Stanford report on the link between violence and video games

Stanford study on videogames causing violence

From the article:

For example, Republican Speaker for the House Kevin McCarthy previously cited video games as a driver behind gun violence: “But the idea of these video games that dehumanize individuals to have a game of shooting individuals and others—I’ve always felt that is a problem for future generations and others. We’ve watched from studies shown before of what it does to individuals.”

We spent months reviewing 82 medical research articles that encompass all the reputed literature and scholarship in the field for any studies with any sort of causal link between playing video games and violent behavior.

Violence was considered any act that caused physical harm. Even when considering the range of actions that this definition covers—from a simple push all the way up to assault with deadly force—such studies did not find a causal link between video game use and violence.

Videogames do not cause violence, apparently. The semantic argument is that the game itself does not cause violence so McCarthy quoted above is wrong. The media does not create the monster.

Well, hold up:
right-wing gamer threat

Games can make you a right-wing bigot racist misogynist. And those guys are violent, right?

In literal terms, the game didn't make you commit the couldn't act. The game DID make you accept a ideology that lead to the violence. But it wasn't the game that did it so those right-wing politicians who hate on video games are wrong... While also being correct?

Nonetheless, at least we can finally move beyond video games causing violence to women, right Anita? Right?!

a reply to: oddscreenname

Playing violent video games is both harmless and healthy. When going through hard times/rough dramatic events in my life, I sometimes blew off a lot of steam that way. It's the same as hitting a punching bag, ranting to someone willing to listen, or playing angry metal music. Anger should never be repressed or not expressed. It has to come out somehow. Playing a violent video game like Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5) not only lets you blows off steam but it actually associates the very expression of one's aggression with with a passive act. In effect, it teaches you to be harmless.

I'm sure there are exceptions. But if someone's having a psychotic episode, off their meds, reading a book like "The Catcher and the Rye" and convince someone to kill.

a reply to: LoneCloudHopper2

The problem is the argument about games causing violence. One side argues "games make people violent" while the other side calls then moralists trying to take fun away. Then that same claims games cause all these other I'll effects... But not that specific one that the other side claimed. It's a cheap buy effective tactic that works for a lot of topics.

The study itself undoes itself when it claims mental health issues and addiction can result from video games just not specifically violence in the form of acting out actions seen in the game. The games can cause things leading TO violence but not the narrow set of guidelines given.

Or simply video games - change of ideology - violence. The root wasn't ideology. It wouldn't have changed if not for the game. Therefore what caused the violence was....

who paid for the study and what about Left wing gamer threat? studies say what they are paid to say.

a reply to: oddscreenname

From my personal experience, and I am not a gamer, but from those that I know that are gamers, are young adults and they rarely leave their room or their small circle of friends.

The folk that I have seen go from decent, kind, gentle people, to fire breathing, nasty, aggressive extremist, are those that spend a lot of time on the internet, looking and listening to online talking heads, in chats rooms, and in places like Reddit and Twitter.

That is just my experience.

I'm a gamer. I'm an OG gamer, from back in Ultima Online days when MMOs just got started. And I've gamed on Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, and Amiga computers back in the day. I've PvPed with groups at top level over the last few decades, sometimes making it to top 10 global as a team.

I've killed MILLIONS of people in games in various ways. I love winning.

I have never harmed a person in real life, nor do I want to. None of the people I know over the world that are friends and gamers have hurt anyone as far as I know.

Sure, there have to be crazy gamers out there, because gamers are people. Just like there are crazy people who have a badge and still go ape and kill people.

Well they must be playing a metric f ton of vidya games in New Orleans, St Lewis, Baltimore, Detroit and Memphis!
Yup….must be the right wing video game players……. In these cities….yup….

It’s not the game in my honest opinion that turns people into the seething, raging, ignorant fire breathing trolls. It’s the anonymity. Online anonymity increases all of the dark tetrad. sadism, psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism all increase when an individual is given anonymity for online interactions.

I like my anonymity as much the next guy but this is true and can be seen on this very forum each and everyone of us is guilty of this.

www.sciencedirect.com...


m.youtube.com...

a reply to: oddscreenname

Stanford report on the link between violence and video games

Again ? Another report ?
Folks have been doing this si8nce the mid-90s , and getting their butts handed to em by REAL psychologists ever since the start .
"If at first you don't suck seed , try , try again until you do suck seed ' - Three Stooges .

They've been trying to link video games to violence for YEARS.

The data just doesn't support that conclusion.

I can't speak to anyone but myself, but particularly in my teenage years, if I felt stressed, I would mercilessly murder virtual monsters, aliens, dragons, Nazis, whatever, in video games, so that I didn't feel like doing it in real life anymore. I found exactly the opposite; they removed the violent impulses for myself.

If a person is a loose cannon, meaning that person lacks control....those people no matter what political affiliation can be depersonalized by video games which can make them more of a problem than they originally were. They do not effect all people the same.

