Video games' effects on Violent and Anti-social behaviors in children

[Nark Order]

So, I'm writing a report and I'd like to get your guys feedback on this subject here to use as interview sources. Do you think that video games could possibly be responsible or partly responsible for anti-social or violent behaviors? If so, do you think it promotes it moreso than other media outlets do? In your experience as gamers, do you feel that games have affected you in a negative or positive way?

[Nark Order]

Btw, the thread title says children but I'm writing the report on adults also. Just behavior in general. Dunno why I wrote children.

[Xero]

Do you think that video games could possibly be responsible or partly responsible for anti-social or violent behaviors? - Absolutely. But this leads into your second question in that I don't think it's any worse than other media outlets.

In your experience as gamers, do you feel that games have affected you in a negative or positive way? - I have an addictive personality so I've been known to get a bit too "into" games, but I attribute that to myself and not the games.

I grew up with video games as my main source of entertainment. Overall, I've come out "okay" after logging thousands of hours gaming.

[Funky Fly]

K, first of all, grammatical errors in the title. It should be something like "The Effects of Video games on Violent and Anti-social Behavior in Children". That'll help to keep you from losing marks needlessly.

Second, studies generally show that video games do not cause negative behaviour. However, modern games do promote critical thinking, faster reaction times and improved hand-eye coordination. Video games are no worse for you than violent action movies, which, if you are a stable person, aren't bad for you at all. People who are already prone to violence (school shooters, psychopaths, serial killers, etc) are drawn to violent images. The thing to note is that they are already violent. Violent images (video games and movies) didn't make them into what they are.

As for personal experience, the only way games have impacted me negatively is that in school I'd rather play than do my homework. I still did my homework, but I'd procrastinate a lot first.

You know, if this is gonna be the topic of your paper you really ought to collect a lot of factual evidence to back up this sort of thing. I gave a speech on this like 5 years ago and I had to cite evidence on it with studies, adolescent crime rate charts and the like.

[Nark Order]

Yeah, I looked up alot of stats. I just haven't really looked at them yet. I am King Procrastinator Extraordinaire.

[screech]

Do you think that video games could possibly be responsible or partly responsible for anti-social or violent behaviors?

Absolutely. Especially anti-social behaviors.

If so, do you think it promotes it moreso than other media outlets do?

No. As Funky said, games today promote critical thinking, quick reactions and focus on improving hand-eye coordination. They get way more flak than they should.

In your experience as gamers, do you feel that games have affected you in a negative or positive way?

The only way they affected me negatively is that they were another reason for me to not do homework and such. Actually, I learned more about football by playing Madden, so I guess that's one way games have had a positive effect on me.

Hope that helps. Kick some ass :y:

[OssMan]

video games' effects

[PapaGeorgio]

Another thing to consider is cause and effect. Does playing videogames cause you to be anti-social. Or are anti-social people just more prone to play videogames. As for the anti-social experience associated with videogames, they have actually become more social over the years. Encouraging family time together, having a community of gamers share a world to explore together, promoting teamwork in some games, etc. While they lack the obvious personal interaction, there are more social aspects now thanks largely to being able to play games online with others.

[Kane Knight]

No. As Funky said, games today promote critical thinking, quick reactions and focus on improving hand-eye coordination. They get way more flak than they should.

Most video games promote rote behaviour, not critical thinking. Add in that most of the popular titles promote rote behaviour, and it really looks bad for this argument.

To add to what PG said, correlation does not prove causality. Specifically, there have been many studies in the past which showed aggressive people play violent video games. None of them yet have proven that they cause aggressive behaviour.

Similarly, there's a definite relationship between video games and anti-social behaviour. But they're yet to demonstrate the one causes the other. We hear a lot about the effects on video games on people (especially kids) when in fact, we don't really have much info on the effects. Merely a link that might or might not be cause and effect. And I'm not going to say that video games don't make people violent, sociopathic loners, but without proof, I'm not going to pretend that's anything more than speculation.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Asking people about their own experiences is problematic. Very few people are going to admit that doing something they enjoy has a negative effect on them, nor may they even realise any negative effects. You should be looking at behavioural studies on larger numbers of people in proper journals.

Though I am ready to admit that when I get absorbed into a game I spend alot more time sitting on my arse in front of the TV than I normally would and my patience can shorten. I don't know about violence, but you could extrapolate that if an essentially laid-back person such as myself can see their patience shorten when absorbed into a game, perhaps the effects would be greater on others with more quick tempered personalities.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I don't know about violence, but you could extrapolate that if an essentially laid-back person such as myself can see their patience shorten when absorbed into a game, perhaps the effects would be greater on others with more quick tempered personalities.

100% agree with that point. I'm laid back to to the point where when my g/f of the time slept with someone else, I cooly and quitley just ended it and carried on with my life. But when some AI or XBox live player is cheap as fuck, stuff gets slammed and it is honestly the only time I am aggresive.

I used to think this was because I was concerned with self-image because when I played local multiplayer more predomanatly back in the SNES/Saturn days, I was cool with it. Then I got into online games and my patience with cheap players was shorter, but I think a lot has to do with the realism of the game, as since I got back into some local multiplayer recently on the 360, my temper has been a lot shorter with them.

[Mr. Nerfect]

As people have said, there is no proven cause and effect. If you were asking me, though, I would say that violent behaviours and anti-social tendencies might be attracted more to violent video games, but that they know the difference between reality and a video game. They're just time-bombs, and if anything, violent video games might give them more of an outlet for their aggression.

I don't think video games have a more negative effect than other media, though. Books leave a lot up to the imagination, for example. A violent book would really stretch the visceral imagination of a sociopath, and give them "ideas." Books don't get the same kind of criticism, though.

In society, books are seen as being a "smart" and "responsible" thing, and very rarely target huge amounts of criticism, unless they contain material for children that religious groups find inappropriate. You know, kids should be readying The Bible, and not Harry Potter? Despite the legitimate craftmanship that goes into constructing them, video games are not yet seen as a legitimate art form. That makes them a far more easier scapegoat than books, and even movies or music. A lot of that might be because of the interactive properties of video games. You actually press a button to shoot a character in a video game, whereas in a book it is all part of the "storytelling" without input or encouragement from a viewer.

All these forms can attract people with violent or anti-social attributes, but I don't think they cause them.

[Kane Knight]

Books are not given that carte blanche of "smart" and "responsible."

It's worth noting that even with interactivity, video games tend to act as a passive input. That is to say that they tend to bypass the critical portions of the brain. The idea that a book may stretch your mind more may be true, but it's also more likely to invoke the rational mind.

It's also worth noting that prior to TV, prior to metal, prior to video games, novels and jazz rotted your brain. Dime novels, as recently as the forties and fifties, were still considered terrible. In modern times, Danielle Steele is a good example of why a lot of novels (especially romance novels) are considered trash.

Books don't get a free pass. Even non-fiction faces serious scrutiny at points. And you're not going to find a video game equivalent of Gore Vidal. But it's hardly like this is something new to the medium.

[Mr. Nerfect]

When was the last time you heard groups saying "It's good to see *such and such* encouraging kids to play video games." For some reason, reading is seen (in today's high-tech society) as something children should do. Regardless of the content.

[road doggy dogg]

Video games only lead to anti-social and violent behaviour when bad parenting is coupled with them.
crossrine