Violent video games as a public health crisis?

[Perd Hapley]

No, I don't want to ban video games, and I'm not blaming them for anything. But I do have a question.

We all know that the crime rate has gone down since violent FPS games became America's past-time. But, arguably, there may be more mass murders going on now, than before the FPS video games. Like I said, arguable. So the question is, is Dave Grossman right? Do FPS video games contribute to this particular type of crime?

FWIW, I would only ban video games on the pretext of my not being very good at them. And why should people get to be better at doing things than I am?

[dogmush]

I am not a social scientist but just from observation I suspect that if there is a correlation between mass shootings and/or violence and video games it has more to do with folks that play a lot of video games as a child aren't getting the same level of human interactions and learning how to deal with and empathize with other folks as we used to when we were forced to go interact.  I think that somewhat stunts their interpersonal abilities.  At the extreme ends of the bell curve it might push someone who would have been sketchy and weird over the line into murderer.

Video games (and the internet) also don't force us to learn the skill of being civil with people we don't like.  We've all seen chat logs and message boards of some truly rude stuff said in games and on the net that one wouldn't say in person just for fear of a beating, or social ostracization.  The "anonymity" of online reduces the pressure for a base level of civility in society.  Again this movement of the bar could have hard to predict effects to people at the edges of the bell curve to begin with.

[makattak]

I don't think violent FPS is the cause of that particular type of crime. FPS (multi-player, at least) is simply making a normal game children play digitized.

(I don't know how many of us can remember the arguments over "I shot you!" "No, I shot you first!" "You couldn't shoot me, you were already dead!" Well, the FPS games solve those arguments.)

Games like GTA and the like that glorify violence, crime, and murder are often pointed to as well. They also aren't the cause, they are just a reflection of what our society has become.

Video games, taken singly or as a whole, are not responsible for any crimes in the country. (Now, arguing about them as a part of the instant-gratification dopamine feedback that encourages far too much unproductive time-wasting, especially in young men, may be useful, but that's not about crime.)

The problems in our country are deep-seated and are, at worst, exacerbated by our technology, not caused.

[brimic]

Weirdly- observing my son play, it’s very social. He schedules time with several of his friends so that they can all be on the same team. Sometimes it gets pretty raucous. They play for a few hours then all meet up in town for a burger or a movie or to hang out...

[makattak]

Reflecting a little more, the FPS games may also be beneficial.

In my circle of friends, as they got older, the pretend battles were not enough. Too childish.

So they moved on to BB gun battles.

In that same circle of friends was a boy who lost an eye in said BB gun battles.

Having the battles on an Xbox (non-existent at the time) would have saved his eye.

[Perd Hapley]

How can we have a moral panic, if you people refuse to get panicked? 

[MechAg94]

I remember squirt gun battles, fire fights with bottle rockets, dart guns, paint ball, etc, etc.  IMO, this isn't a cause.  I think there are a number of issues before this that are far more important. 


I see very few people talking about psychotropic drugs.  I guess pharmaceutical companies buy too much advertising to get on their bad side. 

[Regolith]

But, arguably, there may be more mass murders going on now, than before the FPS video games.

Are there, though? Every time I've ever seen anybody actually investigate to see if mass murders are more common now, they find that they aren't. We simply hear more about them because of the 24/7 news cycle.

[Jamisjockey]

Charles Whitman climbed a clock tower long before FPS games were a thing.

[TommyGunn]

Charles Whitman climbed a clock tower long before FPS games were a thing.

.....And citizens showing up with privately owned rifles brought him back down    ....... 

[brimic]

The US government was into mass shootings way before Pong, or even the TV was invented.

[Perd Hapley]

Are there, though? Every time I've ever seen anybody actually investigate to see if mass murders are more common now, they find that they aren't. We simply hear more about them because of the 24/7 news cycle.

The statistics are ripe for cherry-picking. I'm sure you can get the result you want, depending on how you define the terms, how far back you go, etc.

