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Meta-analysis - Violent video game play associated with increased physical aggressive behavior
- Thread starter Pomerlaw
- Start date
I think there is definitely a correlation. But I don't think it's any different than someone watching football and getting worked up about it.
I mean, we all know about Rage Quitting and verbal abuse in the voice chat, people get fucking wound up.
I mean, we all know about Rage Quitting and verbal abuse in the voice chat, people get fucking wound up.
I mean, I don't think it's outlandish to say that games with aggressive elements promote aggressive behavior.
But the same could be said of most things, like sports, or cramming, or playing nonviolent games.
I kind of wish we'd aim to treat mental health and endorse expression of emotion rather than looking to cut the root of associated elements. Doing so only replaces it with something else later down the line.
TL:DR - we should be telling kids it's okay to express their emotions in healthy ways rather than blaming aggressive behavior on things that are supposed to be aggressive.
But the same could be said of most things, like sports, or cramming, or playing nonviolent games.
I kind of wish we'd aim to treat mental health and endorse expression of emotion rather than looking to cut the root of associated elements. Doing so only replaces it with something else later down the line.
TL:DR - we should be telling kids it's okay to express their emotions in healthy ways rather than blaming aggressive behavior on things that are supposed to be aggressive.
I get more pissed at Tetris than I do any other game.
I pressed straight down you Z shaped bastard I didn't press right, my thumb never got close to right, you can go to hell.
I pressed straight down you Z shaped bastard I didn't press right, my thumb never got close to right, you can go to hell.
Forreal..
Won't lie, Gears of War runs through my veins when I'm hyped up.
Then again, it's more likely how I grew up ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯
I can't even say I've been in many fights, actually. This study isn't taking into equation the other variables of life.
Oh great both the left and the right flexing over individuals right to choose what media they desire to consume.
I think the rise in popularity of violent media has a direct correlation to the numbing to violence I've seen in gamers and others. Gamers regularly telling people to kill themselves or that they will rape them.
My school had an ROTC program and it was disturbing to me how full of gamers it was who were happily planning to join the military and start killing people just like in their games.
Of course you're not allowed to talk about how violence normalizes violence because this is gaming forum and any criticism means Anita and the government are coming for ur vidya gaems
My school had an ROTC program and it was disturbing to me how full of gamers it was who were happily planning to join the military and start killing people just like in their games.
Of course you're not allowed to talk about how violence normalizes violence because this is gaming forum and any criticism means Anita and the government are coming for ur vidya gaems
I've actually always found it a bit odd that this idea is generally dismissed. Logically consuming a lot of violent content is going to have an effect. People do in fact learn behavior from what they see.
Side note on meta analysis studies - they can propagate individual errors in studies and come at an erroneous conclusion. If there's any sort of sampling issues or bias with how the studies were handled, the meta analysis can worsen that. Combining 10 studies with 100 participants is not the same thing as doing one study with 1000 participants.
That's not to say this study is wrong, but it's something to keep in mind when reading meta analysis studies.
That's not to say this study is wrong, but it's something to keep in mind when reading meta analysis studies.
"Aggression" is probably defined somewhere in the study, and it was probably measured by "play this shooting game and then we're gonna observe you for the next X hours"
Whether or not the change in aggression is persistent over sustained periods of time is the issue. But it's not surprising. White adolescents raging over video games and sustaining that rage immediately post playtime is not surprising.
I often wonder if it isn't actually the violence in video games that causes this increased aggression but rather the fact that the games are semi competitive in nature, either against yourself (trying to beat the next difficulty or over come challenges) or against others (multiplayer shooters). Competition is bound to trigger some aggressive impulses more than just the actions you're playing out in the video game.
Like if you conducted this same study on athletes just after they were done playing a non friendly match.
Because I am assuming the perception that you must have something to lose or gain must be preserved.
Like if you conducted this same study on athletes just after they were done playing a non friendly match.
Because I am assuming the perception that you must have something to lose or gain must be preserved.
I wish the gaming community took this seriously. There are obvious issues associated with the hobby ranging from addiction (both ordinary and gambling) to the increased aggressive nature of players. It's not surprising that white males are effected the most and are more easily swayed to the the alt right.
Violent media has existed forever though, far far longer than video games have been a thing. Why do they get singled out when there are movies, tv shows, books, music etc. That do exactly the same thing?
Violent people are gonna be violent no matter what in my opinion and it makes sense they would be drawn to very violent media. I don't think video games should be demonized any more than other media.
