It's been said that video games influence crime/violence. Do you as an individual believe this statement?

Question

What can we do to reduce it? (Except the obvious reasons?)
Do you think video games should be banned?
Do you think children should be monitored?
Or do you think the parents must be held responsible if their child/children buys a video games that influences crime?
Do you think the age should be raised for purchasing a video game?

Answer 1

Violence is everywhere in society. There's no getting around it.

What needs to happen is video game designers stopping the unneccesary glorification of domestic/urban violence. Superhero violence and medieval/fantasy violence is fine, since that sort of thing can't happen in reality, but video games that feature the main character stealing cars, shooting cops and beating up random people is NOT good.

Answer 2

Crime and violence were there long before the invention of video games but I feel there's some truth in the statement.

Do you think video games should be banned?
No but I do feel that the manufacturers of the games shouldn't use interiors of Cathedrals for violent games.
Do you think children should be monitored?
Yes ... see the link on Video Games and Children
Or do you think the parents must be held responsible if their child/children buys a video games that influences crime? Yes. See my comment above ... The article says that "Parents have the responsibility of helping their children select books, toys, television programs and movies that are appropriate for each particular child" The same should apply to video games.
Do you think the age should be raised for purchasing a video game?
Yes. There are age limits if a child wants to go to the movies. The same laws should be applied to video games.

Answer 3

That's kind-of a loaded question. I don't believe video games cause violence. I believe that violent people will gravitate toward violent games.
I don't think video games should be banned.
Children should be monitored by their parents based on the guidelines those individual parents set.
I don't think parents should be held responsible if their child buys a video game that influences crime. If their child commits a crime, then that's a different story.
I do think that children should have their parents permission before buying a video game. There's no harm in that.

I've played violent video games all my life. I do not act violently toward other people in real life. That tells me that this does not cause violence in an otherwise "normal" person.

Answer 4

We can do many things to reduce violence. Unfortunately, banning or restricting the sale of video games isn't one of them. To reduce violence, it is true that one must look at the causes. To my knowledge, poverty and drug addiction are much bigger contributors to violence than are video games.

So no, I don't think they should be banned. In fact, your assertion that they "influence violence" is somewhat flawed. I haven't met or read about anyone who has directly and implicitly stated, without a doubt, that video games caused them to be violent.

Yes, children should be monitored.

Thanks to Tipper Gore, children cannot buy video games that contain violence, so the parents should already be held accountable, as they're the ones who'd have to buy it in the first place.

No. The age for violent games is 18. If you don't know the difference between fantasy and reality by that age, then good luck in jail with Bubba, son.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

I dont think video game influence violence. I also think they should not be banned or monitored. That is the parents responsibility, other people shouldnt have to adjust. I think age is a good idea for game buying. Like i played a game today and was shooting people and didnt have the urge to do it untill my wife started to yell at me to do somthing around the house. Ill tell you what if i wasnt playing that game i might have off'ed her right there. See they stopped me from violence.

Answer 6

Video games DO influence children... They give them better eye-hand coordination! And also improve reflexes and spatial relationship thinking. In short, video games make kids better. I do not advocate allowing young kids to play games that are clearly designed for adults like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil, in fact I think there should be a yardstick like they have at amusement park rides..."You MUST be this well adjusted to play" but since they can't do that, parents must bear the burden of deciding what games are appropriate for which kids. The problem with this is that parents are usually clueless as to the actual content of the games and like to think of their kids as better than average with a good core sense of morality, and they expect them to just know right from wrong somehow. In your case Five may be a bit young for halo, but if the kid enjoys it and doesn't start torturing the cat for fun I would say let him play.

Answer 7

Hate games, culture war games and violent crime games are only dangerous in the hands of younger minds......Im in my 40's and have played GTA for a few years now, doesnt make me wanna go out and jack a car, beat up old people or steal cars and shoot cops...............BUT Ive noticed an increase lately in young kids doing exactly that, we had a 14 yr old kid in a cop chase the other week, his mate who was 15 was leaning out the back of the car shooting at the cops with a high powered rifle!!! 10 years ago that NEVER would have happened here.

Answer 8

I do not think that is necessarily true, there has always been crime and violence since the beginning of time. I think that our schools play a large part, our children have no fear of reprisals for their actions, we as parents and teachers need to remember how to teach our children to respect others and themselves. Video games are just that - games, I think the biggest thing they do for our kids is teach them how to sit on their buts not getting exercise and getting fat.

Answer 9

maybe for nutters who are obsessed with them.I think children should be monitored and given a minimum amount of time to play computer games.As much as it is addictive,on the other hand its also enriching as some games require you to think and make decisions,so i dont think it should be banned.

Answer 10

I grew up playing games like Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt and I'm not a psychopath. Just have a twisted, f**ked up sense of humor at times. An all 'round nice guy though.