Majority of Americans Believe Games Contribute to Violence

[Andy Chalk]

Majority of Americans Believe Games Contribute to Violence

A new Harris Poll has found that 58 percent of Americans believe there is a connection between videogames and violent behavior in teenagers.

It was heartening to hear U.S. Vice President Joe Biden insist that the government wasn't reflexively pointing fingers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121494-U-S-Vice-President-Games-Are-Not-Being-Singled-Out] at videogames in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass murder, but a lot of people expressed dismay at the mere presence of videogames in the conversation. Why, they asked, are we talking about videogames when guns, violence and mental health are the obvious issues?

The findings of a recent Harris Poll may offer some insight into the situation, and why games are likely to remain a hot topic for some time to come. Despite years of research finding zero correlation between the two, a survey of 2278 Americans found that 58 percent believe videogames contribute to real-life violent behavior in teenagers. Furthermore, a whopping 47 percent said they are not at all confident that ESRB ratings will "keep mature games out of the reach of kids," yet 38 percent claimed they knew nothing about videogame ratings and 33 percent said they just let their kids play whatever they want.

"The findings underscore the lack of awareness Americans have about the videogame rating system, as well as the confusion in the market," Harris Poll President Mike de Vere said. "They also factor into a larger discussion playing out across our country and on a political stage around how violent games impact our youth, with President Obama recently announcing his desire to look into ways to fund research examining the impact of violent video games on children."

Respondents also expressed greater confidence in the MPAA rating system to protect children from mature content than ESRB ratings, 49 percent to 32 percent, despite the FTC consistently finding that ESRB ratings are adhered to far more stringently than any other media rating system in North America.

Source: GamesBeat [http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/25/harris-poll-58-percent-of-adults-believe-in-a-correlation-between-video-games-and-violence/]


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[Fayathon]

A majority of Americans that are polled for this shit are idiots too, nothing surprising there. This shit is really apparent when you account for the public's view and this:

Respondents also expressed greater confidence in the MPAA rating system to protect children from mature content than ESRB ratings, 49 percent to 32 percent, despite the FTC consistently finding that ESRB ratings are adhered to far more stringently than any other media rating system in North America.

I really do hate people sometimes...

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

To be fair, I don't think that ESRB ratings keep mature games away from kids (not that providing content ratings is a bad idea, it just doesn't work).

 

[synobal]

I know battlefield convinced me that I needed an Rocket Propelled Grenade for personal safety. Thanks to the NRA though I was able to get one fairly cheap, now if anyone steps on my land and I don't like it I can blow up them and the piece of my land they tainted with their presence.

I'd of totally been on the fence about getting an RPG if it wasn't for Battlefield, it let me practice using one, and get a feel for it. So now I can feel confident about hitting something with it with out having to waste lots of ammo practicing with it.

RPG ammo is expensive but Battlefield saved me a lot of money by letting me trained in it's perfectly simulated virtual killing environment.

 

[MiskWisk]

I understand that they've extrapolated the data to say this, however 2278 out of 3 hundred million (rounded to nearest hundred million) is not really a good test in my eyes. Really, all you've said is that 58% of the 2278 Americans are idiots.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

So we killed two birds with one stone by also using this poll to show American stupidity. Thanks. I'm sure people were in the dark about the common americans observance and intelligence.

 

[Something Amyss]

yes, and a majority of Americans think video games are more dangerous than guns. People don't know what they're talking about.

To be fair, I don't think that ESRB ratings keep mature games away from kids (not that providing content ratings is a bad idea, it just doesn't work).

They don't, but that's not the failing of the industry or the retailers. The study itself confirms this. A third of people just let kids play whatever they want.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Wonder why movies arent blamed any more? I think movies have more violence now with a lower certificate. Even twilight had wolves biting off heads. Wolverine was stabbing the shit out of people in X2. Even Indy Raiders of the Lost Ark is rated a 12 cert and that has a nazi having his face melted off.

But then i also think if gaming really was an issue with violence, there would be way more proof out there. As in many more deaths by gamers. Thousands of them.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I know most of it is pretty stupid, but what gets me especially is the 47% said they're not confident the ESRB will keep them out of the reach of kids. Assuming that some of these people surveyed were parents, it's you that are ignoring these ratings and getting them for kids!

 

[Callate]

Sadly, this is not a response that would particularly surprise me; we have a tremendous ability as a nation to look for simple solutions to complex problems, especially in the face of emotional urgency (see the "War on Terror", among other things.) But I have to wonder exactly what questions were asked and how the polling pool was selected, and I'd also like to know how those cited statistics overlap (do the people who don't know about the ESRB rating system correlate to the ones who think it doesn't work, etc.)

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Furthermore, a whopping 47 percent said they are not at all confident that ESRB ratings will "keep mature games out of the reach of kids," yet 38 percent claimed they knew nothing about videogame ratings and 33 percent said they just let their kids play whatever they want.

Translation: "I can't be arsed parenting my own children, make the government do it."

 

[JPArbiter]

a majority of Americans also believe in angels. the Majority is allowed to believe things that been proven to be false. it will not make them right though.

 

[Goliath100]

This is so sad I won't do a Hitman joke.

 

[Moosejaw]

"The best argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter."

 

[Azex]

another piece of evidence showing the majority of america is stupid

 

[Canadamus Prime]

To be fair, I don't think that ESRB ratings keep mature games away from kids (not that providing content ratings is a bad idea, it just doesn't work).

Of course not, but it's not a failing of the rating system. It's failing of those that don't bother to pay any attention to it.

 

[kaizen2468]

Personal responsibility does not exist in 'Merica. It's always someone else's fault. Kid shoots up a school because he's tormented by bullies or has a mental condition and isn't treated? Video Games. Kid easily acquired an assault rifle? Surely it's video games and not gun laws. It's completely backwards.

 

[Jamous]

The fact that we all spend quite a lot of time on The Escapist might be why we find this so surprising. We're surrounded by people who hold similar, if differing on the small stuff, views. We only really hear the sorts of things we ourselves will entertain, and considering the nature of the site, it's not often against our chosen medium. Offline I know a lot of people who at least seriously entertain, if not completely hold to, the idea that games cause violence and that's just in England; we still have a long way to go it seems.