The level of interaction, in games you are the decision maker and get to pull the trigger. Moreover, other media is given this criticism and discussion whereas if games are involved people act like the world is ending and they live in a dictatorship censoring art.
I've always thought this. It's kind of like guns, in the wrong hands it can be extremely dangerous. Of course I'm sure I'll get shit on here because this isn't a gun hobbyist forum and I have a feeling that most people here aren't willing to have an open discussion about whether or not their own favorite hobby should be further regulated.
I've shot friends with darts and play paintball on occasion. I've never heard that blamed for someone's violent behaviour even though it's far more interactive than a video game. And TV doesn't get nearly the crap that video games do.
I guess I'd just like to see some solid evidence that media consumption causes people to be violent. Does aggression increase after watching or playing a violent piece of media? Sure. But I've never seen anything substantial that links an increase in violence over time with violent media. Hell, to my knowledge the rate of violent crime has actually steadily been decreasing since the early 90s which is evidence that the total opposite trend is happening and that people are becoming less violent overall.
lol I'm sure a video game doesn't make people buy guns and shoot people.
Regulated how though? We already have the esrb for games and the ratings system for movies; what more do you want? Cause if you're talking about censorship that's something I'll never agree with.
UFC 229 caused many breakouts of aggressive fist fights between people due to their fav fighter losing. I'm in agreement with you, it really is just fueled by a competitive mindset.
Video games haven't gotten crap since the 90s because it turns out that if you say anything bad about them you get death threats *thinking emoji*
Weird how that happens
Well...I mean there was a lot more to it than that...
The interactivity of video games makes the violent experience much more visceral for the player. You can watch Terminator 2 and not think about the ramifications of hitting or not hitting pedestrians as you're running away from a killer robot. But when you're doing the same thing in, let's say, Vanquish or Binary Domain, an experience where you're planning your routes, marking your shots, pulling the trigger, it's far more intense and, over time, can certainly desensitize someone against the IDEA of violence.
Until you get into a fight. Everyone has a plan until they get into a real fight.
I mean, real talk, video games haven't gotten crap because publishers learned how to lobby and the loudest people against them constantly revealed to have no idea what they were talking about and were taking information from dubious sources.
Like, the desensitization to violence with prolonged exposure to violent video games is a problem, so why was Tipper Gore talking about fucking Night Trap, a barely interactive experience with violence that made "Are You Afraid Of The Dark" look like Friday the 13th?
I mean, I suppose the question there would be, how do you determine what the right hands are?
I mean, I'm all for the expanding and normalizing of increased mental health for children and young adults, but this country sure is hell ain't.
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It's defenitely something parents should keep an eye on with their kids with any media or activity.
I agree. I remember back when I wanted Tidus ultimate weapon in FFX and had to do that damn Chocobo stuff.
The rage was real.
Another issue is all these parents buying their kids GTA and games like CoD year after year.
My nephew is 11 and he's been playing games like CoD since he was 7. He's a big softie though, but he shouldn't have games like that.
The rage was real.
Another issue is all these parents buying their kids GTA and games like CoD year after year.
My nephew is 11 and he's been playing games like CoD since he was 7. He's a big softie though, but he shouldn't have games like that.
Video games still get shit on to this day by idiots who don't want to admit the real problem the US has is it's out of control gun problem.
Every time a new GTA comes out people get mad; I remember several people calling the new Doom too violent when the trailer hit, Mortal Kombat is in the news every time a new game comes out etc. Its an easy scapegoat to blame the world's problems on.
I invite to post any study that has hard evidence violent media cause an increase in violence over time. Until I've seen any sort of proof I'm not willing to entertain the notion that video games need more regulation or censorship.
"Examples of physical aggression included incidents such as hitting someone or being sent to the principal's office for fighting, and were based on self-reports by children, parents, teachers and peers."
I read the whole thing. Still seems rather shallow. They did bring up Eastern and Western culture, and that is where the discussion lies. People generally do not care about you in the West.
I read the whole thing. Still seems rather shallow. They did bring up Eastern and Western culture, and that is where the discussion lies. People generally do not care about you in the West.
How are you "sure" of that? It's most likely multifactorial but to say violent video games play no part is like saying easy access to guns plays no part.
In my opinion, the breakout between the fighters and their coaches obviously fueled more craze, but for huge competitive events like this, it was going to happen even if the breakout didn't happen. When one group of people is passionate about something the opposing group isn't, it constantly breaks out in brawls when one side doesn't win.
