do violent games 'create' violent people?

[jackson117]

hey guys (and gals)..i am doing a paper for my english class on the topic that "Violent Video Games do not Promote Violence". I thought i might start a thread to get your guys opinions on the matter. So feel free to post what you think of the matter, and if you have any other information that can help me with this paper, post that too.

All help is appreciated, whether you believe games promote violence or not.

thanks for the help!!

[bandyman1]

Violent Video Games do not Promote Violence.


***** parents who've never lifted a finger to discipline their child, or done any **** thing that works to control their children, plus think that their child is special, should be instantly recognized as such, and shouldn't ever have to do a **** thing to earn respect for themselves in this world, because it should be freely given to said child, promote violence.

[Twitchster]

No.

If that was the case, after years of FPS games.. I would have climbed a Bell tower by now and picked off campus students.

If anything, most games are a stress release valve for most people.

[phillymiket]

Violent Video Games do not Promote Violence.


***** parents who've never lifted a finger to discipline their child, or done any **** thing that works to control their children, plus think that their child is special, should be instantly recognized as such, and shouldn't ever have to do a **** thing to earn respect for themselves in this world, because it should be freely given to said child, promote violence.

Wow. Such language!
I think you've been playing too much video games!

I don't think so. But who can say?

Apparently some feel they do. I just read a quote in the paper describing a "play-station mentality toward killing" being developed today.
(I think it was in regard to the flotilla thing - can't remember - too much DDO)

They say the same thing about movies, music lyrics and TV.
If you ask most people if Mass Media has caused YOU to become more violent I would guess most people would say no.
Usually people who make such claims are talking about other people. (with the implied "who aren't as grounded as me")

Clearly there should be some limit. I've always believed if there was Gladiatorial Pit Fighting on American TV with real death shown every night there would be a huge outcry against it the likes of which has never been seen...and it would be the highest rated show on television.
Would that make the culture more violent? Or would it cause violent people to be more violent and people who abhor violence to loathe it more?

Basically I don't know but tend to think it doesn't cause more violence. (feel free to quote me in you paper - Phillymiket says IDK)

Side note for gathering empirical evidence - you're on a video game forum! I think you know what most people will say

[bandyman1]

Wow. Such language!
I think you've been playing too much video games!

I don't think so. But who can say.

Apparently some feel they do. I just read a quote in the paper describing a "play-station mentality toward killing" being developed today (I think it was in regard to the flotilla thing - can't remember - too much DOO)

They say the same thing about movies, music lyrics and TV.
If you ask most people if Mass Media has caused YOU to become more violent I would guess most people would say no.
Usually people who make such claims are talking about other people. (with the implied "who aren't as grounded as me")

Clearly there should be some limit. I've always believed if there was Gladiatorial Pit Fighting on American TV with real death shown every night there would be a huge outcry the likes of which has never been seen...and it would be the highest rated show on television.
Would that make the culture more violent? Or would it cause violent people to be more violent and people who abhor violence to loathe it more?

Basically I don't know. (feel free to quote me in you paper - Phillymiket says IDK)

My point is Philly, that violence is becoming more and more prevelant in our lives.

I grew up fighting. I'm from the south. It's how we solved problems here throughout my youth, with two basic rules;

1) You don't ever, ever hit a female. Unless she picks up a weapon and is most likely going to kill you.

2) You don't start a fight. You don't back down from one either.

You ran in flapping your gums??? You got smacked down. You learned respect, for yourself and for other people, and how not to be a ******-bag. You win some, you lose some, but both parties are around later.

That's the way it was for me, /shrugs. And at 34, I'm not an old man.


But, now we see Billy getting picked on, and Billy taking a high-powered rifle to the dance.

Why??? How the hell is it that things were so different for me only 15 years ago??? Because Billy's never had an ass-whipping his entire life, and he can't handle it. There's a reason why at 18-19, I was considered a grown man, but now 25 year-old dudes still live at home with mommy and daddy, won't work, have children of their own, and are still considered children.

/shrugs. Is what it is.

