Yes, video games can cause aggression

[SoopaSte123]

Yes, it is true. I'm tired of the debate and all the studies that go back and forth and say "Yes! Video games cause aggressive behavior!" and "No! Video games are harmless!" when the answer seems pretty obvious, so I'm going to say my piece on it for those who care to listen.

I believe there are 2 ways video games can cause aggressive behavior.

Case 1: as I kid I remember playing Tekken against my friend Jake. After a while playing against each other we got really pissed and angry at each other to the point of wanting to hit each other.

HOWEVER, this was not some mind-controlling evil magic of video games, this was from the COMPETITION. Both Jake and I are competitive people, and as young children who have more trouble controlling our emotions, we got pissed off that we were losing to one another. Yes video games helped cause the aggression, but ANY competitive game or sport could. It could have been table tennis or Risk or American football (oh boy do I have some stories of backyard football causing aggression).

This isn't limited to a multiplayer situation, either. Single player games have competition, too: you vs the computer. Tell me you have never been frustrated playing against a computer at some point, be it against a tough boss in Mega Man or being mauled to death in Demon's Souls or playing on the "insane" difficulty of some game. Frustration can cause aggression.

So Lesson 1: Competition can cause aggression. Most video games have competition of some sort, so they can cause aggression, but they do not cause aggression simply for being video games.

Case 2: As a young kid, I was playing with my little sister after watching the awesome Batman animated series. I imagined we were Batman and Robin battling some villain (I don't recall which one). During the vicious battle, the villain fired something at Robin. My sister didn't try to dodge, so to provide the effect of Robin getting hit, I smacked my sister in the stomach. She went crying to my mother and got in trouble.

Why do I bring this up? Well, one can say that if I hadn't watched the violent Batman tv shows I wouldn't have been violent with my sister. It's a harsh statement to make, but in part it is true; if I had just sat there all day instead of watching Batman or playing, I wouldn't have hit my sister. That's not reasonable, though! Little kids are going to play and are going to be aggressive at times because they have SO much freaking energy. Watching Batman would make them aggressive, as would watching Indiana Jones or Power Rangers or playing violent video games or listening to ye olde radio with stories of cowboys and indians or anything else. It happens regardless.

Now as adults we are better at controlling our emotions but there is still an effect on us. If you don't believe me, go watch something like Taken or the Boondock Saints and tell me you don't kinda feel like beating somebody up. There is something inherently cool about shooting or beating up bad guys, and watching violent movies or playing violent video games will evoke our primal urge to kill things and be badass motherfukers.

So Lesson 2: Being exposed to ANY sort of violent entertainment will tend to evoke aggressive tendencies.

Now, I'd love to say there is no difference between playing violent video games and watching violent tv or movies, but I can't say that with all honesty. See, my Case 2 applies to video games + tv + movies, but Case 1 only applies to video games + competitive games/sports. Our medium is the first to combine both cool characters and violent stories with competitive games, and I believe the combination of both does indeed make video games a little bit more likely to evoke aggression than tv or movies.

So what's the bright side of this (and there better be a bright side because I love video games as much or more than the next guy)? The aggression caused by the evocative nature of video games is still minimal. Growing up with video games, I can say that playing tennis has caused me just as much (if not more) aggressive behavior as playing video games. I can also say that there are many many video games out there that LOWER my aggressive behavior by allowing me to relax or unwind.

No, Fox News, video games do not cause killing sprees. Yes, parents, you should limit your children's time with video games just as you would with tv or movies. No, Congress, you should not pass laws forbidding the sale of games to kids because it's not the end of the world if kids play violent games.

*Sighhhhhhhhh* I'm good now. No more ranting. Wow that's a lot of text. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions about my ramblings, escapists.

tl;dr Video games can cause violent behavior just like tv, movies, and competitive sports AND they're as equally emotionally harmless.

EDIT: Hahaha I love how some of you are quick to point blame at me, seemingly before you even read the TLDR. I was age 8 or 9 at the time of my story (I don't quite remember), so 13 years ago. I can control my emotions just fine now, thanks.

Also, here's a TLDR that sums up my post better than me

TLDR?
1. people will be competititive, no matter what the activity
2. kids will be idiots that want to mimic every cool thing they see on tv/movies/games. but its up to the parents to teach them better.

 

[Weaver]

Most studies have said they tend to increase agression/energy within a short timeframe of playing them, but the effects quickly dwindle. It's the same thing as when you see kids walking out of the latest GI Joe movie and doing karate kicks and getting all wound up.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Of course they can, every time I play Black Ops I end up wanting to punch someone.

 

[Da pyro man 999]

I'm not sure, but a session of black ops gives me terrets.

 

[Dogstile]

Of course they can, every time I play Black Ops I end up wanting to punch someone.

Roughly this, but less so.

Because I don't suck at call of duty.

(I want to die for making that reference, i'm so sorry )

 

[jimahaff]

I agree, but in the end the choice is still yours to make. The can't force you to punch out your friend, but they could make you want to more. The same goes for anything you let into your mind, like you mentioned. Videos, TV, music, books you name it and it can influence your behavior. If you don't believe me, then just listen to mad world by Gary Jules, or dark blue by jack's mannequin a few times and tell me you don't feel a little sadder.

 

[TehCookie]

I think you're just violent. I do think violence in media will make people who are incline to be more violent, violent, but doesn't affect those who tend to be more peaceful. Competition doesn't cause violence, it may cause anger but not everyone channels anger to violence. I channel anger through yelling and walking away, no one is forcing me to play.

