I am researching the effects, if any, of violence in video games on children and also society as a whole. I would appreciate anyones opinion on this topic.

Thanks

violence in video games is no different then violence in TV or moves. it's just entertainment and doesn't effect behavior in any significant way. in fact most gamers i know or less violate then most of the non-gamers i know, i think it's because gaming it a good stress reliever. i don't see why video games are always targeted by this kind of garbage. there just an entertainment medium nothing more just like TV, moves, books and music. the content in games is rated and the rating clearly show both the intended age group for the game as well as a list of the tip of content the game contains. so lets take GTA for example yes it's violent yes it contains drug use and sexual content, but it's rated M so no one under 17 is really meant to be playing it. and is GTA really that different from shows like the sopranos they both contain similar content. i think there's a real double standard when it comes to games and most of the people making the most noise about it have never played a game in there lives.

"Effects"? Are non exsistent, as a whole, games dont effect people, if it did, so would movies, killers would be everywhere. So in my eyes, there are no effects, I have been playing some of the most voilent video games from a very young age, and I have turned out fine. So, to me, when they ban a game, its like, ok fine, but why not ban the godfather or goodfellas. I can understand banning manhunt, not for the violence, because there are worse games out there, but ban it for the gameplay, it was god awful.

you know what really makes a kid good or bad?, parenting. TV, moves, music, games don't mean a thing there just entertainment. but there the first things bad parents blame for there kids behavior. i don't care if a kid watches the most violent moves and plays the most violent games if that kid has a good parent/parents chances are vary high they'll turn out just fine. because moves and games are entertainment. it's your parents and friends that you pickup behaviour and morality from.

ACapollo hit it on the head, parenting nowadays is pretty much none existent. The parents want to be their kids best friend instead of acting like what they truly are a parent, it's the whole if mommy and daddy do it then I guess it's not that bad to do it mentality. Tell the kid NO you can't play this game, oh and not everyone is a winner there are losers too.

Violent video games allow people to vent their anger in non-violent means. If you go back and look at the FBI reports on violent crimes. After some of the most violent games were released, crime rates went down nation wide.

Hey, good thread...

My side of things:

My first appraisal of the situation says that violent people are drawn to violent games, though I also believe that very young children, if they play a very violent video game consistently, they will tend their personalities...

Keep in mind that I DO NOT have the picture of totally guiltless teenagers playing a violent video game and then going out like a programmed machine killing people... I think that adults and teenagers with a sound mind won't be affected by most violent games... Though we should keep a distance from sick ones.....

Again, the two studies led by Grossman, the judge in Florida, and Hillary Clinton, are totally baseless and chattering beyond themselves only for media attention...

This subject isn't something that can be generalized. There are too many extra factors to be considered. There's parenting, but there's also the mental health of the individual. There's a kid on trial now for shooting his parents because they wouldn't let him play a violent game. By all accounts I've heard, they were excellent parents - the kid just snapped.

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lokithescot wrote
"My first appraisal of the situation says that violent people are drawn to violent games, though I also believe that very young children, if they play a very violent video game consistently, they will tend their personalities..."

Ive heard many studies conclude this, however this fact does not necessarily suggest that these people werent violent before they played these games. I think that violent people are violent before they become attracted to violent games. Any violent person would enjoy playing a game with acts of simulated violence. Also humanity has progressed vastly in terms of reducing brutality. Hundreds of years ago entire cities would assemble to watch and enjoy public executions, consider this and many other violent aspects of the past dont happen nearly as much in modern times, yet in the past there were no videogames, or television for that matter.

Well... you can use this info if you'd like: It lets me sleep better at night, and my dreams are much better!! HAHA

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