Effect of Violent Videogames

[Donut.Hole]

I've always been puzzling over this, and I know it seems silly at first, but do violent videogames really make people more aggressive?

 

Answers can be based on studies or opinion.

 

Thanks everyone.

[thedarkshade]

They might eventually children, which usually are influenced by what they see (I was), but the real problem I think is that they often cause addiction.

[antimatter]

I agree with thedarkshade,

an example of this would be my friend who purchased the super-violent horror game F.E.A.R. at a very young age, and the effects are clearly visible (his words), they do sometimes tend to add to aggression.

[insane_alien]

they relax me. i only play violent ones when i'm really angry at some one. after some serious zombie mangling and such, i'm usually in a much better mood.

[halogirl]

i play violent video games all the time, but i've never been particularly violent. in fact i usually play my stuff when i'm bored. though yeah i usually feel better afterwards. i don't think they really effect you. desensitize you, mabe.

[Mag]

Yeah, I dont think it really has an effect on children too much.

The only thing I can think of is any video game that gets you aggravated... that may lead to aggression.

[Donut.Hole]

Very valid points. Perhaps it depends on the person? Some people are more easily affected by graphic violence.

 

Or are violent videogames more addicting:confused:

[insane_alien]

the way it cause people to start going on murder/suicide sprees is because those people were probably going to end up doing that whether they plaed violent games watched violent movies or not.

 

it might be enough to tip an already unstable mind but it will not cause a well adjusted person to do it. and chances are some other event would trigger it anyway.

[Donut.Hole]

the way it cause people to start going on murder/suicide sprees is because those people were probably going to end up doing that whether they plaed violent games watched violent movies or not.

 

it might be enough to tip an already unstable mind but it will not cause a well adjusted person to do it. and chances are some other event would trigger it anyway.

 

Very interesting. How big of an effect do you think it creates?

 

Also, I find that violent videogames may serve as an introduction to younger children. It may not have an actual effect, but it gives knowledge of such things. What do u think?

[noz92]

I agree with thedarkshade,

an example of this would be my friend who purchased the super-violent horror game F.E.A.R. at a very young age, and the effects are clearly visible (his words), they do sometimes tend to add to aggression.

 

I don't know how young "very young" is, but it's possible that the effects of the video games may not necessarily be from the video games directly. His actions and his gaming history may be caused by the same thing. My theory is that people who show violence (on any level, whether it be your friend or the kid who brings a gun into school) and play violent video games probably have a reason for both, probably similar. It's possible that the reason he talks the way he does is not because of the game, but possibly his upbringing (after all, his parents allowed him to get the game), or, while probably not valid in your friend, but in the case of the murderer, there is probably something else in his life that gives him the violent thoughts (a certain type of stress, maybe), and this is both the reason he buys and enjoys the violent video games and the reason he eventually kills people.

[antimatter]

they relax me. i only play violent ones when i'm really angry at some one. after some serious zombie mangling and such, i'm usually in a much better mood.

 

Half-Life FTW!

[BrokenMirror]

I don't think it's the games themselves that cause the brain to be influenced with more violent urges, but rather the fact it's okay. I've never seen too much of violence, nor heard, of it rooting from a game, but I do acknowledge it happens and is possible. The fact in these games that we are able to kill and hurt with no consiquences, even rewards sometimes, is going to subconciously affect a person after a while of playing. It's been known that younger children are influenced heavily by what they're surrounded with, so it's very possible.

 

I have a nine year old brother, and I study his behavior when he plays a game. He gets irritated when he can't win, and even goes to the point of screaming at the television screen. It's hard to get him to even turn it off. Personally, I believe that a lot larger and worse influence is rather from television itself, as that seems to effect the viewers in more ways (Language, activities, ect.), but I'm not clear on just how concious we are of the violence we play. Military, criminal, supernatural, and just your regular guy off the street, these are images that we can connect to our real lives (Supernatural: Not for the elders, but for a child who still believes in Santa or Fairies it's more plausible). And as people know, what we connect to we better understand and connect with.

 

That means we're accepting these games as they are, even making them a part of daily lives in some times. Psychology in response to video games is a topic that I've pondered for quite some time myself, and I don't doubt many of my peers and elders have as well. Our subconcious could very well let this aggression sink into our minds, and leave us with very violent urges.

