Growing up in this day and age, we’re no strangers to violence. Perhaps not always directly, but vicariously living it through fiction is hardly uncommon. We often see it in literature, and in recent times, through the medium of video games. With how we’re being exposed to violence everywhere, from news reports to social media to the fiction we choose to consume, the question is: how does this affect us?
Many people, President Trump included, are under the impression that violence in video games translates to violence in the real world. It’s a logical conclusion to make; after all, surely if you’re constantly surrounded by violence in gameplay and being rewarded for it, you’re likely to commit these acts in real life. This is the reason why many parents refuse to let their children play these games.
Interestingly, however, psychological studies disagree. In fact, the release of a new violent video game has commonly led to a decrease in violent activity.
Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychologist, started a study into 10-14 year old boys and girls over a three year period about this topic in 2008, concluding it in 2011, and found little to no correlation between VVG (violent video games) and violent behavior. He even seems to believe that VVG is healthy, as it works well for catharsis. Taking anger out on a fictional world is much safer than taking it out on a real person, after all.
At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own actions. While it’s certainly easy to point fingers and blame VVG for the violence in the world, they’re not the root cause, and should not be treated as such.
Many people, President Trump included, are under the impression that violence in video games translates to violence in the real world. It’s a logical conclusion to make; after all, surely if you’re constantly surrounded by violence in gameplay and being rewarded for it, you’re likely to commit these acts in real life. This is the reason why many parents refuse to let their children play these games.
Interestingly, however, psychological studies disagree. In fact, the release of a new violent video game has commonly led to a decrease in violent activity.
Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychologist, started a study into 10-14 year old boys and girls over a three year period about this topic in 2008, concluding it in 2011, and found little to no correlation between VVG (violent video games) and violent behavior. He even seems to believe that VVG is healthy, as it works well for catharsis. Taking anger out on a fictional world is much safer than taking it out on a real person, after all.
At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own actions. While it’s certainly easy to point fingers and blame VVG for the violence in the world, they’re not the root cause, and should not be treated as such.