[phillymiket]

<snip>

I hear you. "Fight circles" were an every day thing in public school when I was a kid. You just couldn't avoid throwing down every now and then even if you didn't want to. You didn't get killed over it though.

(Edit - BTW some girls would throw down with the best of them. They hit you with their shoes! That's back in the 70's with those thick @ss heels! Ouch!)

/also shrugs

Video games are art.
I've always believed art reflects life. Life doesn't reflect art.
Violent art doesn't cause a violent society.
I think a violent society creates violent art.
But that's just my 2cp.

[Irinis]

Violence is innate to human existence, so is kindness. Personally I find videogames cathartic rather than instigative of real world violence.

On the other hand, violence is a matter of culture, and games have the capability to both reflect and shape our cultural norms. However, if games are the only thing affecting someone's culture, where were the parents?

[phillymiket]

Violence is innate to human existence, so is kindness. Personally I find videogames cathartic rather than instigative of real world violence.

On the other hand, violence is a matter of culture, and games have the capability to both reflect and shape our cultural norms. However, if games are the only thing affecting someone's culture, where were the parents?

Good point. I suppose its worth noting that soldiers are supposedly "reved" up with video game style imagery in training etc.
(from what I've read - I'm not in the armed services)
What does that mean?
If it has no effect why bother?

[petegunn]

For the majority of people that know right from wrong, it is my opinion that video games do not cause violence in society. However society would represent a very large population sample and any evidence to prove there was a link between video games and violence would be correlational, meaning it doesn't explain cause and effect. EG individual differences, social standing, culture and IQ scores etc would all have to be taken into concideration.

Society has always been violent and video games are just an easy scapegoat for some, to explain the current break down of social order.

[cdemeritt]

I wasn't going to answer this, as it seems like a attempt to troll or start a flame war..... However, Short Answer in case you are actually being serious. In people with a solid moral compass, and a good foundation, no game or Television show will "cause" them to be violent.... However, if a person is predisposed towards violents, and lacks the proper upbringing/ foundation to control their impulses (i.e. understanding of right/wrong, consequences of their actions, understanding that "dead is dead", etc.) Violent video games and TV can add to the likelihood of that person making a poor decision, or becoming violent.

This is the old "Guns don't kill people, people kill people argument" .... Society has gotten to the point where parents are afraid to discipline their children in a meaningful way, and thus many young people have no understanding of consequences... and this is what I believe has caused the rise in violent behavior.

just my armchair psychology...

[Grimmsie]

hey guys (and gals)..i am doing a paper for my english class on the topic that "Violent Video Games do not Promote Violence". I thought i might start a thread to get your guys opinions on the matter. So feel free to post what you think of the matter, and if you have any other information that can help me with this paper, post that too.

All help is appreciated, whether you believe games promote violence or not.

thanks for the help!!

No.

Take a look at this vid - Penn and Teller ********!: Video Games

[CrimsonSpectre]

Violent games don't create violent people.

I actually did a paper on this several years ago, the idea being that video games are just the current target of our society. Society seems to pick a new target for a moral panic about every 2 decades or so.

If you're curious what some of the others were:

1920s-1930s - The 'moving picture' was going to corrupt all our youth. Clergy preached sermons against it.

1940s-1950's - Comic books. Yep, comic books. The idea was that they portrayed the police as foolish and ineffective, showed crime as glamorous, and encouraged people to become vigilantes. Look up Fredric Wertham and his book Seduction of the Innocent.

Late 1950's -1970's - Rock music. Allegedly it was going to cause untold amounts of drug use and violence.

1980's - Role-playing games, particularly D&D. You can still find a few people who still think D&D is the heart of all evil.

As far as whether or not video games are actually the 'real' problem with society this time - they're not.

I had a ton of scholarly sources for that paper, here's a few of them.

Savage, J. "Does Viewing Violent Media Really Cause Criminal Violence? A Methodological Review" - “Certainly video games haven't had any significant impact on real-world crime.”

