Posted on 03/27/2013 3:58:20 PM PDT by neverdem
People are quick to point the finger or dismiss the effect of violent video games as a factor in criminal behavior. New evidence from Iowa State researchers demonstrates a link between video games and youth violence and delinquency.
Matt DeLisi, a professor of sociology, said the research shows a strong connection even when controlling for a history of violence and psychopathic traits among juvenile offenders.
"When critics say, 'Well, it's probably not video games, it's probably how antisocial they are,' we can address that directly because we controlled for a lot of things that we know matter," DeLisi said. "Even if you account for the child's sex, age, race, the age they were first referred to juvenile court -- which is a very powerful effect -- and a bunch of other media effects, like screen time and exposure. Even with all of that, the video game measure still mattered."
The results were not unexpected, but somewhat surprising for Douglas Gentile, an associate professor of psychology, who has studied the effects of video game violence exposure and minor aggression, like hitting, teasing and name-calling...
--snip--
"Can we say from this study that Adam Lanza, or any of the others, went off and killed people because of media violence? You can't take the stand of the NRA that it's strictly video games and not guns," Anderson said. "You also can't take the stand of the entertainment industry that it has nothing to do with media violence that it's all about guns and not about media violence. They're both wrong and they're both right, both are causal risk factors."...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Just because something desensitizes one to violence does not mean one will become violent. ER docotors and nurses along with police officer see the effects of violence everyday, yet very few of them will become violent.
Because they are doing GOOD things along with dealing with BAD things. These violent Video kids AREN’T doing GREAT things when not playing these USELESS VIOLENT GAMES!!
..so are homes with career moms and no fathers around.
I bet there is a far greater correlation than video games, it’s called demographics.
its the same old same old...its not the video games..its not the tv smut and its not porn and its not the violent explicit music and its not the drugs nor the alcohol nor anything like that...
I will agree that videogames today are much more violelnt then the ones I played growing up. In my day when you killed someone in a videogame they flashed a couple times and disappeared.
I played a crap load of violent video games in my youth: Doom, Half Life, GTA, etc. But I turned out alright, it all depends on the individual. Actually, video games instilled a love of tech in me and was a major influence on my programming skills.
I was going to state something similar. I’m in E.E. and I hear the students talking all the time. They all play games and it led them towards tech stuff and eventually E.E. The are intelligent, extremely hard working kids.
So how is it that violent crime has managed to plunge in the last 20 years?
The funny thing about your statement is that my dad used to tell me that I was just wasting my time playing on the computer. Lol, playing games taught me a lot about new technology and that eventually got me into HTML/CSS, adobe, and web analytics. I wouldn’t be where I was today if I wasn’t exposed to that technology in my youth. I like to remind my dad of this on the golf course sometimes and it always warrants a good laugh.
When I was a kid we took our .22’s out and had great fun. No video games then.
What a crock of crap! I’m a geezer and a game player and I know any number of young people who also play these games. Not a one comes even close to having any of those tendencies.
Before video games it was playing cowboys and indians or playing army, every chance we had. Watching the 50s documentaries on TV about WWII, the shoot em up westerns which were all fantasy, comic books with the Bop, Biff, Pow as well as comics that again portrayed military heroes in WWII. Pastimes like vacant lot football, no holds barred, or boxing at the Y were also big.
That didn’t make our generation any more violent than any other. They can take their agenda based studies and stuff it.
I’ve heard some variation of that story many a time. It looks like we get the last laugh.
There was no violence previous to Pong.
Sure there was and it was caused by playing Cowboys and Indians.
mandatory trigger locks! /sarc
When one shows proof of the hundreds of millions of gamers rampaging daily since the 80s, I’ll worry. But since basic morality/right and wrong/knowing the difference is no longer a priority, that might have something to so with their study.
Also/side note : Good job brain surgeons. Keep pushing for/stripping people of a healthy and harmless outlet for aggression. We must all be pussified....until the pressure cooker blows.
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