Violent Video Games Affecting Children? Study Says NO!

In light of the recent Grand Theft Auto trailer, you'll need to be prepared for some debate. Expand your minds by wrapping them around this study, which refutes other studies involving the same subject matter. The study indicates that violent video games may have an affect on children predisposed to violence and negativity, but are not affecting average kids. In an interesting side-note, hyperactive children calmed down after playing. This study was undertaken by Swinburne Institute Of Technology.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/04/study_kids_unaf.html

the games have ratings for a reason. In these extreme cases, parents should be more responsible.OGTiago

Well even in normal circumstances, parents should be more responsible from what I've seen lately. Just even moreso in extreme circumstances.

people are who they are. they can look for excuses in every possible area they want, but in the end we are who we are. if your going to murder a person , you must be of a certain state of mind. a video game wont create that state. if you have the chance to go to harvard but make $2000 a week selling drugs , and you choose selling drug. games wont do that. society has tried for a long time to blame it's problems on many things. but before video games there was just as much killing and crimes. there was just as many people with mental flaws, the only difference is the amount of coverage we get of it because of tv. politicians are so ignorant. the problem is clearly not an external stimulation, but an internal retardation. it's the alpha effect. akuma303x

the games have ratings for a reason. In these extreme cases, parents should be more responsible.OGTiago

[QUOTE="akuma303x"]people are who they are. they can look for excuses in every possible area they want, but in the end we are who we are. if your going to murder a person , you must be of a certain state of mind. a video game wont create that state. if you have the chance to go to harvard but make $2000 a week selling drugs , and you choose selling drug. games wont do that. society has tried for a long time to blame it's problems on many things. but before video games there was just as much killing and crimes. there was just as many people with mental flaws, the only difference is the amount of coverage we get of it because of tv. politicians are so ignorant. the problem is clearly not an external stimulation, but an internal retardation. it's the alpha effect. booomer69

Owned? Not so much.  Made some good points? Definitely. 

Humans are violent by nature, that is basically a fact.  We are the only animal species that kill each otherfor pleasure.  We all have the capability to be truly violent people, some people just need certain stimulation to be pushed to the edge.  Your argument, not to belittle it, reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Marge speaks out against Itchy and Scratchy show and the TV execs point out that violence had been around for long before their show.  That is most certainly true, but we aren't talking about wars or bigger conflicts, we are talking about individual kids and how video games might potentially affect them.  Its not even violence necessarily, it might just be a kid that has spent too much time playing crime related games begins believing that lying and stealing is ok, especially if you don't get caught.  He might start shoplifting or stealing 20s from his parents' wallets.  

You are probably right though, a kid playing GTA won't all of a sudden get up and rob a bank or murder someone for pocket cash, however the more you are exposed to violence like that the more you may begin to think its okay to do that, or at least acceptable.  As for the Harvard example, games and movies often glamorize crime and violence over things like education and responsibility.  Games can be even worse than movies because with games the kid is actually in control, he is the one taking the action, no matter how virtual it is that has to have an impact.  Someone in this thread mentioned that he has a young cousin who plays tons of games but is normally regardless.  That may seem true, but you don't know what's going on in his head.  I wouldn't be surprised if its true that video games tends to make kids more aggressive and easy to anger (hell, some old school NES games used to drive me insane to the point where I wanted to break something, but hey, I look normal don't I?).  

The overall point is that any extreme is too much.  You can't attribute everything bad kids do to video games, and you can't say that video games have no effect at all, likewise you can't try to censor video games from being violent nor can you just let 10 year old play GTA.  Moderation is what we need people.

[QUOTE="OGTiago"]the games have ratings for a reason. In these extreme cases, parents should be more responsible.Smackin-Noobs

I was surprised at the amount of young people that were actually playing games like Halo 2 and RS:V.

And here's a bad story, I was in a Gamestop one day, and there was a mother in there with her son, who had to be like, 9 or 10. The kid was begging for GTA, and the parent just bought it without a second thought. I'm surprised that the clerk even SOLD it to them. And don't people realize what type of game they are going to be playing when it is titled 'GRAND THEFT AUTO" ? Do they think they will be planting daisys or something?

Also there is now a state law here in PA that prohibits the sale of any game rated 'M' to a minor, but I don't see what difference that will make as all they need is an adult to buy the game.

