SlashGear Japan
It seems like every time a violent crime is committed by a youth the reaction of the common public is to blame violent video games. I’ve always been confused by this, having played my share of violent games in my day, yet I’ve never had the urge to go on a murderous rampage. Maybe it’s something that just kind of happens one day without any warning. Or perhaps it is because I’m not crazy.
A study published in Psychology, Crime & Law claims that there is no connection between violent video games and violent behavior. At least not in children considered to be mentally stable. Take that Jack Thompson!
So here’s my advice to the parents out there. You should know your children better than anyone else out there, which means you know if they have anger and stability issues. If this is the case, you might want to consider monitoring the games that they are playing. If you choose not to do this, don’t blame the games for your child’s killing spree (if it happens). Oh, and try to limit their access to deadly firearms, they have to get them somewhere, and chances are they’ll look around the house first.
Study finds stable personalities unaffected by violent games [via arstechnica]
2 Responses to “No link found between teen violence and violent video games”
Ram April 9, 2007
Excellent points! I love FPS games like FEAR, HALO and Half-Life, and I’m the gentlest person I know. There are very few games, even for children, that don’t require you to kill, destroy or otherwise attempt to disrupt a negative force of some form, even if the actions are enveloped in cute sound and harmless backgrounds and characters. I must admit that I’ve thought about acting out against someone who I felt was a threat to my environment or person, but I repressed the act only because of the fear of losing control and hurting them very seriously. I prefer to express my violence through sports such as basketball. I know it’s not as violent as football, but I need to express physical aggression that doesn’t hurt others yet allows me to use my cunning in extricating myself from situations involving negative forces. I think karate would also have done the trick, but I’m too old to learn it.
+1I don’t think the problem is the violence in the games, but a lack of outlet in society for the violence that young people naturally feel. Yes, I referred to a natural feeling of violence. We are still human. We are still violent monkeys running around in fancy environments trying to take over territory and establish some kind of dominance. But since we’ve eliminated most of the real threats to our species from our environment, how do we practice our natural defensive posturing, or express aggression that we feel toward others in such a sanitised world we find ourselves in? Our natural tendency towards violence, albeit a significant ‘defect’ in our survival mechanism, is something we should accept and then try to live with, not repress. For one thing, repression establishes in one’s mind that a reaction can be released, just as well as repressed, if one wishes to release it, as when you are angry. After all, if someone tells you not to do something, that implies that the alternative, to do it, is a possibility in our society. We acknowledge that violent behavior is possible in our young people every time we warn them not to exhibit it. They must think, well if that kind of behavior is exhibited by others, why am I the one to repress it when maybe I’m one of those who should be allowed to exhibit it rather than repress it, especially if there is a true threat to them in their own environment, even if it’s just humiliation. Some kids just can’t handle pressure as well as others. They have thin skin. But a weapon gives you the power to act on your fears. Weapons have always represented power. This is another fact of life.
The key is to recognise these factors and try to let children express their anger in an atmosphere of fake violence, such as video games. Also, sports are an excellent outlet. Plus, the parents should work with their children to try to find outlets for their naturally aggressive nature, even if they think their children are passive. Somewhere the seed of violence exists in all children and should be ‘nurtured through controlled expression’. After all, I fully realise that I’m ‘pretending’ to express aggression against a false threat whether I’m playing a video game or playing basketball. In each case, each time I shoot an alien or skip around someone for a layup, I reinforce the notion that I can exhibit violence when I choose to; in a controlled environment where it is totally acceptable to the rest of society and feel satisfied that I’m not really hurting anyone.
That’s how I control my violent tendencies.
Luke April 18, 2007
I play my share of video games such as Halo, Black, Max Payne, Socom, Medal of Honor, Splinter Cell, and Ghost Recon. Instead of expressing violent behavior, I actually feel that these games relive stress and enhance my hand eye coordination. Parents blame the violent media because they dont want to take the responsibility. Violence is a learned behavior. People first learn their behavior from their parents and then their peers. Then they decide for themselves who they want to be. Parents are not just a strong influence but a direct roll model. Parents need to put more time and effort into raising their children instead of “not having enough time.” everyone has enough time for anything, they just choose to have higher priorities.
Neutral