NationStates Jolt Archive

I just read an interesting article I thought I'd pass along to all you gamers.

Violence and Video Games (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/30/health/psychology/30real.html?th&emc=th)

I thought I'd add the poll to see if people agree or disagree with the idea that violent video games have no long term lasting effect on children.

I just read an interesting article I thought I'd pass along to all you gamers.

Violence and Video Games (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/30/health/psychology/30real.html?th&emc=th)

I thought I'd add the poll to see if people agree or disagree with the idea that violent video games have no long term lasting effect on children. I'm naturally violent. I love violent games - wargames most of all, although I played Doom 3 at a friend's house and loved it. I'm 16. I have never attacked anybody. Same for my friends.
Conclusion: it depends on the person.

I've been playing computer games since i was 6, and I became a communist. Computer games hate America.

I like how the article uses the word exposed. It implies that videogames are the cause. Maybe they should stop and think that maybe it's the children themselves who already have violent tendencies and are therefore attracted to violent videogames more than they would be attracted to Barbie and the magic of Pegasus.

My dad owns a gun shop, be he always gets scared cause as soon as I pick up a gun, I automatically aim at someone's head.

By the way is anyone else up for smacking around some hos tonight?

It annoys me when people say that because some killer liked Grand Theft Auto, we should ban it.
Hitler approved of Wagner. Should we ban Wagner?

I gotta go with yes on this one ...

Ever since I was 9 or 10, I have had this unrelenting desire to bash barrel throwing monkeys with a hammer.

It annoys me when people say that because some killer liked Grand Theft Auto, we should ban it.
Hitler approved of Wagner. Should we ban Wagner?

Actually Wagner was temporarily banned.

I like that the kid got a guilty sentence because the study that found video games and violence to not be linked came out the day of the sentencing.

An all this time I thought is was Black Sabbath music that was causing violence from the 70s to today. All that time it was Centipede. How stupid was I!!!!

An all this time I thought is was Black Sabbath music that was causing violence from the 70s to today. All that time it was Centipede. How stupid was I!!!! *giggle*

Games have done terrible things to me. If I see an undead ghoul, I will viciously slay it with Frostmourne™.

not a day goes by when i play pacman and NOT want to eat a ghost afterwards

*giggle*

Games have done terrible things to me. If I see an undead ghoul, I will viciously slay it with Frostmourne™.

Dude, I've got it way worse. Ever spend time in the back of a cruiser for eating one too many 'shrooms and then jumping on turtles' and dinosaurs' heads?

Helluva trip, though.

Dude, I've got it way worse. Ever spend time in the back of a cruiser for eating one too many 'shrooms and then jumping on turtles' and dinosaurs' heads?

Helluva trip, though.

Nah, unfortunately, I only had SM2 trips. Went to that crazy world pulling up all the turnips in the neighbor's field.

I always hate the people that say" Violent games causes people to kill". Not true. Ive been violent games for years. You dont see me running over helpess whores or beating someone up with a bat. Well..not yet...

but one thing pissed me off. I think in Britian awhile ago they banned the game Manhunt because someone copied a stunt or killing in it. Did they ever think you know...the person is freaking mental or an idiot??

I always hate the people that say" Violent games causes people to kill". Not true. Ive been violent games for years. You dont see me running over helpess whores or beating someone up with a bat. Well..not yet...

but one thing pissed me off. I think in Britian awhile ago they banned the game Manhunt because someone copied a stunt or killing in it. Did they ever think you know...the person is freaking mental or an idiot?? I think we should ban Agatha Christie books. I mean, people are so obviously copying the crimes in those books, by murdering people…

I always hate the people that say" Violent games causes people to kill". Not true. Ive been violent games for years. You dont see me running over helpess whores or beating someone up with a bat. Well..not yet...

but one thing pissed me off. I think in Britian awhile ago they banned the game Manhunt because someone copied a stunt or killing in it. Did they ever think you know...the person is freaking mental or an idiot??

That's kind of the whole point of the article. I think if you are violent to begin with, video games aren't going to make you more violent. Maybe less if you can get your aggression out in the "virtual world".

That's kind of the whole point of the article. I think if you are violent to begin with, video games aren't going to make you more violent. Maybe less if you can get your aggression out in the "virtual world". Where else can I slay hundreds of aliens armed with only two wrist blades and a spear? Real world just doesn't offer opportunities like that.

