Do video games cause violence in children?

[Blueflarst]

No. I spent my childhood playing them and was not agressive in fact i had to defend from other people whom was very agressive

[Pacomia]

I’ve just accepted that I have no emotions. I know I should be sad or angry or happy about things, but I just can’t be. Might be why I never cry during movies. Coco wasn’t a sad movie, damn it!

Don't you have emotions period, or "only" no empathy?

And I agree, Coco wasn't a sad movie.

I have a complete lack of empathy and a partial lack of emotions in general. I don’t really have nuanced emotions, or strong ones. I have “anticipation”, “worry”, and “confusion”, 2 of which are only sort of emotions. Even the basic emotions like “happy” and “sad” aren’t really things for me. I have “anger”, I guess. Apparently that’s a symptom of depression. I was diagnosed with depression a couple years ago, but I thought it had mostly subsided by now. Apparently not.

[Pacomia]

Me too. One of Stalin’s quotes (which is actually featured on the HOI4 loading screen) is “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”

That’s how HOI4 feels. That’s also sort of how mass shootings feel, at least to me.

Funnily enough though, he didn't actually say that according to research on the subject:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/2 ... statistic/

even Wikiquote doesn't acknowledge him every saying the quote in recorded history:
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_St ... attributed

Nevertheless, in games like HOI4, it does end up being completely true.

I guess playing games like HOI4 or DEFCON desensitises you to death and violence, but doesn’t actually MAKE you violent.

[Caliphate of Harlem]

In times like these people need something to blame, it’s how we cope with trauma. I don’t think it’s as simple as anti-gamer feelings, gaming is more popular now than ever and society has long gotten over the fear that games prime child psychopaths for school rampages. Unfortunately, mass shootings tend to be picked up and weaponised by liberals and conservatives for their own ends. Liberals blame guns and the right counter by blaming video games. Ideologues aside, most everyday Americans need someone or something to blame, it’s how people cope on a day to day level.

Some guy kills Mexicans because he's a white supremacist and every one blames everything except white supremacy and the guy being a jackass

Well, the majority of Americans are white and a lot of white people are uncomfortable when they’re confronted with the issue of race. It’s much easier to blame guns, video games, movies or music because the people pointing the finger usually aren’t gamers or movie goers themselves, it doesn’t involve them. Liberals only like to discuss race if the perpetrator is poor, rural or conservative but the conversation usually ends there, while conservatives are mostly uninterested because non-whites don’t tend to vote for their preferred candidates anyway.

[Saiwania]

They blame the thing with literally no connection to the shooting.
White supremacy? No common sense background checks? Nah, it's all Wii sports fault this guy killed people. Clearly there were no terrorists before video games.

This is literally their thought process

I don't believe that's their thought process, its simply being used as a scapegoat or excuse for social problems existing, and Baby Boomers aren't going to care too much about video games compared to generations that utilize it a lot more for entertainment.

Video games lets admit it, aren't all that great for someone overall if its not done in moderation. But its probably not to blame for most violence either.

[Cekoviu]

Fire Emblem made me a better swordfighter.

Now I'm curious, how much do you actually use that skill?

Extremely frequently. Those potatoes aren't gonna slice themselves!

[Cekoviu]

They blame the thing with literally no connection to the shooting.
White supremacy? No common sense background checks? Nah, it's all Wii sports fault this guy killed people. Clearly there were no terrorists before video games.

This is literally their thought process

I don't believe that's their thought process, its simply being used as a scapegoat or excuse for social problems existing, and Baby Boomers aren't going to care too much about video games compared to generations that utilize it a lot more for entertainment.

Video games lets admit it, aren't all that great for someone overall if its not done in moderation. But its probably not to blame for most violence either.

I mean, nothing is good for you if you do it too much, so...

[Purpelia]

They blame the thing with literally no connection to the shooting.
White supremacy? No common sense background checks? Nah, it's all Wii sports fault this guy killed people. Clearly there were no terrorists before video games.

