Games don't kill people, families do
Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:43AM EDT
See Comments (18)
A new and interesting just-published study adds fuel to the debate over whether violent video games lead to real-world violence. The (surprising) findings? Gamers who played a violent World War II shoot-'em-up displayed no more aggression than those who played the calming, meditative, and violence-free Myst III.
Additional valuable data came out in a second study by the same group (from Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin) which analyzed patterns of aggression in individuals and compared them against a variety of commonly-believed predictors of violence. Exposure to family violence, being male, and other factors were all strong predictors that a person would commit violent acts, but exposure to violent video games was not. (In fact, it was the only item in the study that was not a good predictor of violence, at least according to the brief abstract posted on the web.)
On the other hand, the study does note that those who already exhibit aggressive personalities may be more likely to seek out violent games, and this combination is more likely to lead to real-world violence. But the same might likely be true of other combinations with a "violent personality": Watching violent movies or having a stressful job, for example.
No easy answers in this debate, but the data point is pretty clear: Real-world violence begets violence, while the effects of seeing simulated violence on your TV or computer is not so clear.
Of course, targeting and censoring violent video games is easy, while targeting actual violence is not. Something to keep in mind...
POLL: What do you think?
Top 5 Posts
More About Games & Gear
Comments on Games don't kill people, families do
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
7 Posted by romeoluo_2008 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
violent video games of course have something to do with real-world violence.But what about the non-violent video games?!
-
8 Posted by ecarpent@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse
Some people are like sponges and simply absorb the world around them with little thought or reflection. Some people use thought and reason to make choices about their actions in spite of the world around them. There has always been violence and crime... are we of weaker character now than mankind thousands of years ago? Are we weaker in our mental processes now than centuries ago? It's scary to think that so many people really believe their actions and behaviors are driven solely by external factors, rather than choices made within. Where did personal accountability and responsibility go?
-
9 Posted by jilforme on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse
Your following comment is important: "On the other hand, the study does note that those who already exhibit aggressive personalities may be more likely to seek out violent games, and this combination is more likely to lead to real-world violence. In the bible it says "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy%
-
10 Posted by scienceman9248 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse
Here's another thought: The news media and world events could be contributing to some degree as well. Children and adults alike are bombarded daily with bad news. Go to any media source and you get reports on gun violence, rapes, robberies, rising energy prices, war, new diseases resurfacing old diseases, the environmental mess, you name it--- all bad. A steady diet of this is bound to play on anybody's mind. Who's to say the added stress of hearing all this nagativity doesn't cause feedback. Add this to the stress recipe that Americans consume every day, and some people are bound to snap like an overstretched rubber band.
-
11 Posted by black_lizzard89 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse
read this book, it pretty much settles the debate "Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression : Assessing the Scientific Evidence." by Jonathan L. Freedman
-
12 Posted by nils_laufer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:38PM EDT Report Abuse
This is an interesting study certainly, and the debate is at its core the same debate that we have had since Elvis Presley first shook his hips and drove parents crazy. I have been playing games since I can remember, and I got my paper route so that I could get an NES. At 27, I still love gaming, and competitive multiplayer, and yet somehow, I have never committed acts of violence even after spending hours on a day off playing GTA. Parents should excercise their control over what is appropriate for their children, and not bend to the wishes of the child. I don't play Gears of War when my 2 year-old daughter is there, just as I wouldn't watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre with her either. Now I understand that when she becomes a teenager, that sort of thing is much tougher to control, but I also believe that my daughter's system of values and her belief structure of right and wrong are strong enough to keep her from picking up a gun and shooting someone just because she played a game. Parents of my generation need to be parents, and the government needs to be more concerned with an ill-concieved and poorly executed war, or the declining economy and horrible state of national health care.
-
13 Posted by bkb83 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse
The poorest nations in the world seem to have the most violence. I guess it must be because they play so many video games though...
