Do Video Games Make People Violent?

[vegito12]

I don't think video games are encouraging violence, it's like a knife which is used for cutting meat and vegetables but some people use it to harm others and cause pain when it was not intended for that purpose. Video games are a fun way to relax, rockstar has had issues with people using grand theft auto when committing crimes and saying the game made them do it and some people have tried to sue them for it. I think people need to realize blaming others for your actions is not right, and using a videogame to save face i not about being being man enough to face reality that it is your actions which cause violence not playing a game.

 

[BluBird]

I have been playing Grand Theft Auto since San Andreas was released and I haven't killed anyone. I'm not thinking about killing anyone either. Shooting someone in a video game will not make you want to shoot someone in real life. If that logic worked, then would that mean that if I played an NFL video game, I would become a professional NFL player?

 

[c9h2ua]

No, I don't think so.
I think it really depends on what kind of game that you are playing.
If you are playing Wii or Minecraft, it is absolutely not going to make you violent, because those games would not bring out any message about being violent. They are just games that help you liberate from pressure...

 

[hellonamesdana]

We've had this debate a few times throughout my social psychology classes, and I honestly don't think that violent video games or violent tv shows can make someone violent. They're already violent. Maybe more violent people view more violent types of media, that makes a lot more sense than these things corrupting them to be violent!

 

[Mika]

I don't think that it can make someone violent; however, it may make someone more prone to acting violent. I feel that a person's level of violence is something already set on a bar. Some days you just want to punch your coworker in the face, it happens. Video games won't change how much you want to hit them though (unless you're stuck on that last boss that for some reason just won't die). On the other hand, if you play a lot of games where you do actually hit your coworker, it might make it more likely for a person to slip up and let it happen. It could become something natural to do. I don't think this is a good excuse though, and I definitely don't believe video games make people violent. Ah, it might seem a bit confusing what I'm trying to say. Sorry about that.

 

[JoshPosh]

I don't believe that video games make people more violent. I think the daily news and religion does a fine job of that already. This was a hotly contested debate a long time ago back in the 1980s. They wanted to censor video games like how they tried to censor music. Eventually they cam out with a video games rating system. But kids still got to play the gore games because parent still bought them or they could easily get it from their friends.

My friends and I have been playing video games for 30 years now and not a single one of us have performed violent acts because a video game had influenced up to.

 

[niiro17]

Nah. It doesn't except if you make your kid play some games that are meant for adult, they may do it. And that is your fault because that is what they see. They don't know what is right and what is wrong. So, it depends.

 

[CyberGal]

I don't think that they make a person violent but they can bring out their violent tendencies by giving them a place to act on them. However, I think it's better that they act on these tendencies in the game instead of in real life. So, ultimately, I don't have an issue with video games.

 

[fire421]

They don't unless the person already has a mental disorder. The video games might trigger the mental disorder and make them think that what happens on screen is reality which leads to violence.

 

[edthebig]

Okay, so I touched on this topic before in other thread, but thought I'd create one to properly ask this question:

Do video games make people violent?

My response is a resounding no. Fact of the matter being anyone has the chance to act on violence. It's not a missing link that as a human species that we're known for causing mayhem and destruction for lesser things. However, to blame video games for the increase of that is just plain wrong. History has shown us that we've taken to acts of violence before video games were made. If you were a person of a different race, you were fought/killed or enslaved for being who you are. If you were just a prisoner of war, you were killed or placed in camps. If you were a different religion, you either submitted to a new one that you didn't agree with or you died. So, it seems to be a rather bold state to say: "Videos games make someone violent."

This, of course, is only my way of thinking and opinion. I'm more than open to hearing your thoughts on this everyone!

No. As a matter of fact I consider them more of a steam release machanism than anything else. We are intelligent, eloquent people. We know that if we shoot somebody's head off in GTA V because it is fun, it will not be fun in real life. We know we shouldn't hit hookers with a bat in the middle of the street. Personally I consider people who beleive this a little ignorant, and maybe it's because they have never played before.