Video Games Breed Violence?

[CommanderMadi]

There are many articles and topics around the web stating that video games especially action ones like Call of Duty and Battlefield series breed violence, hatred and discontent between people.

Do you agree with that or not? Explain your opinion.

 

[Dee]

I don't agree with it completely, but I do feel that video games can exacerbate preexisting mental health issues. I don't believe a person playing video games, let's say a 13-year-old boy, who is perfectly healthy, not depressed or stricken with anger issues, would turn around and go shoot up a school. That's simply not what happens. There has to be some sort of existing mental health issue for video games to truly be the reason why some people act violently.

There are also plenty of people who play video games, me being one of them, who--like Anonymoose said--can distinguish reality from fantasy. This can be an issue in younger children if the video games are not monitored for violent content and if they are left to play for hours on end, but not the sole purpose of violence. I believe that the content can be dangerous if not explained or regulated for younger children.

Overall, I would say that no, video games do not breed violence, but rather video games can make an existing mental health issue worse.

 

[CommanderMadi]

i play hours of combat style games like sniper elite series and hitman absolution. I can clearly distiguish reality and virtuality. Never imitating the violence that i experience in games. So to answer your question, i dont beleive violent games incite hatred amongst people.

I don't agree with it completely, but I do feel that video games can exacerbate preexisting mental health issues. I don't believe a person playing video games, let's say a 13-year-old boy, who is perfectly healthy, not depressed or stricken with anger issues, would turn around and go shoot up a school. That's simply not what happens. There has to be some sort of existing mental health issue for video games to truly be the reason why some people act violently.

There are also plenty of people who play video games, me being one of them, who--like Anonymoose said--can distinguish reality from fantasy. This can be an issue in younger children if the video games are not monitored for violent content and if they are left to play for hours on end, but not the sole purpose of violence. I believe that the content can be dangerous if not explained or regulated for younger children.

Overall, I would say that no, video games do not breed violence, but rather video games can make an existing mental health issue worse.

I agree with both of you. Only those who really take the games terribly serious are the ones who definitely suffer from severe problems that need to be addressed. I know friends who are very eager to use sniper and automatic rifle weapons in real life against "moving" targets just imitating their baddassery in Battlefield 4...

 

[DrLeftover]

Of course there was NEVER any street violence before the advent of video games.

Right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWb_xz0OakQ

"The Rumble" from West Side Story 1961

 

[CommanderMadi]

Of course there was NEVER any street violence before the advent of video games.

Right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWb_xz0OakQ

"The Rumble" from West Side Story 1961

TF I just saw? O.O

 

[Dee]

Of course there was NEVER any street violence before the advent of video games.

This, this, this. I HATE when people use the excuse that, "Ohhh, video games have made things SO MUCH MORE VIOLENT. You know?! And why the hell are we seeing so many school shootings these days? We didn't hear about it that much back in my day!"

Well, of course they didn't. The reason why is because there is so much more news coverage about these things and amateur reporters with cell phone cameras posting stuff online when they get out of the chaos and have a chance to. When incidents like these do happen, it's all the news reports on--nothing else. And quite obviously we were a violent species before video games were invented and released to the public. Probably even worse than before now.

 

[Dee]

I think this complaint is very much a scapegoat made by people who don't or have never actually played video games. Perhaps this is because of the generational gap or just overall ignorance and hate towards something people don't fully understand. But there has not been any hard, scientific evidence that claims video games are so sole reason why a person--no matter what their age--would carry out a violent act. Scientists have confirmed in some studies that they do have a certain effect on certain individuals with predisposed mental health issues, but never have they been the thing to cause violence in an otherwise non-violent person.

I really do hope that this negative view of video games changes in the future. Quite honestly, they're like any other medium despite the way they are experienced. Plenty movies are violent, bloody, gory, filled with sex and explosions, cursing, etc. Plenty of books are as well. And have you watched television lately? I don't think those other mediums get as bad a wrap as video games do, at least not now-a-days.

 

[Fatal Dawn]

I agree with the conceptual vacuum of ethical guidance. If you aren't the role model for your children, it is very likely something else will fill that role. I remember reading a poll a while back that showed that a good number of adolescents don't think ethics apply in the real world.

Personally I don't think the connection is based on causality - as in, video games cause violent and deviant behaviors. However, numerous studies do support that there is a connection; video games can be a conduit for aggression in adolescents. Of course the all-important factors are going to influence child violent behavior, including, but not limited to child abuse, substance abuse, family and peer interactions, etc. Definitely, the youth's environment and parental guidance is important.

But, for a long time studies have shown that violence in video games are linked to things like aggression, antisocial behavior and even academic performance. One of the most well-known models in adolescent behavioral research (with regards to this particular topic) is the General Aggression Model (GAM) which accounts for the amount of playing time shows short-term physiological arousal in aggressive behavior and long-term changes in the beliefs and outlook of the individual:
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html

The long-term developmental changes are what is worrisome, because (without parental guidance of course) you have people associating positive outcomes with the violence they see framed in video games.

(...) it is predicted that long-term game players become more aggressive in outlook, perceptual biases, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior than they were before the repeated exposure. Therefore, trait hostility may play a different role in the long term. Over time, increases in trait hostility may result from video game play, and therefore trait hostility may become a mediator of the effects of violent game content on aggressive behaviors (in contrast to being a moderator).

http://drdouglas.org/drdpdfs/Gentile_Lynch_Linder_Walsh_2004.pdf

 

[CommanderMadi]

That idea is like blaming forks for people's obesity. Ridiculous.

Parents who leave their kids to their own devices, unattended all day with nothing but a video game console to keep them company, THAT is what breeds violence, hatred and discontent. Children need to be brought up respecting life, respecting other people, and respecting themselves. Bad parenting is what breeds violence, hatred and discontent. Any time there's a story of a young kid committing some crime or some heinous act, I always look to the parents. How was the child raised? How involved were the parents in the child's life? What values and morals were they taught?
Those who were left to themselves, absentee parents, even if the parents live with the child they can be absentee, those are the children who grow up to be assholes. Parents these days seem to expect the internet and their children's school teachers to do all the parenting for them. Just one more aspect of how shamefully lazy society has become.

I totally agree with that. It is not about the games themselves, its about they way children and teens are left to deal with these games.