Where else can I slay hundreds of aliens armed with only two wrist blades and a spear? Real world just doesn't offer opportunities like that.

Exactly. If I can't become an AI enhanced cyborg type military weapon called Master Chief on at least a weekly basis and go kick some Covenant ass, I feel incomplete. There is little opportunity to do that out of the home. :)

While it is not a reputable site (penny-arcade.com) it did post a link to a scientific paper I can't seem to find, it said that there has never been a positive correlation to violence through violent video games and went further to show that it was a catharsis, and that movie violence, comic books, and "heavy metal" music was blamed for violence by analogous groups in the past as these phenomena evolved. I have been playing video games since nintendo and started playing doom at a really early age and I have never been in jail, suspended from school, put into detention, or gotten into a fight EVER. Like everyone else says it depends on the person and I think the parents.

As a parent it is impossible to know everything that is happening in your childs life, BUT you can put things in context. If you plug a three year old in fron of mortal kombat he may hit and kick his siblings and if left to his own devices and not being reprimanded for his actions of course he will be violent, the context of the video games needs to be explained.

Exactly. If I can't become an AI enhanced cyborg type military weapon called Master Chief on at least a weekly basis and go kick some Covenant ass, I feel incomplete. There is little opportunity to do that out of the home. :) Somehow I lost that game (I also lost Medal of Honour). :( :( :( :( :( So I practise war and army violence now in games.

It's just a scapegoat. It obviously can't be the parent's fault, so let's blame everything else - video games, TV, music, the kid next door, terrorism, Communism, drugs, whatever. Blame blame blame blame blame, I'm too damn lazy to look after my kid properly, but I'm gonna bitch and whine and point fingers when he doesn't turn out like I want him to. Holy crispy crap, I hate people.

For years, before the extrem crazy liberals began to have any say, there was a term called catharsis. People, psychologists included still, believe that violent movies and games is an imaginary way for people to release the animalistic instincts inside us.

For years, before the extrem crazy liberals began to have any say, there was a term called catharsis. People, psychologists included still, believe that violent movies and games is an imaginary way for people to release the animalistic instincts inside us. Except they can't be that liberal if they want to ban things left right and centre.

Now film censorship is another thing I hate… just give thanks they haven't applied those stringencies to games.

Though, I'm still waiting to stumble across an alien sniper rifle which can shot through walls (Perfect Dark), then I shall have my revenge

Im 14, almost every game i own is M (socom, rainbow six, GTA 3, VC,SA, doom 3,half-life ,halo)
and i dont feel any more vilolent then i was a few years ago, except mabey i can tell the difference between a Styer AUG and TAR-21..

It's all a bunch of hooey.

Our society is trying to place blame on inanimate things--games, guns, alcohol, etc.

No one can handle responsiblity of their own actions anymore and are trying to paint everyone with the victim brush. It's not your fault, it's the fault of the (insert item here). We'll ban it. The game made you do it. The access to guns made you do it. The effect of alcohol made you do it. It's all a crock.

Though, I'm still waiting to stumble across an alien sniper rifle which can shot through walls (Perfect Dark), then I shall have my revenge

.50BMG for concrete.

Pretty much any hunting rifle will go through any house in the US--several, actually. 2x4s don't stop bullets.

I've been playing Europa Universalis, Civilization, and other conquer-the-world type games for years, and I have never once tried to conquer the world in real life. In fact, I wouldn't want the bother of running it. Obviously there's no link there.

:p

Aye, but hunting rifles don't have x-ray scopes and auto-tracking devices so you can 1-shot people from a mile away and then giggle like the sad little lamer you are.

I've been playing Evil Genius a bit, and crazily I have this idea to build a giant frickin' laser!!!!

.50BMG for concrete.

Pretty much any hunting rifle will go through any house in the US--several, actually. 2x4s don't stop bullets.


Lol, my friend took at BB-rifle (one that you have to pull the front down, then up pump kind) put an airsoft bullet in it, pumped it around 100 times, then shot. It went through the wall of his garage, then cracked his moms windsheild.

This is my hyposthesis concerning the falsehood of this claim

The reason there are so many types of video games out there that emulate life activity (The Sims, Any sport game imaginable, shooter games, war games, etc) is solely because gamers are too damn lazy (not to mention hate RL with a passion) to do any of this stuff in real life. Thus we will never commit violence because of video games.