Also being a kid I also watched my fair share of violent TV shows and then reenacted then with my brother. When we were play fighting we never hit each other, we would throw a light punch and the other person would over exaggerate it like they just got hit by someone with super strength, there was no pain involved.

 

[Shia-Neko-Chan]

It causes aggression in people that are already aggressive in some way shape or form.

As a kid (and now for that matter), whenever I'd play violent video games, I was never affected at all. I would have the same attitude and thoughts that I had before playing it. This led to me being really confused when the now outdated studies made my parents take my favorite games away.

The studies that say it does not create aggression are the studies that try to observe emotional differences in people who are not normally aggressive and naturally find nothing.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

I'd say they cause temporary irritated annoyance, rather than aggression.
Sure they can cause a bit of short-term anger, but video-games alone can never be held responsible for turning someone into a psychopath.

 

[teh_Canape]

of course it does

but really, after you turn it off, how long does the rage lasts anyway

no more than 5 mins in my case

mostly out of frustration

 

[BenRK]

Here's the thing though, ANYTHING can cause aggression. Movies, TV, books, comics, games, driving, people, animals, EVERYTHING. It really all depends on how you deal with it.

Me, when I get angry and such from a video game, I turn it off and go do something else. It's not worth it to get angry at a simple video game. As much as I enjoy games, I just need to back off for a little bit.

Heck, it may not even be video games them selves that cause one to get aggressive. It may be outside factors and a video game simply triggered it. Maybe one had a bad day at work or an emotionally taxing event was going on for them. It really could be anything.

 

[rockingnic]

Anything can cause aggression... My classes can make me pissed. So can my work, my gaming and physical activities.

 

[Shameless]

Everything that inspires violence can cause aggression, we humans are affected by the things that surround us, however people either think that Video games are the only cause of aggression or they cause no aggression at all.

 

[SoopaSte123]

I think you're just violent. I do think violence in media will make people who are incline to be more violent, violent, but doesn't affect those who tend to be more peaceful. Competition doesn't cause violence, it may cause anger but not everyone channels anger to violence. I channel anger through yelling and walking away, no one is forcing me to play.

Also being a kid I also watched my fair share of violent TV shows and then reenacted then with my brother. When we were play fighting we never hit each other, we would throw a light punch and the other person would over exaggerate it like they just got hit by someone with super strength, there was no pain involved.

Haha I'm not a violent person, but I did have anger problems as a child, which is what led to the experiences I wrote about. Yes of course there will be more reserved people who never have violent tendencies, but that doesn't mean they don't affect them.

Competition can cause anger. Yes, not in everybody, but you can't argue it doesn't happen if you've ever watched a professional sporting event.

 

[SoopaSte123]

Everything that inspires violence can cause aggression, we humans are affected by the things that surround us, however people either think that Video games are the only cause of aggression or they cause no aggression at all.

Yes, this is a wonderful summary of what I was trying to say, just 1/50 of the size. I see a lot of gamers defend it like it's a black and white issue, which of course it isn't.

 

[Littlee300]

My brother punched my sister in face for getting the front seat in the car. So losing anything can cause aggression if the person is an asshole enough
Edit: Also I am calmer after playing Deus ex since it makes me question my actions. Thinking patterns I guess.

 

[TheEndlessSleep]

Video games do cause agression, but only while you are playing them.
I get pretty loud and profane when I play COD, but i've never felt the urge to go out and shoot somebody afterwards.

 

[Jonluw]

What you're describing is short term agression though.
What the "videogames are bad" crowd are saying is that games can cause a long-term change in behaviour and relation to violence. I don't think anyone's debating that you can get pissed off playing a game or might try to emulate what you see in the game.

 

[maturin]

I believe the studies saying that a short time spent playing violent games can affect aggression levels for a considerable period of time. I also believe I experience the same effects from the fucking captchas on these stupid forums. burnburnburnburnburn

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

snip.

Although in this case you're right, don't use yourself as a case study. That way leads to Freud. You canot say 'yes, video games cause violence because I played a videogame and got aggressive' because I can counter immediately by saying 'no, videogames do not cause aggression because I played the same videogame and did not get aggressive.' Neither of us is necessarily more right, this is the entire foundation of proper scientific study.

Also, this point is well known, and doesn't need to be argued over again, the argument shouldn't be 'do videogames make you more aggressive,' it should be 'do videogames make you more aggressive than any other form of media.'

There was a study done in the mid-90s on an island that had never had television before (the sort of study you can only do in the mid nighties). A group of social psychologists decided that they had to study what would happen, and so they observed the children of the island before and after television became available to them. Before, they were still mildly aggressive, but in a more competitive sense, ie. sports, academics

After, they began to play-fight, ie. competition for the sake of competition. The researchers linked this to (of all things) Power Rangers. Basically, once the children had seen Power Rangers, they started to emulate it.

Issue the second is this:

Videogames do not make you kill people. This is the loony lawyer in America who's claiming that the top ten reasons for teenagers killing people include videogames. This could not be worse scientific method. The simple test is this:

How many teenagers around the world play violent videogames?
Of the above group, how many teenagers have committed murder?

If violent videogames caused murder, (causation not correlation) then the majority of teenagers who played violent videogames would murder someone. Since they don't, and the number is so small it can't even be called a minority, more a blip on the graph, the argument shouldn't even need to be brought up.