why do people still blame video games for real-world violence?

[clint5254]

I just find it odd that these people seem to think that video games are the ONLY source of violent media that is easily accessible...there are much worse things floating around on the net and yet video games are still blamed? its called the real world and i want to know what others think on the topic?

 

[clint5254]

may not be in mainstream media but it still goes on.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I just find it odd that these people seem to think that video games are the ONLY source of violent media that is easily accessible...there are much worse things floating around on the net and yet video games are still blamed? its called the real world and i want to know what others think on the topic?

Honestly?

When bad things happen people try to rationalize it so it's comfortable for them.

The truth is there is nothing we can do about mass-killings. There is always going to be a chance when we or our loved ones go out in the world that we may be killed by a bad guy have a very bad day. That's frightening, that's very scary because it means there is no comfort zone. It means we're never safe.

So people blame video games. They blame media. They look for that one thing and say "If we can just remove (X) from our society, there won't be a day when a class room of kids are murdered ever again."

It's natural human behavior. And this is also why Freedom is a very delicate fragile thing. Scare people enough, they'll do anything to feel safe. Truth is, so long as humans have any degree of freedom bad things will happen. Evil finds a way.

 

[LaSelaMelvins]

The even more pathetic truth is that videogames, heavy metal, gangsta rap, violent cartoons and shows are blamed, yet mental health funding is cut.
When historians look back, they'll find ample reasons why people purged the rich, specifically the governing kind, with wholesome unapologetic glee, I swear.

 

[Zhukov]

- Because games are new and therefore suspect.
- Because games are often aimed at and played by children.
- Because it can be a convenient way to deflect from issues such as gun control.
- Because other people are doing it.
- Because, let's face it, they are very violent and emphasize simulated violent action on the part of the player.

I think that about covers it.

 

[Dragonlayer]

Because whenever I rage-quit COD: Ghosts online, I go outside and punch a random neighbour.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Cuz of the generation gap.

It happened to comics, it happened to violent 80's movies, and now it's the games industry's turn.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Because generalizing, scapegoating and/or straw-manning around an issue is much faster, easier and cheaper than getting to the bottom of things and finding solutions to the underlying causes of that issue. Because wealthy and powerful people have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo on that issue.

 

[JimB]

I think fear is the biggest part of it. Older people tend to fear the younger generation, so they associate the younger generation's entertainment and media with general evil that justifies their fear of that younger generation ("young people today are mass murderers; young people have video games; therefore, video games make people mass murderers"). Since fear tends to be based on a lack of understanding of a topic, it's pretty much unavoidable that any statements made on a topic that is the subject of fear will be ignorant.

I think there's also a definite degree of video games being an acceptable political scapegoat. Video games are a very small industry with little to no activism or lobbies, whereas people I think it would be more fair and accurate to blame, like the medical industry, have enough clout to demand that this politician not say anything bad or they'll withdraw campaign funding, or that news station not say anything bad or they'll withdraw their advertising income. Video games aren't a big enough industry to dictate their own rules.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Because of lobbying and propaganda by rich people who make money off of the arms industry and don't want to make less money, so they blame videogames instead.

 

[Simple Bluff]

I really don't think it's an issue anymore. Mainstream news outlets (at least in the UK/Ireland regions) have actually embraced video games. BBC had a news report about LA Noire bricking PS3s, to warn consumers. Sky News had report on a 90 year old lady who still plays GTA - not a judgmental piece mind, but an honest to goodness "Hey lookit this cool granny" kind of a report. There was also that case a while ago where some guy stabbed another guy over a game of CS and pretty much everyone in the court facepalmed (judge and jury included) when the defence tried to insinuate that the game was at fault.

The problem is none of that gets heard about. Not here at least. You get one guy writing an article about how Mass Effect or whatever inspired some serial killers and we get twenty page threads acting all persecuted about it. Maybe it's worse in America (or somewhere else I don't live) but the issue is effectively dead as far as I can see. Paranoid gaming hatemongers still exist in the same way apocalyptic doomsayers still exist - they rant and rave but nobody listens to them.