Dont you hate "Concerned" parents that attack games for being too violent. What the hell is their problems if u dont want your kids playing the games dont let them play but dont try to ruin gaming for all of us. I dont know where I would be if i couldn't chainsaw a Locust in half or use an auger to impale a zombie in "dead rising" . Children who are supposedly affected by violent video games are not a product of the games but of BAD PARENTING if your childs babysitter is an xbox360 ur kid is bound to be Fu#Ked up.

And I hope games get even more violent just to stick it to the again "Concerned" parents.

HAHAHA'

Dont you hate "Concerned" parents that attack games for being too violent. What the hell is their problems if u dont want your kids playing the games dont let them play but dont try to ruin gaming for all of us. I dont know where I would be if i couldn't chainsaw a Locust in half or use an auger to impale a zombie in "dead rising" . Children who are supposedly affected by violent video games are not a product of the games but of BAD PARENTING if your childs babysitter is an xbox360 ur kid is bound to be Fu#Ked up.

And I hope games get even more violent just to stick it to the parents of again "Concerned" parents.

HAHAHA'

yeahboya

the games have ratings for a reason. In these extreme cases, parents should be more responsible.OGTiago

Yer, at the end of the day it should be parents who have the ruling say about what there child plays on & is exposed to.

people are who they are. they can look for excuses in every possible area they want, but in the end we are who we are. if your going to murder a person , you must be of a certain state of mind. a video game wont create that state. if you have the chance to go to harvard but make $2000 a week selling drugs , and you choose selling drug. games wont do that. society has tried for a long time to blame it's problems on many things. but before video games there was just as much killing and crimes. there was just as many people with mental flaws, the only difference is the amount of coverage we get of it because of tv. politicians are so ignorant. the problem is clearly not an external stimulation, but an internal retardation. it's the alpha effect. akuma303x

people are who they are. they can look for excuses in every possible area they want, but in the end we are who we are. if your going to murder a person , you must be of a certain state of mind. a video game wont create that state. if you have the chance to go to harvard but make $2000 a week selling drugs , and you choose selling drug. games wont do that. society has tried for a long time to blame it's problems on many things. but before video games there was just as much killing and crimes. there was just as many people with mental flaws, the only difference is the amount of coverage we get of it because of tv. politicians are so ignorant. the problem is clearly not an external stimulation, but an internal retardation. it's the alpha effect. akuma303x

people are who they are. they can look for excuses in every possible area they want, but in the end we are who we are. if your going to murder a person , you must be of a certain state of mind. a video game wont create that state. if you have the chance to go to harvard but make $2000 a week selling drugs , and you choose selling drug. games wont do that. society has tried for a long time to blame it's problems on many things. but before video games there was just as much killing and crimes. there was just as many people with mental flaws, the only difference is the amount of coverage we get of it because of tv. politicians are so ignorant. the problem is clearly not an external stimulation, but an internal retardation. it's the alpha effect. akuma303x

I wrote a paper on this, most say they dont have an affect on how people act. Parents just need to limit their children on what they play , and raise them correctly. They shouldnt try to find video games as an excuse to blame their poor parenting skills.mastergamerandy

I hate to say it but North American parents are infamous for blaming their kids behvaior, see South Park and the song from their movie "blame canada" that makes fun of that with the ling that ends the song "We must blame canada for all this fuss before someone thinks of blaming us"

I mean this applies to Canadian parents too not americans which is why I said North America.

Anywho first off Japanese kids witness way moe violent cartoons and stuff but is the crime rate with kids and the numbers on them even remotely close? No

And secondly video games and tv and movies and music are entertainment. Problem is these parents use these forms to raise their children so much. The young kid is crany, turn on a movie and it goes from there. Entertainment and media is not a substitute for parenting but many parents use it as such and then blame the same entertainment when the kid turns out bad well maybe if they were properly parenting them in the first place this wouldnt have happened on top of that you do you have kids who are embalanced from a chemical point of view or mental.

Bottom line is video games, britney spears (especially now lol), pop music, america's next top model, these are all very bad things for your kids IF these shows and forms of entertainment spend more time with your kid then you do and is left to raise them because the parent is too busy or doesn't see a problem with it 

I dont think they affect $%it, if some dude is gonna go kill someone or do something crazy over a game, they were nuts to begin withkyle-244

Thsi reminds me of that joke from Chris Rock for some reason.

About the Tiger that bit those guys sigfred and roid however you spell it. He was talking about how surprised people were that the tiger went crazy and this is what he said... "That Tiger didn't go crazy...that Tiger went Tiger!!!"

Hahahahaha I laughed my butt of at his stand up man too bad his movies are so bad