this debate has come up over and over again after every school shooting or such crime
and it comes up again in the light of recent crimes in the states. (refer: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html?_r=0)
what is your take? do you think being an avid video gamer can make you prone to violent acts? or do you think there is more to it than that?
Re: Video games/media and violence
Let me get my Desert Eagle and then we shall speak. Lara Croft…drool
Though seriously there is no correlation. The ones that commit violent acts are the ones that have access to guns not video games. Most men in this day and age have played video games. We aren’t all mass murderers.
Re: Video games/media and violence
Here’s a serial rapist/killer talking about how pornography can make you a violent person. I’m not saying that everyone who watches porn is going to go out and rape but you cannot deny the link between pornography and sexual fantasies and violence. Similarly, I think violent video games can certainly lead to aggressive behaviour amongst *some *individuals, not all.
Re: Video games/media and violence
@Zafra see where you are coming from but there is a lot of research that suggests otherwise…maybe not everyone becomes a mass murderer but maybe it causes some aggression in men who play video games versus those who dont… maybe it doesnt always necessarily lead to such extremes maybe it can affect someone enough that they become controlling or manipulative or abusive
@ Huma so why do you think it affects some people so much so that it leads them to aggressive behavior but not others?
Re: Video games/media and violence
A lot of factors come into play, lexi e.g. if the kid had an abusive upbringing, or if there’s no parental supervision whatsoever, the kind of company they keep, their mental health etc.
Re: Video games/media and violence
wouldn’t those factors lead to aggression anyways? regardless of whether the kid played video games or not
Re: Video games/media and violence
Yes they would but in some cases, video games can act as a trigger, is what I’m saying. And not just games, even violent movies etc. Recently, I watched a documentary on the murder of a porn star by the name of Tom Dong. The guy who killed him was obsessed with violent movies, especially sword fight scenes. They knew this because the killer was actually a friend of Tom Dong’s and they often used to watch these movies together. So how did he kill the victim? In a “samurai style sword attack”…
Re: Video games/media and violence
Wrong.
Its not video games. Its people.
Re: Video games/media and violence
There are several factors that can lead to a violent person or someone committing some violent crime.
The environment they live in, the environment they grew up in, parental influence, media, society, the persons own nature, etc.
Video games is not one of them.
Re: Video games/media and violence
I think there’s definitely more to it than that. To some degree it may desensitize someone, but having played my share of games with violence in them, I don’t think it necessarily makes one violent. According to what I’ve read in the article you quoted, I can see that people who already have an inclination to violence etc. will be more drawn to violent games. I know of many people who are into gaming since their youth, but have not been adversely affect by games such as Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and GTA.
The article also mentions:
Which I think is reasonable.