Video Games and Violence

[Suicune's Fire]

I think violent video games and movies and TV shows and that sort of thing can contribute a bit. They desensitise people to violence and perhaps if that happens young enough, it could change how a child thinks. A regular healthy kid isn't going to go shooting people in real life just because they play video games, but if someone is already unbalanced in some way, then desensitising them to violence may be enough to cause them to actually go out there and hurt people.

That's just it, though; that means that violence in media is only a springboard, and not a cause. It might give people ideas who are already going to do something and only need a trigger. Then again, it's not like that would happen often anyway. I would also agree that it could change how a child thinks, but anything can change how a child thinks. If you teach a child something from a young age, even if you have no images to show them, no games to let them play or movies to sit them in front of, they're gonna adapt that mentality. So what you're saying could apply to any medium. In saying that, I don't think people should subject young children to media like that of any kind. That's why people should follow ratings. -_- But most don't.

Desensitising doesn't equate to viewing those acts as normal in real life, though. I do expect, in a shooter, to be able to shoot and kill people. I do NOT expect to be able to walk out of my door and shoot people. I think it's easier to desensitise people to things like swearing. But violence, not so much. Maybe in terms of media, but that's all. I got used to seeing blood and gore by watching the show Spartacus and loving it, but it doesn't mean I would EVER want to see anything as brutal in real life. I mean, to me that's like saying that if you play pokemon, you're going to think it's okay to go up to a cat and punch it. It's linear thinking, I reckon. xD

Although there might be a link, I don't believe it causes more violence. However, I'm not basing this off statistics and facts (not that they could be definite anyway), so it's merely my opinion.


~SF.