I do agree videogames can cause aggressive behavior, but it's very scapegoat-like to mainly pin it on one thing when everything around that one thing causes it as well.
I mean, the moment McGregor started rolling around in Islamophobia, the entire match turned into a powder keg. And the UFC has no problems with that sort of keg.
Yeah. But also consuming violent media is likely to lead to individuals thinking they live in a violent environment
If it's about interactivity though that makes no sense to me as well. Like I said before if interactivity is the problem, why is no one going after things like paintball, airsoft or even fucking laser tag? Those are games played with actual weapons that you point and shoot at real people to 'kill' them. That's as close to an actual shooting as you can get. Yet I've never seen anyone blame those things for violence in youth. Why is That?
If that was the case why does no other country on earth have the mass shooting rate the US Does? I can tell you we get every single game up in Canada that you guys get and yet our rate of shootings is a fraction of what yours is. As is every other western country in the world.
Now that is the real fascinating shit.
I buy that, in general. But it's nothing unique to video games and extends beyond violence.
Because the size of the demographic doing that all the time is so low, it's barely worth considering. I love paintball, but the lion's share of televised paintball is all small arena combat, not military re-enactment style paintball. Most people I've talked to know what paintball is, but have never done it.
But everyone has played a video game. Which is why people want to place the blame for societal and behavioral problems on it's shoulders, just like they did with rock music and action movies.
I just wanted to stamp this in the thread again because it's not only fascinating but implies that what's needed isn't less exposure to video games, but a greater understanding of why people need to be listened to.
A lot of other countries seem to do just fine. Coincidentally a lot of them well, all, have better gun control.
Quite.
No one is saying that stronger gun control will stop gun violence over night, BUT IT'LL HELP!
Which is exactly my point. Video games are just the current scapegoat that people place the blame on to avoid tackling the real problem: gun control.
Well...I'd say that the real problem is mental health, but....sure, yes.
Oh I'm definitely in agreement. My point isn't that the States has so much gun violence because it has so much violent media. I'm just referring to a study I read a while ago that concluded that
Seems like there needs to be more delineation within the category of "violent" games.
Are we talking slashing a monster with a magic moon beam or splattering a dude's brains on the wall?
Part of the issue, aside from gamers largely being a terrible community, is that violence in video games is often brought up as a scapegoat.
Are we talking slashing a monster with a magic moon beam or splattering a dude's brains on the wall?
Part of the issue, aside from gamers largely being a terrible community, is that violence in video games is often brought up as a scapegoat.
Well maybe if my teammates in Rocket League weren't consistently such shit then I wouldn't have a reason to get angry. STOP CHASING THE FUCKING BALL AND ROTATE YOU GOOFS!
EDIT: Oh, violent games.
EDIT: Oh, violent games.
I'm not saying games cause gun violence. I think the worst aspect of gaming is the violent bigoted community of sociopaths and I think they got that way through violent uncurated games that don't ban them for bad behavior.
You shouldn't get death threats for talking about this.
You shouldn't get death threats for talking about this.
See that's the rub, isn't it? Rocket League is as vanilla as games can come, and it inspires some of the thickest vitriol in the gaming scene.
It's not about violence, it's about aggression.
You ain't lyin'.
Most people just aren't ready or willing to have this conversation though. Most people will let absolutely any and everything go by, "as long as I get to play the video game".
Multiple studies years past said almost exactly what you said. Also mentioned football having the same effect. Trying to find it.
Yup. Games can become an addiction too, if it goes unchecked. I highly doubt its violence in these games that's what cause these kids to lash out. Being overly competitive, addicted and having a lack of discipline are more likely.
Mental illness is a culprit for sure but I sometimes I feel like it's a scapegoat. By and large I think its a behavioral issue that is learned by a lack of discipline (shitty parenting) and less of a legitimate mental health concern. Outside of more severe cases of course.
Is it the games causing this behaviour though, or are people like that just attracted to a hobby that is reclusive and anti social by its nature?
I totally agree that the gaming community can be incredibly shitty and that there needs to be more consequences for being an asshole, but I would argue that those people are already like that and turn to gaming because no one else wants to deal with their bullshit. Once they are in the hobby they find others like them and get stuck in an echo chamber that serves to make them worse and worse as the time goes on.
I'd be more worried about my child being exposed to online chat than a violent game.
That said, the ratings system exists for good reason. Enforce it.
That said, the ratings system exists for good reason. Enforce it.