It's just a scapegoat. It obviously can't be the parent's fault, so let's blame everything else - video games, TV, music, the kid next door, terrorism, Communism, drugs, whatever. Blame blame blame blame blame, I'm too damn lazy to look after my kid properly, but I'm gonna bitch and whine and point fingers when he doesn't turn out like I want him to. Holy crispy crap, I hate people.

Exactly. It's never the parents fault. Even though they more than likely provided the kid with the game and the system to play it on and then ignored everything that was happening around the kid.

This is my hyposthesis concerning the falsehood of this claim

The reason there are so many types of video games out there that emulate life activity (The Sims, Any sport game imaginable, shooter games, war games, etc) is solely because gamers are too damn lazy (not to mention hate RL with a passion) to do any of this stuff in real life. Thus we will never commit violence because of video games.

And that's why I am not just a gamer geek but I also play Dungeons and Dragons. Another common scapegoat of the censorship machine.

I like how the article uses the word exposed. It implies that videogames are the cause. Maybe they should stop and think that maybe it's the children themselves who already have violent tendencies and are therefore attracted to violent videogames more than they would be attracted to Barbie and the magic of Pegasus.
*clap clap clap*

Except there's no need to use the word "maybe".

It's a vicious circle. Violent people like to watch violent movies and play violent games. This violent entertainment strenghtens their violent tendencies even further. They want more violence because the usual stuff doesn't fill the need ->more violent movies etc.

People do copy killings from videogames. That's a fact. But they have always copied them. From movies, comics, books, anywhere.

In my opinion Violent Video Games is a outlet to let out some of that stress. God knows I love to go home and Kill Pixils after a hard day of work.

:mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5:

*clap clap clap*

Except there's no need to use the word "maybe".

It's a vicious circle. Violent people like to watch violent movies and play violent games. This violent entertainment strenghtens their violent tendencies even further. They want more violence because the usual stuff doesn't fill the need ->more violent movies etc.

People do copy killings from videogames. That's a fact. But they have always copied them. From movies, comics, books, anywhere.

Did you read the article?

Did you read the article?
No, I don't want to register to every single page. I read the other posts though..

What I understood from Crab cakes post the article says that the games are to blame. I don't agree with that.

No. This whole "video games make you more violent" is a lie that the ESRB is paying the media to tell, so people think that their stupid ratings should be the law. The fact is that they should not! F*** You :upyours: ESRB! Also another thing is that the ESRB wants you to think that ESRB stands for "Enterainment Software Rating Board". I really stands for "Excessively Stupid Rating B***hes"

thats just stupid. i admit, i do play violent games, and i do have violent tendencies, but just because i play GTA that doesnt mean im gonna go out and shoot a whole bunch of people. I pay violent war games, like Conflict: Vietnam, becuase im a war buff who is sick of those cheesey war games. Then i only play Grand Theft Auto games to vent my anger and frustration so i dont go out and commit mass murder.

*clap clap clap*

Except there's no need to use the word "maybe".

It's a vicious circle. Violent people like to watch violent movies and play violent games. This violent entertainment strenghtens their violent tendencies even further. They want more violence because the usual stuff doesn't fill the need ->more violent movies etc.

People do copy killings from videogames. That's a fact. But they have always copied them. From movies, comics, books, anywhere.

For every psycho that plays a video game and then kills someone, there's ten million who will just play the video game. I've played violent video games since I was 7, and I haven't killed anyone. And I never will. Why? First off, it's easier, more fun, and actually legal to kill someone in a video game. Secondly, killing someone is a lot of work, and I'm too damn lazy.

Also, the "slippery slope" idea is totally wrong. I'd say violent games prevent more murders than they cause. Say I have a really bad day. I go home and play some violent game. I feel better. Now I don't have to kill anyone. If I didn't play that game, I might have just sat and thought about how angry I was, then taken an axe to the first person I saw. But no. I played some CS, I fragged a hundred people, and I'm not angry anymore. Easy as that.

I like how the article uses the word exposed. It implies that videogames are the cause. Maybe they should stop and think that maybe it's the children themselves who already have violent tendencies and are therefore attracted to violent videogames more than they would be attracted to Barbie and the magic of Pegasus.