 

There is a flip side to this. We've all heard the stories of a child who, with pent up stress, finally bursts and kills both oneself, usually, and others. Violent games are an outlet for that, in the positive sense. They give us the opportunity to do what we cannot in real life, knowing that it's wrong. So how can we kill so effortlessly inside of these virtual realms? It's because we know for a fact they won't feel a thing, we won't be punished, it's merely a way to get out what we want to. I've done it myself, and seen it done. Some people, I don't doubt, even picture those they wish to harm as the doomed victim. But as for real life aggression, I feel like in this light, it won't add on. Looking at this positive side, it feels just the same as a child drawing an angry picture to let out their feelings. Only this is more realistic.

 

The fact they're growing more and more realistic every day with the development from new game companies is a bit scary. The dosage with these games, as most other things, should be contained and mantained at a safe level. While I'm not denying what I said before about it being able to do good, I'm also afraid that having too much is what causes the aggression. We get so comfortable with it, that we completely lose sight of reality and fiction, which has a very thin line as of late. It's a matter of how you deal with the situation I think.

[antimatter]

I think that Broken Mirror brings up one of TEH best points on this thread.

[noz92]

I collected some data online (it is from 2005) that I think can discredit the fears many parents have about video games inspiring violence:

 

• 69.0% of Americans play video games
  
• 31.0% of American gamers are less than 18 years old
  
• 15.0% of video games sold in the United States were rated M (mature) by the ESRB
  
• Video games first widely became a public form of entertainment in 1971
  
• The rate at which violent crimes are committed decreased radically from 1973 (the best date I could effortlessly find) to 2005, when they reached their lowest ever
  

 

Essentially, the rate at which violent crimes have occurred has decreased despite the growth in the popularity of video and computer games. I doubt that there is a significant correlation between the two, but it shows that video games have not contributed to any violent crimes significantly.

 

Basic logic that shows this is that, since most people only hear about a handful of possibly video game inspired crimes each year, and news media typically only cover stories which are not common, it follows that, since you hear about it, they must not be very common (especially considering the 6 billion people on Earth, with only two or three violent crimes inspired by video games each year, clearly they offer no significant threat to human life).

 

This data is from http://www.theesa.com/archives/files/Essential%20Facts%202006.pdf, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/viortrdtab.htm.

[antimatter]

Well, I think that just about ends this conversation,

Finally someone brought in statistics!

[dichotomy]

I've always been puzzling over this, and I know it seems silly at first, but do violent videogames really make people more aggressive?

 

Answers can be based on studies or opinion.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Here's some links that suggest that indeed they do.

 

“Iowa State University psychologists provides more concrete evidence of the adverse effects of violent video game exposure on the behavior of children and adolescents.”

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162247.htm

 

 

“Violent video games frequently have been criticized for enhancing aggressive reactions such as aggressive cognitions, aggressive affects or aggressive behavior. On a neurobiological level we have shown the link exists.”

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051012082710.htm

 

 

I think it's logical that participating in violent activities, simulated or real, will, as a rule, contribute to making people more aggressive. We can see this in many tribal cultures, and many contemporary ones.

Extreme point but - The ancient Spartans trained soldiers from the age of 7, they successfully conditioned children into being 'quality' soldiers. My point being that the younger you expose children to violence, the more likely that they will be 'successful' at violent acts. Violent video games are just one form of 'soft' conditioning that can later contribute, in the worst cases, to become crystallized real life tragic violence.

[insane_alien]

The ancient Spartans trained soldiers from the age of 7, they successfully conditioned children into being 'quality' soldiers. My point being that the younger you expose children to violence, the more likely that they will be 'successful' at violent acts.

 

Training a kid specifically to be violent and a game with violence do not seem all that similar.

[Donut.Hole]

Here's some links that suggest that indeed they do.

 

“Iowa State University psychologists provides more concrete evidence of the adverse effects of violent video game exposure on the behavior of children and adolescents.”

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162247.htm

 

 

“Violent video games frequently have been criticized for enhancing aggressive reactions such as aggressive cognitions, aggressive affects or aggressive behavior. On a neurobiological level we have shown the link exists.”

