Gaming > Violence

[deadaim6]

I'm tired of hearing of all these studies that are being, or have been, conducted trying to prove that video gaming increases chances of being more violent. I'm pretty sure there are more cases of someone getting drunk and beating his wife than someone coming off Mass Effect 2 to commit some crime. Hell, I don't get mad from games, I just get depressed. Thoughts?

PS. I'm not a troll. If there are other threads about this, I apologize.

 

[SturmDolch]

I'm pretty sure there are more cases of someone getting drunk and beating his wife than someone coming off Mass Effect 2 to commit some crime.

I get your point, but you're taking one scapegoat and replacing it with another when the real problem lies in the person's mind. They're messed up in the head already. Video games and alcohol just act as triggers to let them unleash their rage.

 

[Plurralbles]

uh, I don't know. For some reason peopel seem to think kids are innocent little things that get corrupted as they go. Which is bullshit. A baby is the most corrupt piece of flesh on the planet.

 

[deadaim6]

I get your point, but you're taking one scapegoat and replacing it with another when the real problem lies in the person's mind. They're messed up in the head already. Video games and alcohol just act as triggers to let them unleash their rage.

And i feel that way about it also. I think the main problem is with a person's psyche. But i don't know if things will ever change. People are going to keep casting blame at ANYTHING that will carry it.

 

[khaimera]

Why say you are not a troll? Only a troll would say that Also you answered your own question in the fourth post here so I don't know what more I could contribute. This topic is super old and tired.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I get your point, but you're taking one scapegoat and replacing it with another when the real problem lies in the person's mind. They're messed up in the head already. Video games and alcohol just act as triggers to let them unleash their rage.

And i feel that way about it also. I think the main problem is with a person's psyche. But i don't know if things will ever change. People are going to keep casting blame at ANYTHING that will carry it.

Haha, I like the way you said they were going to "cast" blame. If I had known that this battle was turn-based, I would have summoned something by now. Provided they're not another boss with a bullshit move. Oh, that wasn't intentional? Damn.

On topic, this whole thing has become tedious, even the people who complain about it. The people are the problem, not the games, they're just something that can sponge the blame so society doesn't have to admit that it failed a fellow human being.

 

[rokkolpo]

no! games cause all violence.
it's pure evil.

there never was violence before gaming >.>

 

[Peragus4]

Umm correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure people were committing violent crimes several thousand years before video games...

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Well to be honest they do don't they, everything we see affects us, it's how much that is the problem.

 

[Captain Blackout]

I'm pretty sure there are more cases of someone getting drunk and beating his wife than someone coming off Mass Effect 2 to commit some crime.

I get your point, but you're taking one scapegoat and replacing it with another when the real problem lies in the person's mind. They're messed up in the head already. Video games and alcohol just act as triggers to let them unleash their rage.

You're right, EXCEPT: alcohol does create problems where they didn't exist before. Not always, but it does happen.

With the rare exception of someone raising their kids on GTA (and even then I think we can find the real problem) I doubt video games in and of themselves have created a problem in the first place.

 

[Thaius]

I do think that violent media can affect the way one thinks, but it's a subtle affect. Games do not make people violent. There may be a temporary increase in aggression after playing, just like any intense experience (sports, for instance), but it's only temporary and very subtle. As such, I do think we should be careful what kind of media we expose our kids to; but the idea that games actually make people more violent is absolute crap.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

Yeah I don't think video games cause violence in people (make people into violent people) hell I've been playing violent games since I was a child, and I have no urge.....urge...to...kill RISING!!!

 

[deadaim6]

Umm correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure people were committing violent crimes several thousand years before video games...

That's pretty much what these politicians don't understand. Aggression is in every human being, no matter what gender, race, or upbringing they have. It's just a matter of whether or not they've been conditioned to repress it. Though, if we repress it too far, we might become unable to defend ourselves against people who don't repress it.

 

[Internet Kraken]

You're preaching to the choir. Of course we all know that video games don't lead directly to violence. I've been playing video games years yet the very thought of killing someone in real life makes me sick. Most politicians don't really give a crap about video games. They use them as a scape goat for societies problems. By rallying against video games they can pretend that they are actually doing something about a problem other politicians neglect. It makes them look better in the eyes of people that don't know much about video games.

BUT, gamers aren't exactly giving ourselves a positive image. When Michael Atkinson says that he has been insulted and threatened by gamers, I believe him. And when you're message is that games are dangerous, this really own helps to prove your point.

 

[Seldon2639]

I'm tired of hearing of all these studies that are being, or have been, conducted trying to prove that video gaming increases chances of being more violent. I'm pretty sure there are more cases of someone getting drunk and beating his wife than someone coming off Mass Effect 2 to commit some crime. Hell, I don't get mad from games, I just get depressed. Thoughts?

PS. I'm not a troll. If there are other threads about this, I apologize.

Eh, yes and no. There is ample evidence in psychology that catharsis of an emotion (especially anger) does nothing to mitigate it, and actually amplifies it. If you're angry, and go shoot guys in GoW, you're positively reinforcing the behavior with a positive feeling.

That said, the same is true if you get angry and go for a run, or do anything else which releases endorphins.

 

[khaimera]

Umm correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure people were committing violent crimes several thousand years before video games...

You are wrong, did you even read Rokkolpo's post a couple lines above yours? Hello

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Some random drifter just rolled into town and killed several people with a small dagger and two 8mm semi-automatic handguns upon questioning by local authorities the man said "i did it because i damn well could." Meanwhile all the media focuses on is that Little Timmy just punched beat his brother several times because of he kept losing to him at a game of "Super Bloody Sex Filled Violence: the game" where you can groom horses and then have them race each other.

Now which one will get the bigger media storm?

 

[XJ-0461]

Games are just the current stage of a never ending cycle. Comic books used to get the same sort of stuff thrown at them, and look at their perception now. They're seen as either entertainment for kids, or a strange obsession of outcast geeks (take your pick of which is more false).

It'll happen in the future too. People will be wary of whatever recreational technology they come up with, and that too will be blamed for the degredation of society.