Really, the best approach is just to ignore them, I think. It used to be an issue, probably, but I think we're at that stage where even those ignorant about videogames wouldn't think twice about the Jack Thompsons still out there.

 

[Saltyk]

There are plenty of reasons. Fear, lack of understanding, the generations gap, it explains a case of senseless violence. It's not merely one thing.

My own father once asked me why I still play video games. It was a sort of shocking question. I replied by asking him why he watched TV, movies, DVDs, and read books. Funny thing is that my mom agreed with me. But I do get it. He doesn't understand. To him, video games are a toy. They are "lesser" entertainment for children as they are something you "play". Adults don't "play".

It also helps explain why these sort of things happen. After all, random acts of violence never happened in the past. These are new things. Which is a lie, but it doesn't help that we have a 24 hour news cycle that has to find things to keep itself relevant. And that means you now hear about things that don't just happen a state over, but on the other side of the country and in every other country.

Why do people think the US Government perpetrated 9/11? Because it makes them feel better. I mean there's no way terrorists could have done that. That's the sort of thing that only a huge government conspiracy could pull off. That would be like some maniac walking into a school and killing children with a gun, knife, or bombs. That just couldn't happen. Not normally, right?

And in the case of school violence, who is a better scapegoat than "the other"? After all, "normal people" don't play violent video games.

Because whenever I rage-quit COD: Ghosts online, I go outside and punch a random neighbour.

I guess that explains the Knockout Game.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

While I agree with the OP that games aren't the only thing in the equation, I feel that we desensitized gamers minimize the reality that game violence actually does desensitize you to real life violence. We're talking about kids, and teens. You can't tell me that being subjected to the violence in games has absolutely no effect. It has an effect for sure, but to blame the gaming industry as the sole source is too myopic. Parenting is a big part of it.

It's also myopic of gamers to ignore the realities of raising children in the midst of all these things - we tend to not care about what other people think because we want our games.

I remember seeing MK 1 at a pizza parlor. Mind you, this was WAY back in the 90's before there were ratings. Sub Zero's finishing move was the "talk of the town" because it was super grotesque, but the in game context made it "fun" to attempt. Everyone knew that it was over the top, but that move became the reason to play the game for me at one point. After a while, I just stopped playing.

There's a way to deal with this issue, but it can't be resolved without looking at things honestly. Saying that games destroy youth is not honest. Saying that games have no effect on younger folk is also not honest.

If games had no effect on youth, then we wouldn't need the rating system. You can also say that if more parents took the time to engage their children, perhaps we wouldn't need the rating system.

Speaking personally, if it's not a horror game, I think that gratuitous violence/gore/etc in gaming is just window dressing. It's unnecessary if you're writing a good story, and designing a quality game. It can either add or detract from the experience, but it's not vital.

 

[ISearchForTraps]

Because people are ignorant and everyone has an agenda to push.

 

[Lightknight]

People need something to blame. Especially parents who can't bear the thought of their poor parenting being to blame for churning out bad adults.

 

[Karadalis]

The same reason feminists blame video games for sexist behavior

It stirs controversy.. wich in one way or another leads to more..

you guessed it:

MONEY MONEY MONEY!

 

[Vivi22]

- Because games are new and therefore suspect.
- Because games are often aimed at and played by children.
- Because it can be a convenient way to deflect from issues such as gun control.
- Because other people are doing it.
- Because, let's face it, they are very violent and emphasize simulated violent action on the part of the player.

I think that about covers it.

Actually, rather than games being new I'd say that games are the newest form of media. We haven't had anything pop up to be the new scapegoat yet (if we ever will). But games aren't exactly new. Hell, the violence in video games crap has been going on since at least the first Mortal Kombat and that was more than twenty years ago now. I was in Elementary school when that came out, so what that also tells me is that a lot of the people who lived through the start of all of this crap are now adults and many have kids of their own. Give it another 10-20 years and even Fox News will give up on the video games cause violence stuff.