Do Violent Video Games Make People Violent?

Hehe...yea I'd like to hear someone say that no one stole cars or shot people until Rock Star released GTA.

ROFL, Barti!!!! XDDDDDD TAKE THAT!

Anyhoo, I agree with whoever else said that there was violence before violent videogames--Our video games are getting more and more realistic as technology advances, therefore it's easier to escape into an "alternate reality" that you seem to have more control over, more power, more strength, more ability to do things that you've never been able to do in real life--In other words, video games allow us to compensate for our inabilities in real life.

Now in terms of kids "emulating" the violence in video games, I certainly cannot say for sure that it's not true--it's definitely correlated, but not necessarily a "cause and effect" type of action. What I speculate is violent kids play violent video games to relieve the stress of not being able to do that in real life, but if given the chances and equipment.... they will.

In response to Barti, however... I do feel a strong urge to become a lawyer with an underaged, psychic girl as my sidekick.... *Pounds desk* *rubs chin*

A lot of really stupid people think so, but there is no real evidence to support it.

Take the top 100 members of CAL(Cyber athletic league. Hard core violent video game players) and compare the violent crimes committed by them and the violent crimes committed by the top 100 members of the NFL or NBA.

I've been playing violent first person shooters since they day they were invented and I am one of the least violent people you will meet.

That being said, violence is a part of being human. Our brain rewards us for violent behavior the same way it does for having sex or eating food.

My personal belief is that violent video games desensitize you to violence over a period of time, and your brain stops rewarded you. Without a reward system in place, you are actually less likely to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpHqQaEn73k

the OP amuses me. i'd love to see his cite page taking quotes off a message board on the internet.

that was cool

I usually go out by lakes in the middle of the night looking for 3-foot tall crabs and commence wailing on em for land crab meat,I would have to say FFXI did indeed make me more violent.just my 2 gil.

Really? I just send my automaton after them while I say 'rofl'

O.o;

Like Zoey was saying, younger children have not fully developed a sense of right and wrong. Therefore violent video games would have an effect on them, but if you let your 3 year old play gta4 and rape hookers then kill them that's your bad parenting, not the video game industries fault.

But on that note, I send my automaton out after a crab and start laughing, and then it casts Silence on it and I die a little on the inside.

if you ask this question maybe seriously, and if you answer this question with yes, yes violent video games create violent ppl...then =

there should be millions of fat, skinny, and uncoordinated kids playing professional football right? i mean how many ppl play madden?

hell my friend beat tiger woods in '09 on his ps3, do you wanna sponsor him for his push for the PGA tour?

i beat mike tyson on the NES in punch out, in 1986 when i was 6 yrs old could i beat up mike tyson in real life?

video games are a hobby, a hobby cant dictate your personality, its just an excuse.

Butbutbut... I'm a real Paladin!!!!! T_T

Meh... I WON THE THREAD!! According to Barti, at least.... <_< That counts, right? :D

Nah, I did a report on this my sophomore year of college. Did you know that the system for rating games is the most descriptive and sophisticated system out of all the entertainment methods (tv, movies, music, etc.)? Yah. So it would be technically easier for a 13-year old kid to watch an X rated movie if he felt like it than it would be for him to go play Halo. Supposedly. And anyways, even if kids do play violent videogames, a lot of times it's not violent against other people. Like Halo, they are killing aliens trying to save people, or Gears of War, killing locusts and again trying to save people. I think people see more blood, guts, and violence in movies and on TV than they ever will in video games, but since no one wants to gripe at Hollywood they use games as a scapegoat. Also, you have to think about this logically and look at when/how teen violence started. It basically started around the time that all the moms decided to go to work and let babysitters and school systems raise their kids. I'm not saying that I think women should stay at home all day, because I don't. I just think parents should pay more attention to the effect their absence has on their kids. Also, people aren't allowed to punish their kids anymore. When I was little, I got spanked when I did something stupid. But spank a kid now and you will get slammed for child abuse, which is ridiculous. So kids grow up thinking there is no punishment for bad behavior. Anyways, to shut up now, no. I don't think violent video games make people violent.

I knew Anye would be on here somewhere. XD

I would argue that violent video games make people LESS violent in real life. I've been playing FPS's for years, since Wolfenstein and Doom. I have a bad day at work, I don't beat the hell out of my boss; I come home and I shoot up the local Cluckin' Bell. GTAIV and the like is really therapeutic after a hard day, at least for me. Nothing get's the road rage out like coming home and running over scores of pedestrians in game.

Now, violence in videogames may desensitize people to violence in the real world, that's probably true. But, with the state of the world today, one could argue that the evening news is just as desensitizing. Unless you live in some small town in the midwest somewhere (and probably not even there, anymore), it's going to be MURDER! PROSTITUTION! RAPE! ROBBERY! every single day, complete with live video. Where's the studies on THAT?

I think it's the world we live in that makes people violent. But, you know, the world is what we make it...

I don't believe Video Games make people violent.

I believe the media that portrays random violent acts by younger people to the video games they play give a sense that video games "make" people violent.

Hundreds of millions of people play video games. Only a few can't contain themselves and... in lament terms, do something stupid :P.

I say violence makes video games.

Video games do not make you violent. Video games desensitize you to violence. I have been playing video games since the ripe old age of 7. Now I'm 17 and have been playing all sorts of games half my life. After I play a game of halo, gears, or finish a salvage run, I never feel violent. I have been in two fights my entire life both brought on by some one else.

