they should not be banned. i'm sorry if i forgot to say that in my post.
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