Gamers and violence

[zen5887]

Its no secret that we gamers love a bit of violence. Killing Zombies, Nazis, Monsters and other badguys all in the name of good fun. But when people suggest this violence can spill out into the real world, gamers get up in arms about it.

I remember a few of the Michael Atkinson threads where people would comment things like "Someone needs to take a club to the skull of this old fag" and "I hope this bastard burns in hell forever!" Of course, I doubt anyone would actually go through with these, but the threat has been made, which has to count for something.

Sometimes these threats come totally unprovoked, like in a lot of Lady Gaga/Justin Beiber/Twilight threads. To me it would seem that, something gamers don't like = must be put to death. And this is on the Escapist, a place that is quite tame compared to other gaming sites, so you can imagine what goes on there.

So friends, I ask you. Whats the deal with gamers and death threats? Does gaming make us more violent? And why do gamers seem to want to put stuff they don't like to torch?

 

[delet]

It's people trying to express their hatred in 'best' way possible. Because cussing has become so common and overused, death threats are needed to show you 'really' mean it, though those are also getting rather overused.

Truly, it's those types of people that give the sensible people a bad name...

 

[Giest4life]

It's not the deal with games that makes us seemingly violent, me thinks it's the very nature of the internet: anonymity brings out the "real" self.

EDIT: Rats! Just like the Dutch, I finish second at the posting race

 

[Lust]

Typical Man-child rage. Comic books and film also got this kind of heat back when they first came out. Remember that whole Heavy Metal scare some years back? Society latches onto whatever is popular at the time to try and explain violence.

 

[arsenicCatnip]

I'm just a violent person. I threaten my roommate with death or disfigurement all the time. I never really MEAN it, but it expresses my displeasure admirably.

 

[Blue Musician]

I would say, as a study said, it depends in the condition of the environment which may cause the more violent way to express themselves.

 

[Worgen]

its not just gamers that make death threats, pretty much any group does it in reguards to something they dont like, christians do it to atheists, people did it to the octomom, muslims did it to the people who drew mohammad, racists did it to obama. Really all it takes is something that someone else doesnt like and that person not taking their word seriously, the one making the death threat, given how common it is and how rarely those getting them are killed Id say the people given them a liars

 

[MKScorpion]

Nah, it doesn't bleed (cwutididthar?) into the real world. Violence is strictly left in the games for me.

 

[BGH122]

Sometimes these threats come totally unprovoked, like in a lot of Lady Gaga/Justin Beiber/Twilight threads. To me it would seem that, something gamers don't like = must be put to death. And this is on the Escapist, a place that is quite tame compared to other gaming sites, so you can imagine what goes on there.

This happens in every male-dominated social niche. Fun fact: Hyde et al (2005) showed that men were almost 4 times less likely to smile when they knew they were being observed. There's a strong pro-bravado violence gender role for men. Name me one widely accepted non-bad boy media male. I can name loads of Jack Bauerish unnecessarily violent men.

Correlating violence and gaming sites ignores that gaming sites are largely populated by males.

Note I'm not implying biological determinism, rather that society rewards/expects violence in men and punishes/rejects it in women.

Actually, this isn't really a satisfactory answer since a lot of girls I've known make similar death-threats e.g. "Oh em gee you're such a *****, I'll keel you!"

 

[Booze Zombie]

Violent little shits where offering up death threats before video games were even popular, all games do is give them somewhere to not feel like the impotent little shits they and places for everyone else to laugh and have fun.

 

[Living Contradiction]

Zen, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but it isn't just gamers that have this phenomena.

Out on the internets, you will find thousands if not tens of thousands of forums where people take great delight in expressing their undying hatred of things and their professed willingness to do everything from set the objects of their hatred on fire to attacking them with whatever's handy. And, as Eqan Asif has said, it's because they can't be traced that they feel free to go into graphic detail and make the rest of us go a little green around the gills.

Yes, we gamers deal with violence in our favourite pastime, sampling all kinds of grotesque and gruesome stuff. But we all know that games only exist in the machine, in a nice safe fantasy that we can turn off and leave when we want to return to actual life.

 

[Generator]

I usually use games as a way to take out my anger; honestly, I've screamed some of the most nonsensical profanities at my TV screen. It works as a great stress reliever and keeps me cool and relaxed in the real world.

As for the types of people who make death threats for things that they don't like, I assume they just have more pent-up anger than me and need to take it out somewhere.

 

[Unknown Hero 888]

I dunno about games relating to violence, because I play a lot of violent games but... *points at profile picture* Maybe anonomy is just a medium for extreme emotions.

 

[The Geek Lord]

I do this, what with the death threats to the things I hate and all, but I do it for three reasons.

Typical Man-child rage.

^This, the fact that I'm a complete douche, and just plain habit.

 

[Nouw]

Immaturity+Manliness=This

We just get upset

 

[Thaius]

It's not just gamers. Many people have these tendencies, and most people are idiots. Apparently so much so that they don't realize that this just seems to prove what people are saying...

 

[DSK-]

I actually think about violence a great deal, and sometimes say "oh man, I seriously want to kill this guy" and actually want to physically hurt him (which you might find scary - I have to live with it ).

Violence in games or movies is "ha! that person just got their head cut off". And thats it. That is as far as it goes. Maybe perhaps its because I am desensitised or simply because I know it isn't real. I have no idea.

I had a pretty awful childhood, getting beaten up and other stuff, so naturally I'd think about hurting those who wronged me and that is why I think I am this way now.

 

[Biosophilogical]

If people are like me then whenever they say 'die in a fire' at things it is because they have someform of opposition to it and wish to express their view. Unfortunately if they said 'I have a mild dislike of this franchise' then they'd be afraid (not actually scared, but not 'apprehensive', I find myself lacking the correct term) that it wouldn't carry their intended weight. So by reacting excessively people on the other side of the internet see it and go "S/he's exaggerating, obviously he means "bleh"" and so by reacting excessively the diminished emphasis placed upon your statement by those readin it results in an approximate reflection of your stance on the subject.

So basically whenever someone feels something and expresses it, the audience has o interpret the feeling the person initially had by analysing the statement(s). A lot of the time the severity of someone's feeling is lost through text (what with the lack of emotion) so to accurately display their feelings they must write words which are an exaggeration so that the audience's interpretation of their feelings is closer to the reality.

 

[zen5887]

Of course, no one is suggesting that "Everyone who plays videogames is violent" that would be silly. But it looks pretty bad when someone says "Videogames make people violent" and someone replies with "Take that back ************, I'll kill you!"

I've also experienced more raging dickholeary being around gamers (be it online or otherwise) than anywhere else. Perhaps the Internet is to blame for this, but the number of times I've heard "Fuck you ******!!" at a LAN centre is pretty high..

 

[Dexiro]

When i fantasize about ramming Justin Biebers face into a wall it's just a cartoonish image, I'd never think of doing something that violent in real life and I'd probably be quite nice to the guy if i met him on whatever unfortunate occasion.

Talking about that sort of stuff suitably displays my hatred for such people though ;D