I suspect you're right, though. Also, I constantly hear people talking about crime as if it were worse now than ever before. I think the crime epidemic of the late 20th left a mark on our culture,  and it will take a while before we realize we aren't in a permanent, ever-increasing crime wave. The constant news coverage doesn't help with that, either.

[Pb]

I have no particular belief about linking video games to violence.

However, I strongly suspect electronic media of any type (tv included) is poison for young children... increasing adhd, laziness, and killing creativity.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

[Jamisjockey]

A number of the deadliest mass shootings were well before FPS or violent video games were a thing.
The Luby's shooting, Camden, Post Office, and Mcdonald's shootings were all double digit and all before 1990.

[lupinus]

Plenty of mass shootings we're well before fps, or video games in general, we're a thing. And for every nut job that commits one there are...how many millions of people who play the things that don't, and their worst sin is perhaps the amount of Cheetos dust they leave in their moms basement?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[MikeB]

It's that Dungeons and Dragons.
It's that Rock and Roll Music.
It's those Horseless Carriages.
...
...

There are two primary causes of these school shootings; neither of which people seem to want to actually address. One is that some people are just whackadoos. The second is that most of these are done by kids that having been treated badly by fellow students, teachers and administrations. Sometimes(perhaps most often) the two are combined. We could stop them tomorrow by actually stopping bullying by students and teachers and actually doing something when for example the cops are called 39 times to someone's house. The signs are almost always there, but no one does anything. The bullying tends to magnify the whackadooness and is not treated seriously by the schools; but when you have people that are often ostracized, beatup, humiliated, etc. on often a daily basis a certain number of them will snap. Perhaps we should expect them to snap, people can only take so much abuse; the problem is some snap and fight back, others snap and commit shootings(generally the whackadoos).

[Perd Hapley]

Looks like video games aren't the problem - it's when you take them away.

One evening in January 2013, officers responded to a call from Lynda Cruz, detailing that Nikolas's behavior was escalating after she took away his video games. The 14-year-old then threw a chair, dog bowl, and glass across the room, screaming that his mom was a "useless bitch," the sheriff's report said. After the teen barricaded himself in his room, deputies briefly handcuffed him and put him in the back of a squad car until a youth emergency services counselor arrived.

Nearly a year later, Nikolas Cruz punched a hole in the wall after his mother took away his Xbox.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannasacks/authorities-were-called-to-alleged-florida-school-shooter?utm_term=.vjoeW8yPQ#.ua6DdMl2Q

(Yeah, I know - BuzzFeed)

[Kingcreek]

I think there may be potential for excessive playing of violent video games (many continuous hours often in place of sleep) to desensitize some people to violence.
The effects of overuse of electronic devices on the young developing brain are also pretty well documented.
I would stress "overuse" and "some" individuals.

[BlueStarLizzard]

*snort* I remember when it was the violent music that caused all the worlds ills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS91knuzoOA

and then it was the action movies. (or did they hate the movies first?)

and the TV.

and the video games.

The whole thing is ridiculous.

That said, I do think there is a social problem in this country relating to how we teach children to regard fiction as opposed to reality. But screaming about video games (or rock music or action movies) isn't going to do squat about anything.

[grampster]

Rather than isolating on violent video games, it might be more worthwhile considering nearly 60 years of the libertinism of the neo-liberal Left which contributed to the degrading of our culture and morals across the board.  In other words the anti social actions of many folks today are a result of a whole truckload of dreck that has been inculcated over several generations of Americans.

[Pb]

Supposedly kids 2-5 years in age watch a screen 32 hours a week.

There is no way that is healthy.

[MechAg94]

Supposedly kids 2-5 years in age watch a screen 32 hours a week.

There is no way that is healthy.

That seems like a low number. 

[brimic]

Don’t forget Ragtime music.... Ragtime music will lead to the decline of western civilization!

[JN01]

I don't know that watching that stuff causes violent behavior, but I think that for someone who already has a twisted mind, immersion in graphic violent content (games, videos, music, whatever) might help to fuel their hatred and perhaps incite them to act on their sick thoughts.