But be aware that one person that gets worse from being depersonalized by video games can go wild and hurt or kill a lot of people. I do not know how you can limit these kind of people from playing these games. A father can play them and be perfectly fine but the kid can become problematic. This is a very complex subject. putting fuel on a fire increases the risk of someone cracking and hurting lots of people.

It is important to note who is doing the research....someone who believes they are harmless because they grew up with them or let their kids play with them will have a bias interpretation of the evidence. These people who let their kids play them will not admit they did their kid harm. Since the majority of kids like them and especially rich people let their kids play them because they are a part of consensus of the time for kids to play them....they cannot give a legitimate research conclusion of how it effects some people.

A young adult who sees in the news that someone did a school shooting and got lots of attention in the news might desire to get their name included in history independent of any political affiliation....they may even do it to get back at their parents.

There are multiple things that could be causing the increase of violent behavior in kids these days and also adults. Violent video games are just one part of the equation.

a reply to: oddscreenname


Of course !!!
Not parenting or single mothers as the cause !!

Saw the Chaz Zone video game ?
I play the Rob, Loot and Burn Walmart/Corner Store video game ?

I also play Statue Topple video game !

The neighbor across the street is always on the game Polar Bear Hunting: Get Whitey.......


No one is responsible for their actions, we're all "victims" dont'cha know...

originally posted by: rickymouse
If a person is a loose cannon, meaning that person lacks control....those people no matter what political affiliation can be depersonalized by video games which can make them more of a problem than they originally were. They do not effect all people the same.

But be aware that one person that gets worse from being depersonalized by video games can go wild and hurt or kill a lot of people. I do not know how you can limit these kind of people from playing these games. A father can play them and be perfectly fine but the kid can become problematic. This is a very complex subject. putting fuel on a fire increases the risk of someone cracking and hurting lots of people.

It is important to note who is doing the research....someone who believes they are harmless because they grew up with them or let their kids play with them will have a bias interpretation of the evidence. These people who let their kids play them will not admit they did their kid harm. Since the majority of kids like them and especially rich people let their kids play them because they are a part of consensus of the time for kids to play them....they cannot give a legitimate research conclusion of how it effects some people.

A young adult who sees in the news that someone did a school shooting and got lots of attention in the news might desire to get their name included in history independent of any political affiliation....they may even do it to get back at their parents.

There are multiple things that could be causing the increase of violent behavior in kids these days and also adults. Violent video games are just one part of the equation.

BS "study".

What will mark kids is violent behavior AT HOME AND IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
If they grow up with poor parenting and or get beat up all the time, they will do this as adults



It's not rocket science
This is gonna hurt "fweelings", but it's the parents....

a reply to: M5xaz

No one is responsible for their actions, we're all "victims" dont'cha know...

Yes, everyone is a victim because we let them act that way and all we do against it is grumble.

a reply to: M5xaz

It is a BS study, at least according to the article supporting the study and other unrelated articles. Basically it's saying video games don't "cause" violence but can "lead" to violence. It's violence but not your violence so you're wrong.

a reply to: rickymouse

There are multiple things that could be causing the increase of violent behavior in kids these days and also adults. Violent video games are just one part of the equation.

By no means an I against video games but I've seen the "addiction" in children around me. Recursive gameplay is insidious as it is genius in selling a game.

originally posted by: oddscreenname
a reply to: M5xaz

No one is responsible for their actions, we're all "victims" dont'cha know...

Yes, everyone is a victim because we let them act that way and all we do against it is grumble.

No quite, some places like Florida at least try to ban the teaching of tranny/CRT victim status.

originally posted by: oddscreenname
a reply to: M5xaz

It is a BS study, at least according to the article supporting the study and other unrelated articles. Basically it's saying video games don't "cause" violence but can "lead" to violence. It's violence but not your violence so you're wrong.

Dingbat drivel distinction.
Like saying oceans don't cause drownings by can lead to drownings....Yes, BAN OCEANS !! NOW !!!!



Lord have mercy....

Dingbat drivel distinction.
Like saying oceans don't cause drownings by can lead to drownings....Yes, BAN OCEANS !! NOW !!!!

a reply to: M5xaz

Kind of like guns, no?

a reply to: M5xaz

I can't disagree with that. But then again, I have to add, the parents are letting their kids play these games of violence that also can lead to improper behavior instead of teaching them to live symbiotically in society.

The majority of kids that play these games will not get depersonalized but if one out of a hundred does, that one person can start to get infatuated with military style weapons and can go hulu. When I was a kid, we played cowboys and Indians...my cousins and friends always made me be the Indian because cowboys always killed the Indians on TV so I usually always lost. I actually had some real good friends that were Native Americans and alaskan Indians over the years. Probably because I was always the Indian when I was a kid. At least we did not have WW11 games, I would probably have been a German so they could win.

Strangely, sixty years later I found that I am about one point seven percent Inuit...like an Alaskan Indian or Eskimo. Kind of rare for a Finn guy I guess.