Do you think video games encourage violence?

I think they hold part responsibility for encouraging violence in the real world, but just as much as the people that decide to play violent video games and watch violent movies and allow their perception of it to be manipulated and have them act out negatively. I was watching the news recently and I heard that after a study had been conducted, they found that violent video games actually haven't promoted violence over the years and that in fact, it has lowered it. Who knows how accurate that really is though. I mean on one side you have more people having something to do to keep them from making trouble on the outside world and on the other hand, you have these influences they will resort to when they have trouble on the outside world, so who really knows.

 

It's odd really. I've heard of a few studies that suggest that video games don't influence crime at all. I find it odd, how much people freak out of video games and how they cause violence. I think that as long as you follow the age rating on the package, you shouldn't have any problem at all because your kids are generally mature enough to handle it. So overall, I don't think they do too much besides desensitization (although that's a pretty bad thing).

 

To some extent, they do. There are actually a lot of factors one must take into consideration before ultimately judging a video game as something that encourages violence. For one, the type of upbringing and education the player has been subjected to throughout his growing years can affect the degree to which a video game can influence him.

 

I feel that it is just a general numbness towards death that is perpetuated by the media, not just video games. So many movies and shows have killing, violence, and mass deaths, even those blockbuster PG-rated ones like Avengers. Video games might be at fault as well, but they are not the only culprits here.

 

I don't think they encourage violence, to be honest. I have been playing games ever since I was 6, and when I was maybe 10 or 12 years old, I have started playing games that had the rating adult only, for example, GTA San Andreas. That game has a lot of violence and a lot of adult content, and it did not make me violent, it didn't make me want to kill someone or do anything illegal. I still play games and I am 18 years old, and I am still not violent, even tho I play games regularly, violent ones too. People who are violent are not violent because of what kind of TV shows they watch, or because of games, or anything else. People who are violent are violent because they have a problem and they can't solve it, so they think violence will solve their problems. I think these people haven't been raised well enough which is why they do these things or they have a mental state. Games have nothing to do with it.

 

It is true that some video games encourage violence! But it's not fair to say that video games (In General) has a huge influence on teenagers committing violent! We have reached a new Era of gaming, and we (Gamers), are always seeking for more features and more reality to certain type of games, which means extreme images and actions will be included, and most of the games are rated, whether PG-16 or PG1-18, so we can't put the blame on the Games Industry, for they're fulfilling the needs of their customers. But if we must blame someone for what's happening in this world from Violence and Hatred and Chaos and Wars.......We Should start looking into ourselves first!

Ps:
I'm sure those people whom has set their reviews about video gaming influences violence are enjoying their times playing Call Of Duty or The Fall Of Titans!

 

Numerous studies have shown that violent video games don't cause normal people to become violent. If someone has a predisposition to violence (mental issues, etc.), then violent video games can potentially have an effect. People that say video games cause violence have no idea what they're talking about, and the science doesn't back up such claims.

I was playing a strategy game today and blockaded another civilization on an island, so they had no access to outside resources. And then I nuked them all. Know what I did afterwards? I made dinner and had a nice chat with some friends.

 

No, I don't think they do. I think that children and teens will be fine even if they play violent games. My daughter plays quite a few violent video games, and yet she's growing up to be a very kind and respectable teenager. I'm very proud of her. The violent games are just for entertainment, just like violent movies and violent TV shows.

 

I'm glad to see that the general opinion is that video games do not encourage violence. As many posts have stated, there have been numerous long, conclusive, and rigorous studies that have essentially proven that video games do not cause violent actions. It doesn't even take studies to prove this though. Millions of people play video games worldwide. If the sensationalist media is to be believed, that would mean that we have millions of serial killers in the making, just waiting for their chance to cause a national tragedy. It's honestly pathetic how quickly a lot of people try to blame video games whenever someone does something horrible. In this era, it would probably be more of a shock to find an average person in a developed region who has never played or at least seen someone play a video game before.

It's always so easy for people to look at something they aren't personally familiar with and regard it with suspicion. Gamers know that video games don't make them any more likely to do something violent than a movie, TV show, webpage, forum post, newspaper article, phone call, etc. The media needs to stop perpetuating the blatantly false myth linking video games to violence, because all it does is feed into the biases of the uninformed.

 

I do not thing video games encourage violence. For me, it is quite the contrary. With an outlet of all the rage and anger on video games, I think it can reduce the tendency of violence in real life. Though, the upbringing and the state of mind of a person is still a factor if it does cause more violence. My general view is that, it does not.

 

Video games are not living entities that encourage anything. However, video games can influence the minds of those who experience it, and it's up to such people to determine how he/she will respond from the experience. I personally have never been influenced from any games beyond playing it.

 

Do video games encourage violence?

Well we hear news about bad stuff being done all the time. Does it make people want to get out on the street and rob someone maybe? It doesn't. Applying the same logic to video games, I'd say they can't and don't encourage violence. The assumption made is based on the flawed reasoning that kids are impressionable and because of that . . .

But kids do tell the difference between fiction and reality. So what happens in video games stays in the virtual world and how they conduct themselves in the real world depends on how they are/were raised by their parents.

 

It depends on who's playing and the mindset of the one playing. If the person playing is intelligent enough to understand that the violence being depicted in the games are only for entertainment purposes and not applicable in the realistic setting, then games don't encourage violence. But if the one playing a game thinks that the violence being shown in that certain game is alright to be applied to a real setting, then that's just dumb and it could be said that video games encourage violence.

 

I do play games, but it did not make me violent at all. I think it might be depend on how much you play games. If the game is a brutal one and playing is the only thing that you do day in and day out, you might acquire the behavior of the characters that you play, and some of them might be violent. This is just my own opinion, though, because I personally have a good sense of control when it comes to gaming, thus, no way for me to be violent.

 

I don't think video games influence people's violent behaviors that much. I think anyone who carries out violent acts after playing video games already had that mindset to begin with, similar to how some people who are more pre disposed to addiction are addicted to drugs and alcohol very quickly while some don't. I really don't get it when people try and blame the activities instead of the people using them.

 

I think this perspective holds some validity. I am an educator and I have seen the aggression some of my students demonstrated when given free time on the computer. Sometimes, when my back is turn, they would go for violent fighting games with blood and gore everywhere. Once it is brought to my attention that a student is on a site they're not suppose to be on, I notice the student's demeanor tends to change and they become somewhat combative. It becomes frustrating as the district is suppose to have a block on these types of sites. Violence being consistently demonstrated isn't the case for all children and adults who play video games. I'm just saying based on my experience with some students in my class, I have seen the effects of such games. I remember one student would literally take on the demeanor of some fictional game character and try to attack students with the same level viciousness he saw in a game.

 

I think it's ridiculous. I think there are a lot of other things out there that invokes violence far more than a video game. Like abusive and/or dictator parents and teachers.. repression is a huge one! Being bullied.. which goes along with teachers and the parenting at home as well; so bullying at home and at school etc. I could play these video games and watch these movies all day every day and it does not make me want to run out and hurt people. People hurting people causes people to hurt people. Pressure makes people hurt people. Otherwise healthy people aren't influenced like that and it's insane that they blame them over and over and over again,.