-
14 Posted by scienceman9248 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree with nils_ laufer that parents need to exercise control over what kids watch, and the types of games they play. However; parental control often extends only to your front door. In spite of your best efforts, your kids go to friend's houses and play the forbidden games out of your sight. It happened to us with our son. I also have a 7 year old granddaughter who knows what she can and can't do at our house. At home she's with babysitters a lot so who knows what she does then. I also agree with the idea that if kids have strong values already wired into their brains, they will likely not act in undesireable ways despite the imput they get. I read of a study once that claimed criminals are born-- not made. Something about a certain gene that predisposes some to develop criminal tendancies. I don't know how valid that study results are, but it might be true to some extent, but not every time. About the bad news theory I mentioned in an earlier post:I still think with some people negative imput breeds negative thinking. Depressed people under treatment are sometimes advised to avoid media news for fear it will aggravate their condition. Of course we can't just wave a magic wand and POOF, the worlds problems are solved.I wi----- were that easy. We CAN take steps to improve things by electing officials that are bent on change, and DO THEIR JOBS once in office. If they don't, then get to the polls and clean house.Mabey then we can improve the news.
-
15 Posted by karategirl3200 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:46PM EDT Report Abuse
Dad was in the military so all of us, girls included spent alot of time with guns etc. so naturally when I became a mother I bought some cap guns for my daughters and my SIL is horrified. Her sons are not allowed to touch a toy gun and her super mild-mannered husband; my brother who is a softie if there ever was one was so scary as a kid that I wouldn't go into the backyard on my own in case he was setting off home-made bombs or was trying to scare me with his bb gun. In conclusion he is the nicest most moral adult and he was exposed to alot of play violence as a child.
-
16 Posted by alanleewong on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse
Oh dear I see violence I do violence I guess Ghenghis Khan Adolph Hitler Saddam Hussein and of course Pol Pot and Idi Amin all played violent games DUH
-
17 Posted by alanleewong on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse
Oh dear I see violence I do violence I guess Ghenghis Khan Adolph Hitler Saddam Hussein and of course Pol Pot and Idi Amin all played violent games DUH
-
18 Posted by hongkongkongo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:20PM EDT Report Abuse
in the history there were no tv and computers and what were people blaming for violence? it all matters how you raise a child and if you teach them respect. yelling and forbidding is not raising. be a parent and talk with your kid, educate, show love. that works, not yelling. kids arent deaf. a small number of people becomes mentally ill because of violent media. like that guy that made a freddy krueger glove with blades and attacked his friend. but usually it all depends on the family or whoever the person lives with. even if a kid was never violent before he started playing games, but becomes violent when is playing video games, then its because the kid is addicted to games or movies. you have to go through addiction to understand how it feels when you love to watch movies or playing games for hours and then one of your parents comes and starts yelling to stop playing games. this is not the way how you treat with your kid. if your kid wont obey you when you say nicely, then this means that kid has no respect for you. so you need to work with your kids, talk with them, or take them to a psychiatrist. dont blame the kid or the tv, its the parents that are raising them. yelling is a form of violence. who can see love in someone that keeps yelling? kids like nice people. give anger and you will get anger back. now when I'm on my own, I can play games all the time, including violent ones and I'm not violent in real life. but when parents were still controlling me and when they yelled to stop playing, I returned what they gave to me - yelling and anger. why are there kids that will obey parents and why some kids dont? its all about your relationship with your parents. if you keep yelling at your kids, showing anger, if you dont share any affection or love in your family, then this is how kids becomes violent. what else is the reason? yeah, people will say everything like "lack of religion", but then explain atheists having morals sometimes even better than religious people. raise a kid nicely and dont blame the tv. in the history there were no tv or computers and people were still violent.
Sponsored Links
My Tech
Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 Posted by aa4mw on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:43PM EDT Report Abuse
It would be interesting to see the effects of "pornography". Assuming thta anyone can figure out just what it is LOL Of course getting the puritan's prying fingers out of the data would be a real challenge.