Do video games desensitize people to real violence?

Question

Many people play video games and even though the rating systems on the games are set for children, teens, and adults many parents look for the rating when buying the game for their child. So we all know kids are getting their hands on extremely violent games every day, do they influence people to become more violent and/or do they desensitize people to violence? Or could their desensitization of violence be caused by other influences, parents, TV/Movies, living situations, ect.?

I'm asking this for a paper so if you got the time try to write a lengthy answer though any answers will be helpful. Thanks.

Answer 1

I do not think that video games desensitize people to violence. I mean, why would video games be the culprit when you can just turn on the 5 O'clock news and see murders, robberies, terrorist attacks, etc. It's illuded to and even glamourized in popular music, books, movies, real life....
Then you also have to look at the environment that people are in. If you take a kid who's getting beaten 3 times a day, not taken care of and look at his sense of morals and values it's going to be skewed toward being a little off, even a bit evil. I do not think that video games can be singled out as the one main thing corrupting children and people in general because real life is ten time more violent than any video game out there.

Answer 2

I don't think so.

I personally have played them for years, mostly RPGs but with the occasional FPS. I've never been tempted to do any of the things I do in games. In fact, I would even go so far as to say they provide an outlet for frustration as well as a sense of catharsis for the player. They may REDUCE violent tendencies, in people with good mental health to begin with.

However, to directly answer the question, it would frankly surprise me to find out that they at all de-sensitized people to violence. Actual, real-life events are VERY different than video games. I still get that rush of adrenaline when I have a close call or when I see blood. No matter the level of "immersion" or reality the game offers, it is still not at all like real life. It doesn't prepare you for the real thing.

On the other hand, a child with little parental involvment and low social involvment in the outside world may be quite suceptible to having their world view affected by the violence in video games or on TV. Children have less ability to seperate reality from fantasy. That's why video game makers use the rating system. I would think that a normal teenage would have enough sense to tell the difference between game and life even for violent games. I certainly did, as did my brothers.

Answer 3

I think we are all influenced by our activities and our neighbors. How many people In America would be willing to strap a bomb on themselves and blow up innocent women and children. People learn empathy from other people. If you lived in a hateful society you would adopt a more hateful attitude.

Think of children at school. When they first go to school everything is a wounder. They want to try out the glasses of the boy who wears glasses. Differences between them fascinate them. After a few years they become more competitive, The boy with glasses becomes four eyes, the Quirky behavior become an oddity to be made fun of.

Video games become habit forming. They teach a learned response. Not only do younger children develop responses based on what they are supposed to do in the game, but I believe adults do as well.

I'm not so sure about desensitization. I found myself to have a more negative attitude towards violence after I was in Vietnam than before even though I retained my quick to anger problem.

Answer 4

Here are some of the most violent games I've ever played: Manhunt, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill. It's not the game that causes violence, it's the parents. I'm not saying that the parents are abusive, it's that they didn't teach the child the difference of right and wrong in the real life. At first GTA to me was a disgrace (back when I was a little kid), but now find GTA to be one of the best games ever. That's neither here or there, sorry. The point is that the parents are responsible for teaching the kid moral of society. If the kid lack those morals, then he/she can possibly become a problem for society, and another tragic event like Devin's actions could possibly occur again. Furthermore, parents need to pay attention to the ESRB ratings (E+10, T, M, AO) and select a video game that's appropriate to them and to their kids. If kids obtain rated M games at a young age, they absorb the violence like sponges and eventually become violent themselves.

Answer 5

It's possible. Being old enough to know better, I think violent video games may have prevented me from being violent in real life. I've had times that I was furious about work. I would come home and go on a senseless GTA killing spree, and it would make me feel better. It relieved the stress without drinking or smoking pot.

Answer 6

Well, yes, to a degree. It builds tolerance for violence due to constant exposure to simulated aggressive behaviour. It isn't just video games - it's all forms of media that contribute to the desensitization process. It happens not just to kids but to all of us!

Answer 7

Only the stupid people that play them. Im not saying people that play video games are stupid, I am saying some idiots that would actually confuse real life with video games are stupid.

Answer 8

It is a known fact

Answer 9

yes. when I was 9, I was happy. then came the day I played duke nukem 3D...