My point is, the United States Military spends over $500 million a year on VR and video game related equipment to make sure soldiers are willing to shoot their guns on the battle field. (Johnston, Gary P. "US Military MLG?" Soldier of Fortune June 2007: 12-13.) If you ask any NCO what the most important thing to teach the enlistees before they are shipped out the NCO will always say the greenhorns need to be willing to kill the enemy when they have to.

Now if the United States Military acknowledges the fact and is willing to spend a decent chunk of money on it, than I for one am a firm believer that video games desensitize you to violence.

The bigger question on hand is whether or not that desensitization leads to increased violent acts or just more rash and aggressive acts when approached with a situation in which violence is a solution. Moreover the effect of this desensitization of violence might also have an effect on the flight or fight system, and should also be looked at when pondering this subject.

I hope I was able to help with your report, I tried to give you my basic ideas on the topic if your interested in more information just throw me a PM.

Well i would like to say the same as most people here but i'll get short and to the point. on the news today in Ohio a 17 year old kid KILLED! yes thats right killed his mother because she took halo 3 away from him, and the news Specifically said the game "halo 3" so obviously games make kids violent because well he didnt kill her because he was all excited over the triple kill he got he killed her because well she took the game away. . which.... imo i think if my mom took away final fantasy XI from me i would have to kill her

Violent games make violent people violent!

Nope. It's the same as violent movies. Even if video games or movies weren't violent, you'd still have violence. It's human nature.

Too many ppl try to point fingers at video games and movies when something horrible happens, like a school shooting. These things happened before games of that type were made.

If movies/games make people violent then I'd love to see 10 examples of someone dressing as a barbarian or pirate daily that isn't a work costume.

I will say though that with how games/movies are now it's numbed the senses.

Well just to post on this subject, If you wanna read it its on msn news at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28623160 for that kid.

There's lots of stories you hear that deal with killing and violence over any system.

The one I thought was horrible was when a man beat his own 2 yrs old to death with the xbox controller because the 2 yr old knocked over the system to the floor.

People do that for all possessions, those stories just happen to be more pathetic than others.

Some just do not have priorities straight.

I dunno....I'd take an xbox over a baby any day.

I dont think vidoe games make ppl violent,and it has nothing to do with the game when i yell At the Tarutaru's walking on my lawn!

Humans are just violent by nature, we are omnivores meaning we eat whatever, including other living, breathing animals, this is a built in bloodlust.

We also kill each other, always have always will most likely, some eat each other, some kill for sport (look at the romans) some for land some for power some for religious conquest.

Some for video games.

The real question to me is, since we already know that humans are violent by nature, is how is killing hundreds of thousands of people in your countries best interest more justifiable than to kill over a video game, for sport or over possessions? That to me is the most disturbing part of it.

I agree with war to stop people in power who are evil at heart but why do the people of our world allow these people to come to power in the first place?

War, why is it justifiable at all, ever? If we are people of such great moral standards why do we let it exist, i can't go blow out somebody's brains or it's a crime but we can go blow entire nations to pieces and it's ok, no body does jail time.

Our species is just self-destructive at heart.

It's ok to kill people for your country or your god, you won't go to hell then, but dare to kill a fellow man, you rot in prison and burn for eternity. But wait, don't we also believe that ALL men are created equal? See, life is just *** up and hypocritical at heart.

Hmmm... Funny I saw this. I was reading Lt. Col Dave Grossman's book "On Combat." In it he talks about the correlation between violent media (to inclued everything from video games, to the news, to Dirty Harry) and with violent crimes. He goes on to talk about violence in schools and the relationship between "violent media" and school shootings. I'm going to quote from his book. This is talking about the relationship of violent media to young children:

"Think of the impact of violenct media as a boot camp for kids, their own little basic training. As they sit before the tube, hour after hour, they learn that violence is good and violence is needed. They see it, experience it - and they believe it. They are indundated with the violence factor, but they never get the discipline. Now, if it troubles you that our young soldiers have to go through a process of traumatization and brutalization, you should be infinitely more troubled that we are doing the same thing indiscriminately to our children without the safeguard of discipline...

... two-, three-, four- and five-year old children are exposed to this enviroment... it becomes to much for them and most become depressed and fearful...

...Most of those who do become violent will not become criminals, they will become bullies. Bullying is the law of the jungle. The alpha male in every herd and every flock is a bully, which means he gets what ever he wants. In ever enviroment on earth, being a bully is a perfectly adaptive, appropriate and desirable behavior - execpt in a civilization.

... most will become victims and other will become bullies. Have we got a problem with bullying in our schools? Yes, numerous studies demostrate this fact, and it is a situation that is getting worse."

While the book is geared more to the military and police forces of the world it has some good information for the general public... Including Smurfo and his pre-pubescent view of the world and how/why things happen.

No, some of us are violent by nature. The normal person would only kill in order to survive, either an animal or another human as a last resort. People with no reguard for human life would kill for no reason other than they can. The rest do it to protect others. "You sleep safe in your beds, because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do you harm." (George Orwell)

Oh the book also cites studies linking video games to childhood obesity and brain scans showing teenagers raised on violence vs those who weren't (btw there was reduced brain activity in the violent kids.)

There's my two red cents.

-NewD

Hell yea!!! Puzzles are cool too.

I'll say it once and i'll say it again...

Violence has been around ever since Cain shanked Abel and stole his kraken club. I don't think video games played a part in that...

end of story! :)