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051012082710.htm

 

 

I think it's logical that participating in violent activities, simulated or real, will, as a rule, contribute to making people more aggressive. We can see this in many tribal cultures, and many contemporary ones.

Extreme point but - The ancient Spartans trained soldiers from the age of 7, they successfully conditioned children into being 'quality' soldiers. My point being that the younger you expose children to violence, the more likely that they will be 'successful' at violent acts. Violent video games are just one form of 'soft' conditioning that can later contribute, in the worst cases, to become crystallized real life tragic violence.

 

Hmmm, training a kid to be violent and seeing fake violence on a screen are not really the same thing. (Don't mean to be arguing, just debating:D)

 

I don't think videogames have a huge violent effect, but I'm not going to rule out the fact that it does have some effect, maybe around 5-8%. That post in which crime rate went down with the rise of games conflicts with the data in those links. Who do u think is right?

[antimatter]

Personally, I think that the post in which crime rate went down with rise of video games is correct, but that's just my opinion.

From my limited observations, that one seems to be the most true.

[nillerz]

A US Secret Service study found that only 12 percent of those involved in school shootings were attracted to violent video games, while 24 percent read violent books and 27 percent were attracted to violent films.

 

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf

 

I think that if you consider how many students play violent video games nowadays, it's obvious that they don't cause violence.

[noz92]

Violent video games may make children more aggressive (although, we wouldn't really know, seeing as how they didn't test children with violent video games), but now the question is how much of an affect does this aggression have on their actions? It would appear that it would have no affect (based on the U.S. Department of Justice--although I would criticize that it only gives violent crimes, which does not include legal forms of homicide, such as war).

 

A US Secret Service study found that only 12 percent of those involved in school shootings were attracted to violent video games, while 24 percent read violent books and 27 percent were attracted to violent films.

 

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf

 

I think that if you consider how many students play violent video games nowadays, it's obvious that they don't cause violence.

 

Naturally, violent children are attracted to violent media, but the question is whether or not the violent media makes them violent.

[antimatter]

That was another thought that I had, that maybe violent movies affect kids more than video games, because in video games you get to take out your frustration on what ever n00b zombie that walks into you, but if you're watching a movie, you can only watch.

Although I do read very violent books sometimes (Stephen King), I'm not all that violent.

[dichotomy]

I think that if you consider how many students play violent video games nowadays, it's obvious that they don't cause violence.

 

I don't think that violent video games alone cause more worrying aggression, but I do think they are like a cup of water dropped into a bucket. Once the bucket is full, an irrationally aggressive individual is likely.

 

In answer to some other posts, I think the 'full bucket' needs other ingredients to eventuate, like real life martial arts/boxing, target/duck shooting, crafting of weapons, being bullied. Simulated violence from horror, action, war, etc, films and games are minor contributors to committing violent acts, but still they DO contribute, they are the 'soft' introduction to children, to doing real harm. That being said, the real life ingredients are much more important, naturally.

 

A question I struggled with earlier in life myself is HOW aggressive do i need to be in ordinary life? I think that watching romantic westerns and war movies didn't help my (nor the immedite community I grew up in) progress to get to what is more widely acceptable. I'm sure the question of just how aggressive one should be is a question that all of us ask ourselves on and off? And, I suppose some may answer, "As aggressive as other people allow me to be".

 

Although I do read very violent books sometimes (Stephen King), I'm not all that violent.

 

Except when you callously crush snails.

[noz92]

To continue on your analogy of the cup and the bucket, the question is whether or not the bucket has a hole in it? That is, if you stop adding water to the bucket, will it drain out until there is nothing noticeable left? Do video games permanently change your attitude towards violence (e.g. do they effect your aggression long enough for you to do anything you would later regret, such as, say, kill a man), or does it only make you more aggressive for a short time, so that by the time you have a chance to actually commit a violent crime, you're already "over the problem"?

[dichotomy]

Training a kid specifically to be violent and a game with violence do not seem all that similar.

 

Are you picking a fight with me!!!

 

They aren't. All I'm saying is that simulated violence, interactive or passive, are contributors toward violent acts. Spartans would have given their 7 year old children 'harmless' war games to play as part of the training methodology in order to build a great warrior. Of course in those times it was probably justifiable to order for a culture to survive.