Hey guys with all the gaming talk going on I thought it would be apropriate to pose the question " DOES PLAYING VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAUSE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR?" personally I think it does even though im in love with the mohha and Bf series I think after playing I am sometimes more aggresive to people id be interested in your say. http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf200.../goldstein.html Thanks, Jack
Well, I think aggression leads to aggression. It's circular reasoning...people who are pre-disposed to aggression will find fuel in violent games. And violent games will fuel people's aggression. Both sides have reason to find and take blame. It's like pornography...there are many people who are simply unable to relate to women, and take refuge in the pages of dirty magazines, and never actually even try to date a live woman...they wold probably faint dead away if a woman came on to them. But there are other people who find pornography is the fuel by which they commit horrific acts of rape and serial killing. I think it's a mix of environment and heredity...if people are unable to separate a game from reality, and nobody makes the effort to teach the kid to do so, you have a recipe for trouble.
I can't speak for Europe, but from my study of US culture, I am thoroughly convinced that it's the breakdown of the family. Without proper family structure, meaning kids having both parents a strong parent and a compassionate one, that they develop a warped sense of self, value, and of others. So, these individuals fail to mature or develop a distorted sense of justice and do not adjust to society well. This rapidly expanding group of people are like ticking time bombs and just like the misrepresentations of reality they become indoctrinated with by Hollywood and TV, violent games also give them ideas of distorted justice and they use violence to relieve their frustrations and confusion. Their problems are not the video games, but the video games are just triggers, like movies, TV, hard rock music, etc. It wouldn't matter if you tried to control them; the ACLU would scream bloody murder about censorship and go after Christian groups in the courts for trying to help defuse these time bombs by caring for them and helping them develop self worth, and instead promoting school curriculum for children like “Susie Has Two Daddies”. I am sure Europe has its own self-loathing socialist activists that oppose all rational thought too, but, with my somewhat limited exposure to European culture, I can't speak for them. I am convinced that video games are merely a symptom or a secondary cause to the problem.
(jimbotosome @ Dec 27 2005, 09:22 AM) [post=43674]I can't speak for Europe, but from my study of US culture, I am thoroughly convinced that it's the breakdown of the family. Without proper family structure, meaning kids having both parents a strong parent and a compassionate one, that they develop a warped sense of self, value, and of others. So, these individuals fail to mature or develop a distorted sense of justice and do not adjust to society well. This rapidly expanding group of people are like ticking time bombs and just like the misrepresentations of reality they become indoctrinated with by Hollywood and TV, violent games also give them ideas of distorted justice and they use violence to relieve their frustrations and confusion. Their problems are not the video games, but the video games are just triggers, like movies, TV, hard rock music, etc. It wouldn't matter if you tried to control them; the ACLU would scream bloody murder about censorship and go after Christian groups in the courts for trying to help defuse these time bombs by caring for them and helping them develop self worth, and instead promoting school curriculum for children like “Susie Has Two Daddies”. I am sure Europe has its own self-loathing socialist activists that oppose all rational thought too, but, with my somewhat limited exposure to European culture, I can't speak for them. I am convinced that video games are merely a symptom or a secondary cause to the problem. [/b] i agree with you in every way
I would say it is similar here in Europe. Personally I find that they can make me more aggressive although most of the time I find they are a good form of stress relief. I would agree with what you have to say Jim.
I am inclined to say no because my son plays violent games and he never shows aggressive behavior. I even bought that grand theft auto thing for him but he knows better than to go dealing drugs and doing drive by shootings just because he saw it on the game. He's 17 so he's mature enough to deal with it. However I bought him violent games for all those old video systems too and even as a child he didn't wanna torture animals and kill his classmates. I think it goes back partially to how you raise your kids and partially if the kid is already screwed up. No sane kid is going to play a game and then say to himself, "Hey I need to go beat an old lady with a baseball bat because I did that on a video game." Also I raised my son with a lotta good things. I taught him how to hunt, fish, gun safety, and all of that good stuff as a VERY young child so he had plenty of good lessons to learn early on. I also made sure he played sports at school, learned some music, and I never let him dress freakish or hang out with the kids at school that look like they want to shoot people. So definitely not, if you do something violent after a video game you were already predisposed to do that sorta thing anyway. And when kids do commit violence it's because they're parents didn't commit enough violence towards them. When my son got out of line I kicked his ass plain and simple, and he's a better person for it.
Agreed Garandguy it depends a lot on the upbringing of the child as well as whether they have some common sense if these are lacking, aggression is likely to happen as a result of the game.
