Comments on: Violent computer games

By: Alistair McMillan

Alistair McMillan — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 07:38:00 +0000

…but according to the studies they can make you insensitive to a violent theme in real life…

The studies don’t actually say that. They say that after viewing violence you will have a smaller reaction to viewing violence immediately afterwards. The study doesn’t really say how big this reaction is (i.e. will you stand by and watch someone being attacked) or how long the effect lasts (i.e. does the effect last longer than the thirty minutes of the test).

If you walk up behind personA and shout “boo”, and then a minute later walk up behind personA and personB and shout “boo” again, chances are personB is going to have a stronger reaction. That’s all this study proved. People viewing violence for the first time, will have a stronger reaction, than other people who viewed violence about five minutes ago.

By: Apotheosis

Apotheosis — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:21:00 +0000

Why exactly is what I write bullshit, because I disagree? ‘Behaviour alteration’ can happen temporarily (a study that took its results in half - half?? - an hour?) with plenty of activities. Lift weights for half an hour non-stop and your body will experience a rush. Flirt and your body will release chemicals not usually there.

You seem to be inclined to agree to anything that has a ’scientific study’ aura around it. Science is scepticism by definition, as I am certain you know. And there are areas where science can be very concrete in the results (chip design, eg) and areas where is makes planty of assumptions, like anything that has to do with psychology and sociology.

And, as others have remarked, just because it is indeed your website, that does not mean you can insult people. At least not those who have not insulted you to begin with.

By: Kitty

Kitty — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:26:00 +0000

The fact that the “fight or flight” response is more stimulated by violent games than by a racing game seems natural, and is a testament to the realism and immersion games can provide nowadays when compared with the crude pixelated things we had for videogames 20 years ago.
Maybe the issue is twofold:
1) on one side obviously playing games won’t make you decide to go out and shoot people.
That’s just a stupid idea: whoever practices that kind of violence has already issues of economic, moral and mental kind. So these issues are already present and the society who wants to blame games is just fooling itself. Fix yourself first.
But on the other side:
2) once for whatever reason an armed teenager is standing there in an alley with a gun aiming at a policeman, is it so unbelievable to think that having played that situation hundreds of times in the latest GTA will make it slightly easier to pull the trigger?
I think it will. Of course the worst has already happened: the teen is confronting the police, so he probably committed crimes for need or desperation or greed. He has a gun in his hand. He _wants_ to shoot the policeman.
This is the 999/1000th of the situation, and that’s what a society should try to avoid. But maybe that last 1000th is made harder or easier by a harder trigger or lighter trigger, or by deep conditioning against violence or its softening…
I think that last 1000th existw, but that energies would be 999 times better spent on the rest: education, social welfare, gun control.

By: Eugenia

Eugenia — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 06:17:00 +0000

I did not insult you Apotheosis. But I did patronize you based on your own sentence.

You will have to agree to disagree.

By: Eugenia

Eugenia — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:50:00 +0000

I don’t play them. And if I ever have a child, he/she won’t either.

By: Dan Brokeau

Dan Brokeau — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:48:00 +0000

Then don’t play them. Now let me get back to my Counter-Strike.

By: Apotheosis

Apotheosis — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:43:00 +0000

See, when I was a kid, I played two kinds of games. Computer games on my ZX Spectrum alone, and social games (football, basketball, various silly kids games, etc) with other kids. As far as I remember, it was far more ‘dangerous’ to get into an agressive situation in the latter games, rather than my computer games. Kids were mean then, without computer games, and are mean now.
All these ’studies’ are bullshit, to be honest, and driven by political mostly reasons. Society tends to have violent kids mostly when it has parents that don’t give a toss about raising said kids properly.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:13:00 +0000

*Nowhere* in the second study does it say violent games *negatively* affects a persons’ behavior, only that ‘playing a certain type of violent video game may have different short-term effects on brain function than playing a nonviolent, but exciting, game’. You’re extrapolating this to say these different effects are inherently negative, which is not mentioned nor concluded in that article.

By: Eugenia

Eugenia — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 07:30:00 +0000

>We can call it case-closed because there was a study done.

If you don’t have scientific evidence to the contrary, yes.

>why don’t you shut up

Because this is my blog. It is you that you suppose to shut up, as a guest.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 07:14:00 +0000

Ooooh, a study. We can call it case-closed because there was a study done. Eugenia, why don’t you shut up and not play violent video games if you don’t like them.