Howdy, I'm doing an issue analysis for school and I need to gauge people's opinions on violent video games making kids violent. If you could post what you think and why, that'd be great! Thanks, Homicidal [Edited by - Ravuya on November 15, 2009 8:57:00 PM]

Video games don't make people violent, but they can certainly glamorize violence and cater to the violent fantasies of people who have a predisposition to violence. There are plenty of movies and such that do the same, but video games tend to be more immersive and the user spends much more time with each one.

Video games are like guns... they alone don't actually kill people. They can be a factor, but it still all revolves around the unavoidable fact that people kill people. The core of the problem is violent people, not the technology they use.

They don't "Make" anyone violent. They can be a suggestive tool to sway a mind towards a violent inclinations. However for that to work effectively the person needs to be in a state of mind where they cannot reason to see the difference between fiction and reality. I argue that children today are pretty damm smart and switched on to this as their life's are exposed to fictional worlds from the get-go.

Same goes for movies, tv shows and even books. Video games being an interactive medium can be argued to be much more effective in coxing out these violent tendencies in people. But they can't "Make" people violent. A video game doesn't abuse a person or make them hate or resent something.

More often then not I think video games and other visual mediums are simply used as scape goats to side track some of the more pressing issues that make people go violent. Like physical and mental abuse and not identifying and addressing the mental health of people. Because that's more expensive overall then a lawsuit now and then against a video game or movie.

It doesn't matter whether they make kids violent, because kids shouldn't be playing games designed for adults.

No. Next question?

Everything you see and do influences you in some way. But for games to influence someone to commit an act of violence, that person needs to already be teetering on that edge.

Another one of these threads??

Im curious, what grade are you in? Or is it college or univ? Just curious.

What is your opinion on the subject? Or do you have one? I think Australia is one of the worst countries for game violence censorship. What do you think of that? Personally I am very uncomfortable with the idea of government censorship of any kind. Are you?

My opinion is that games dont make kids violent. A kid that plays counterstrike and then shoots up a school wasnt right in the head to begin with.

But what do our opinions matter? Games either make kids violent, or they dont. Tallying up people's opinions wont tell you which one it is. You'll need to look at some scientific studies or something like that, if there are any.

I just use common sense to conclude that I really really dont see how games can make kids violent.

OK, maybe 1 in a million kids will become dangerously violent due to obsession with a violent game. But you have to ask if that is statistically significant too. A million is a big number. I bet 1 in a million people become dangerously violent when they run out of sunny D. How many people in a million become dangerously violent when their sports team wins/loses?

I've seen a 4 year old kid almost get hit by a truck and say, "it's ok, I'd get up again", because he'd been playing GTA3, where that happens.
4 year olds, as smart as they can be, can have significant leakage between fantasy and reality.

The problem here is simply giving a young child entertainment aimed at adults, without even parent supervision!
There's a reason most entertainment is rated at least "parental guidance recommended", and GTA is far beyond a "PG" rating.

Short story, don't expose young kids to behaviour that you don't want them to think about reproducing.



As for the "games are interactive, therefore more dangerous" argument: Research has shown that the interactivity of games serves to decrease it's impact compared to passive media. It's as if being in control of the game acts as a constant reminder that it *is* fantasy.

No...

Quote: Original post by Hodgman
I've seen a 4 year old kid almost get hit by a truck and say, "it's ok, I'd get up again", because he'd been playing GTA3, where that happens.
4 year olds, as smart as they can be, can have significant leakage between fantasy and reality.

The problem here is simply giving a young child entertainment aimed at adults, without even parent supervision!

I suggest you supervise your 4 year old no matter what you give him/her as entertainment. That same kid could say it's okay to be hit on the head by an anvil, because he saw that in Bugs Bunny. 4 year olds are stupid. Many of them don't understand the concept of death.

My answer to the question would be no. I don't believe that video games make kids violent.