Do violent video games actually cause violence?

[knyghtbyte]

Originally posted by: Amused
The ultimate hypocrisy here are the very same people who claim cigarette ads make kids smoke will vehemently deny that movies and video games will make them act violent or have sex.

An ad is a 30 second movie that advocates an action. A movie is a two hour experience that advocates actions and a video game is a never ending movie that not only advocates actions, it has you virtually play them out.

Understand me here, I am against any and all censorship. Including the double standard against commercial advertising.

Influences are everywhere in life. The key is training kids to ignore them, not ban the influences themselves.

You must world-proof your child, not child-proof the world.

now thats a good way to say it.......

and its true.....i watched loads of horror and sickening stuff as a kid, but the way my parents bought me up never once led me to want to stick my friends hand under a chainsaw or testfire a homemade explosive crossbow into his chest etc....

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Doboji

Originally posted by: Mursilis

Originally posted by: Doboji
I dont think they should restrict the sale of playboy to adults... just like they shouldnt ban nudity or crude language on public tv.

:shocked: OK, so how about hardcore sex? At any hour? And by 'public TV', do you mean broadcast TV? It's not like anyone can't order XXX pay-per-view already.

Sure.... why not. Even hardcore sex on TV. How does that hurt children? The error is in thinking that we can prevent our children from seeing these things.

I certainly can and do prevent mine from seeing 'these things' on TV. It's called parenting.

You're far better off talking to them about it, so they understand what they're seeing. And then changing the channel.

Well I guess you'll have to raise yours as you see fit, and I'll have to do likewise. Thankfully, the public airwaves are still subject to public regulation, and yet you can still order the Spice Channel if you so desire. Seems like a fair compromise.

 

[StageLeft]

Of course they influence behaviour. They don't cause it like putting a match to gasoline causes a fire, but we are all products of our environment. If you take a particularly pliable entity, like a young kid, and inundate them with hours and hours of wanton violence you are an idiot if you think it doesn't affect them and desensitize them to violence.

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Of course they influence behaviour. They don't cause it like putting a match to gasoline causes a fire, but we are all products of our environment. If you take a particularly pliable entity, like a young kid, and inundate them with hours and hours of wanton violence you are an idiot if you think it doesn't affect them and desensitize them to violence.

i agree. seems like most gamers are just in denial about this.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: dighn

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Of course they influence behaviour. They don't cause it like putting a match to gasoline causes a fire, but we are all products of our environment. If you take a particularly pliable entity, like a young kid, and inundate them with hours and hours of wanton violence you are an idiot if you think it doesn't affect them and desensitize them to violence.

i agree. seems like most gamers are just in denial about this.

Most gamers don't have kids. It would be interesting to see breakdown of parents/nonparents among the people in this discussion. As a parent and a voter with libertarian leanings, I don't have any philosophical problems with age-related sales restrictions on games/movies/music with violent/sexual themes, as long as adults have reasonable access. Seems like they do have such access, at least in my neck of the woods.