(Gnomey @ Dec 28 2005, 04:41 AM) [post=43694]Agreed Garandguy it depends a lot on the upbringing of the child as well as whether they have some common sense if these are lacking, aggression is likely to happen as a result of the game. [/b] Remember that you need a license to cut hair, drive a car, or catch a fish...but not to be a parent. Too many people since time immemorial have been lousy parents for as many reasons as they were parents. In my immediate family alone, I saw neglectful parents, narcissistic parents, withdrawn parents, and uncaring parents, and if I go far back enough to my great-grandfather, abusive and alcoholic parents. One hundred years ago, kids were additional sources of income for families, working in sweatshops and factories, as Lewis Hine documented so well and appallingly. Today they're fashion accessories or proof that an otherwise inept woman can achieve something. You have to let kids be kids, and you have to make sure they have good moral gyrocompasses, and at the same time learn to get along with their schoolmates and everything that follows. Parenting is not easy, it's not a game, and it's mostly not fun. Once that kid stops being a cute little baby who poops, eats, sleeps, and burps, and starts walking, talking, and asking for what she sees on TV, the work really starts. You have to fill the kid with the right values, support her education, and ensure her safety at all times. At the same time, you have to let her be a kid...encourage her creativity, allow her to have fun, praise, support, and love her. It takes everything you have, and then some.
(Kiwiwriter @ Dec 28 2005, 08:33 AM) [post=43698](Gnomey @ Dec 28 2005, 04:41 AM) [post=43694]Agreed Garandguy it depends a lot on the upbringing of the child as well as whether they have some common sense if these are lacking, aggression is likely to happen as a result of the game. [/b] Remember that you need a license to cut hair, drive a car, or catch a fish...but not to be a parent. Too many people since time immemorial have been lousy parents for as many reasons as they were parents. In my immediate family alone, I saw neglectful parents, narcissistic parents, withdrawn parents, and uncaring parents, and if I go far back enough to my great-grandfather, abusive and alcoholic parents. One hundred years ago, kids were additional sources of income for families, working in sweatshops and factories, as Lewis Hine documented so well and appallingly. Today they're fashion accessories or proof that an otherwise inept woman can achieve something. You have to let kids be kids, and you have to make sure they have good moral gyrocompasses, and at the same time learn to get along with their schoolmates and everything that follows. Parenting is not easy, it's not a game, and it's mostly not fun. Once that kid stops being a cute little baby who poops, eats, sleeps, and burps, and starts walking, talking, and asking for what she sees on TV, the work really starts. You have to fill the kid with the right values, support her education, and ensure her safety at all times. At the same time, you have to let her be a kid...encourage her creativity, allow her to have fun, praise, support, and love her. It takes everything you have, and then some. [/b] Geez Kiwi, you are one cynical dude!
I see what you are all saying but it doesnt have to be as extreme like that say I am playing Medal Of honor online then my mum comes in and says time to finish up and you get a bit agro at her thats not stealing your dads gun and shootin up the neighborhood. Jack
(jimbotosome @ Dec 28 2005, 11:55 AM) [post=43704](Kiwiwriter @ Dec 28 2005, 08:33 AM) [post=43698](Gnomey @ Dec 28 2005, 04:41 AM) [post=43694]Agreed Garandguy it depends a lot on the upbringing of the child as well as whether they have some common sense if these are lacking, aggression is likely to happen as a result of the game. [/b] Remember that you need a license to cut hair, drive a car, or catch a fish...but not to be a parent. Too many people since time immemorial have been lousy parents for as many reasons as they were parents. In my immediate family alone, I saw neglectful parents, narcissistic parents, withdrawn parents, and uncaring parents, and if I go far back enough to my great-grandfather, abusive and alcoholic parents. One hundred years ago, kids were additional sources of income for families, working in sweatshops and factories, as Lewis Hine documented so well and appallingly. Today they're fashion accessories or proof that an otherwise inept woman can achieve something. You have to let kids be kids, and you have to make sure they have good moral gyrocompasses, and at the same time learn to get along with their schoolmates and everything that follows. Parenting is not easy, it's not a game, and it's mostly not fun. Once that kid stops being a cute little baby who poops, eats, sleeps, and burps, and starts walking, talking, and asking for what she sees on TV, the work really starts. You have to fill the kid with the right values, support her education, and ensure her safety at all times. At the same time, you have to let her be a kid...encourage her creativity, allow her to have fun, praise, support, and love her. It takes everything you have, and then some. [/b] Geez Kiwi, you are one cynical dude! [/b] Life is hard. But I don't think what I just said was that cynical...reread those last three sentences. I think you're missing my point.
I don't think Video games make kids violent. Man has always been violent (witness millions of Jews killed in WW2, soldiers killing other soldiers, Vlad the impaler etc) and video games haven't even been around that long. - Chris
Wow! For once, I find myself in total agreement with every comment posted on this subject... I play Medal of Honor, Brothers in Arms, Call of Duty, CFS 1,2, 3, and various others, and I don't think it makes me more agressive in the least - although they are addictive and sometimes I get a headache from playing too long! I do sometimes ask myself why I derive satisfaction from blowing someone's head or limbs off, or "shooting down" an opponent in flames, but I reason that I know it's not real and that makes it a whole different ball game from real world violence. Mostly, it's the end result of a test of gaming skill - it's the journey, not the end result, that's the true lure...... at least that's the case for us sane individuals....