Damn right

Also, the "slippery slope" idea is totally wrong. I'd say violent games prevent more murders than they cause. Say I have a really bad day. I go home and play some violent game. I feel better. Now I don't have to kill anyone. If I didn't play that game, I might have just sat and thought about how angry I was, then taken an axe to the first person I saw. But no. I played some CS, I fragged a hundred people, and I'm not angry anymore. Easy as that.
Yes, I agree. But you know too that there are nutcases in this world. Some violent kid may become more violent even if most of us won't. The problem is not the game but the person. That's why we (especially parents) need more media education. If our kid can't handle the violence in games/movies we have to make sure that they don't play those games 7 hours a day.

No, I don't want to register to every single page. I read the other posts though..

What I understood from Crab cakes post the article says that the games are to blame. I don't agree with that.

Actually, the article says that now that research has been done, it has been proven that there is no long-term effect on children that play violent video games. It supports what you are saying.

Aye, but hunting rifles don't have x-ray scopes and auto-tracking devices so you can 1-shot people from a mile away and then giggle like the sad little lamer you are.

Good point. There would have to be a bit of estimation involved. :D

I've been playing too much Call of Duty lately ...

Must ... kill ... Germans .... must ... kill .... Germans ....

Lol, my friend took at BB-rifle (one that you have to pull the front down, then up pump kind) put an airsoft bullet in it, pumped it around 100 times, then shot. It went through the wall of his garage, then cracked his moms windsheild.

Yeah, those front break actions can get up over 1000 feet per second (almost the speed of a 9mm, around the speed of a .40S&W, and much faster than a .45ACP). They'll do some damage.

In my own opinion violent games do not make violent people, violent people play violent games. And also surveys and stuff like that have shown an amazing decline in youth related crimes since video games(violent or not) have become really popular. Here is a link to an amazing article... http://gr.bolt.com/articles/violence/violence.htm

Actually, the article says that now that research has been done, it has been proven that there is no long-term effect on children that play violent video games. It supports what you are saying.
Ok, I might register later on to read it.

I think it's proven that small kids are more aggressive shortly after certain tv-programmes (Looney Tunes was one of them if I remember correctly, I read the study years ago). But just like in this one, no long-term effects.

Know what else makes little kids violent shortly after use?

Candy.

OH EM EF GEE we need to crack down on the candy consumption, it's turning our children into souless killing machines.

Know what else makes little kids violent shortly after use?

Candy.

OH EM EF GEE we need to crack down on the candy consumption, it's turning our children into souless killing machines.
Candy should be R-rated.

Candy should be R-rated.

I've never seen R-Rated candy. XXX-rated candy, but that's for a different thread.

Hell, yeah!

Thanks to video games, I have an uncontrolable urge to kill zombies.

I've never seen R-Rated candy. XXX-rated candy, but that's for a different thread.
:D

I've never seen R-Rated candy. XXX-rated candy, but that's for a different thread.

I gotta get some of this XXX-rated candy. Errr... unintentional derail.

I gotta get some of this XXX-rated candy. Errr... unintentional derail.

Those are easy to find, they come as little blue tablets!!

I don't think violent video games make people violent, really difficult video games make people violent. They get you so pissed off you want hit someone.

I don't think violent video games make people violent, really difficult video games make people violent. They get you so pissed off you want hit someone.
I definitely agree!

I don't think violent video games make people violent, really difficult video games make people violent. They get you so pissed off you want hit someone.

And right there! You hit the nail right on the head. I've gone through a few controllers and keyboards in my time that have taught me to curb my frustration at my own video game short comings.

Damn YOU PEASANT QUEST!! ;)

I don't think violent video games make people violent, really difficult video games make people violent. They get you so pissed off you want hit someone.

Oh, holy shit are you right!

Anyone here ever play a game for the PS1 called "Skullmonkeys"? Terrific and innovative gameplay for a side-scroller along the lines of the old Oddworld games, but with cel-shaded animation. Most of the levels were perfectly tuned to the skills you should have learned on the level before -- a good learning curve. But the next to last level invilved going through an entire level of shadow at breakneck speeds -- it's like they take the whole forelighting out and you have to navigate via silhouettes. I burned through the extra lives I'd worked so hard to earn in a matter of minutes and was so frustrated, I damn near skeet-shot that CD.