Talk:Violent video games

Wait. How do violent video games teach children to "engage in horrific virtual violence" when violent games aren't intended for children? Most are M rated games and, at least here in California, minors can't even buy them. Ultimahero 02:08, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

Because parents don't have the patience to check the ratings on what they buy their children. Or, even better, explain to them the differences between fact and fiction, allowing them to seperate the lovely gore of Grand Theft Auto from real life. IndianaJ 02:12, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

Then the paretns are to blame, not video games. They're responsible. Ultimahero 02:15, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

And I've never been desensitized to indulge in violent acts. This seems like a straw man argument. Ultimahero 02:17, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

To play devil's advocate for a moment: The vast majority of people who play these games don't act out on them. But there does seem to be a correlation in that school shooters tend to play those games. But it may well be that violent people like violent things. The media also noticed that these people listened to metal and tried to say that metal causes violence. I listen to metal and I definitely resent such implications. DanH 02:23, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

Don't forget about comic books, man. Also, what about Cho, the shooter at V-Tech? He didn't regularly play video games, which was rather remarkable for someone in his demographic. IndianaJ 02:24, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

But there are millions of people who play video games, and only a handful of shootings. There are far more people who play that aren't violent than those who are. The whole "video games make people violent thing" is an incorrect stereotype. Ultimahero 02:25, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

To be fair, violent video games really are acting out violence, and I don't think the article claims that everyone who plays them will be violent. Music and comic books aren't. It's something that I'm kind of up in the air about. I don't think my kids will be playing Grand Theft Auto when I have them. That being said, I don't support Hillary Clinton's calls to ban such games. DanH 02:29, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

This is the age old question: do video games make people violent or do violent people play video games? From what I've read there are a number of studies which provide evidence for and against the claim, so we can't really take a concrete position. That said, video games do tend to get a bad rap in the media, particularly from uneducated folk (in this field) like Jack Thompson (who accused Counter Strike for being responsible for Cho and Halo for being responsible for the Washington Sniper, neither of which was true). I'm removing the quote that was added because it's one persons opinion with no scientific backing. StatsMsn 06:56, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

This stands out as a particularly reliable source for the claim that teenagers who play these games are all desensitized to violence and commit horrible crimes. And the second source does not say directly that the games lead to violent or criminal acts. In fact, there isn't much evidence of violent video games being a major cause of violent acts in real life. -BMoore 10:42, 4 May 2008 (EDT)