Is violent video games harmless fun or is it the cause to violent behavior?
The issue of violence in video games has been a ongoing issue with parents due to the graphic content within these games. Does violent video games trigger violent behaviors? Should children be allowed to play violent games? Is there a correlation between mental health and violent video games? For example the Columbine shootings or Virginia Tech shooting; in both situation the shooters played violent video games and had mental disorder.
It's just harmless fun
Side Score: 4
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It causes violent behaviors
Side Score: 2
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Violent video games such as first person shooters often sell tens of millions of copies; they are very nearly ubiquitous amongst teenagers. I don't think the fact that a couple of killers played video games is even remotely sufficient to label them as a problem. Statistically speaking, there has been a steady and marked decline in violent crime across the board since the availability of video games. While video games are not the only potential contributing factor, if they were in fact a significant risk I would expect to see crime rates declining more slowly, remaining static, or even increasing. It's entirely possible that violent video games have a net effect of reducing violence, by providing an outlet for those violent impulses that almost all of us have. It's not like violence (even amongst children!) is something new that has formed over the past few decades as video games became widely available- it's something that has been a part of our history as long as its been recorded- and fossil evidence suggests that it was a large part of our history before it was recorded as well. Side: It's just harmless fun
Violent video games such as first person shooters often sell tens of millions of copies; they are very nearly ubiquitous amongst teenagers. I don't think the fact that a couple of killers played video games is even remotely sufficient to label them as a problem. Yeah, I guess .001% isn't a big deal. Side: It's just harmless fun
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Exactly. If these figures were coming from, say, a potential side effect from a drug, rather than potential school shootings as related to video gamers, that figure wouldn't even come close to being considered as a 'potential side effect.' It'd just be random noise... Side: It's just harmless fun
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