Williams, D. & Skoric, M. "Internet Fantasy Violence: A Test of Aggression in an Online Games." 2005. - “The findings did not support the assertion that a violent game will cause substantial increases in real-world aggression.”

Olson, C. "Media Violence Research and Youth Violence Data: Why Do They Conflict?" Academic Psychiatry, 28:2. 2004. - There's no indication that violence rose in lockstep with the spread of violent games… …As with the entertainment of earlier generations, we may look back on some of today's games with nostalgia, and our grandchildren may wonder what the fuss was about."

Bensley, L. & Van Eeenwyk, J. "Video Games and Real-Life Aggression: Review of the Literature." Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Health. 2002. - “…after controlling for psychosocial factors, association between aggression and playing video games was not statistically significant."

The thing is, while studies like these are the vast majority, you don't see them. Instead, this happens:

[petegunn]

Good point. I suppose its worth noting that soldiers are supposedly "reved" up with video game style imagery in training etc.
(from what I've read - I'm not in the armed services)
What does that mean?
If it has no effect why bother?

Soldiering like any job requires intensive training whilst I would not use the term "reved up" there does have to be certain amount of controlled aggression, what I mean by that is it needs to be turned on and at the same time turned off like the flick of a switch.(Imagine an ambush encountering the enemy but before they engage, they recieve a radio message to just observe let the enemy pass)
Soldiers who have been well trained through combat simulaters and live fire range excercises alongside operational duties, instinctivly know when to stand down. Military training is like stress inoccualtion therapy even when the adrenaline is pumping you don't green light everything you use it too your advantage.

For the military combat simulaters train people to harness that "reving up" so they can use that controlled aggression in a profesional manner, whereas joe public after a night of call of duty modern warfare and fast food, when faced with the same ambush situation will be defacating and urinating in their pants whilst they pop caps in anything that moves including their buddies arses.

[phillymiket]

<clip>

Cool. Thanks for reply. I placed the term "reved up" in quotes to indicate that it not the best or even an accurate description but only the best I could come up while eating cheese doodles in front of my computer. :P
I think the phrase "stress inoculation therapy" you provided probably best describes the purpose of such things.

[UltraMonk2]

An article about this very topic appeared on Slashdot on Wednesday.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/0...ct-Some-People

[Wizzly_Bear]

As someone who did a paper on this I can tell you that the answer I found by poring through research data is no, maybe, and depends.

Depends = some research suggests that some people may be "triggered" into violence and that violent video games may be one (of many possible) triggers.
No = most research suggests that people do not tend to have any greater a chance of violence before, during, or after exposure to violent video games.
Maybe = this area still needs a lot more research before a definitive "yes" or "no" can be given unfortunately.

But...you should do some research of your own.

http://scholar.google.com/

Real research = studies, peer-reviewing, et cetera - not forums.

[Varhann]

Soldiering like any job requires intensive training whilst I would not use the term "reved up" there does have to be certain amount of controlled aggression, what I mean by that is it needs to be turned on and at the same time turned off like the flick of a switch.(Imagine an ambush encountering the enemy but before they engage, they recieve a radio message to just observe let the enemy pass)
Soldiers who have been well trained through combat simulaters and live fire range excercises alongside operational duties, instinctivly know when to stand down. Military training is like stress inoccualtion therapy even when the adrenaline is pumping you don't green light everything you use it too your advantage.

For the military combat simulaters train people to harness that "reving up" so they can use that controlled aggression in a profesional manner, whereas joe public after a night of call of duty modern warfare and fast food, when faced with the same ambush situation will be defacating and urinating in their pants whilst they pop caps in anything that moves including their buddies arses.

Well said. +1

[Spisey]

Nope, sorry. I'm just a sociopath by birthright!

And **** good P&T episode. That should be used as a public service message!

[Iambeastx]

If a game provokes a violent reaction in someone then that person was prone to violence anyway and another stimuli would have had the same result.

[Borror0]

As someone who did a paper on this I can tell you that the answer I found by poring through research data is no, maybe, and depends.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2...lent-games.ars