This is literally their thought process

I don't believe that's their thought process, its simply being used as a scapegoat or excuse for social problems existing, and Baby Boomers aren't going to care too much about video games compared to generations that utilize it a lot more for entertainment.

Video games lets admit it, aren't all that great for someone overall if its not done in moderation. But its probably not to blame for most violence either.

Nothing is. Even basic survival needs like food can seriously harm you if not moderated.

[Pacomia]

NSG makes me feel a lot more violent than video games. I would spend less time here, but it’s not like I have an IRL life. So I live online. In NSG. Probably not the best use of my time.

[Caliphate of Harlem]

Funnily enough though, he didn't actually say that according to research on the subject:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/2 ... statistic/

even Wikiquote doesn't acknowledge him every saying the quote in recorded history:
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_St ... attributed

Nevertheless, in games like HOI4, it does end up being completely true.

I guess playing games like HOI4 or DEFCON desensitises you to death and violence, but doesn’t actually MAKE you violent.

If anything’s desensitized us to violence it’s the 24 hour news cycle that’s more graphic and sensational than an 80s slasher flick. Think of all the war footage on TV or the beheading videos that make their rounds on social media. We’re a society fascinated with violence, the more outrageous and realistic the better. Maybe that’s what motivates many of these shooters, a quick way of getting their 15 minutes of fame and a Wikipedia page. If people are willing to spread diseases by licking ice cream just to get attention, is it hard to believe there are folks out there that would lick children with assault rifles just to make headlines?

[US-SSR]

No. Next case.

[Arlenton]

Yes. But in a positive way.

[Estanglia]

They don't.

[Loftegen 2]

No. Neither did D&D or heavy metal music. Bad parents always want to blame someone else for their failures.

[Tobleste]

Is there any reason why people are bringing this up at all (aside from right wingers trying to distract from the more obvious causes of guns and racism)?

[Cekoviu]

Yes. But in a positive way.

...Elaborate.

[Adad Civilization]

No

Just like how heavy metal didn't cause Satanism, Television didn't cause drug epidemics, etc.

It's just a scapegoat to excuse shitty parents/society.

[Arlenton]

Yes. But in a positive way.

...Elaborate.

Children should be somewhat desensitized. Video games are a safe way to do that.

[Pacomia]

As a few others have pointed out, the media is the main thing that’s desensitised us to violence, what with the alarmist stories, graphic pictures, and how there’s always a new shooting (although that 3rd isn’t the media’s fault). Video games definitely can too, though.

[Pacomia]

This should have a poll.

[Saiwania]

I mean, nothing is good for you if you do it too much, so...

It is probably fair to say that a lot of today's youth don't do video games in moderation. If they're not into sports or are slanted towards introversion, they stay indoors all day to surf the internet and play games or use it as some form of escapism. The Chinese government as one example, basically forces some of their youth to go outside on occasion. If they resist, they're put into a camp where they're expected to sufficiently reform their habits to the Chinese Communist Party's liking.

[Pacomia]

I mean, nothing is good for you if you do it too much, so...

It is probably fair to say that a lot of today's youth don't do video games in moderation. If they're not into sports, they stay indoors all day to play games or use it as some form of escapism. The Chinese government as one example, basically forces some of their youth to go outside on occasion. If they resist, they're put into a camp where they're expected to sufficiently reform their habits to the Chinese Communist Party's liking.

And you think that’s a bad thing, right...?

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

No and Trump is an idiot for saying so. /thread

[Pacomia]

And you think that’s a bad thing, right...?

This is Sai we're talking about.

That tells me nothing. I’ve only been here 2 months.

But he did inspire me to make an Introverts thread.

[Kubra]

Shyyyyyit they cause violent tendencies in adults children, yo.
But you can't exactly stop violent play. We do that shit with our hands and feet and a ball. I mean it's dumb to let your 6 year old play call of duty or whatever the kids are into these days, but otherwise so long as you properly talk to kids about their games it's kind of whatever.