USC Sociologist says video games don't seem to be the cause of youth homicide

[hamburglar]

http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/13531.html

Take that Jack Thompson!

[blueblazer1224]

Nice find. If anything, I think that violent video games provide a safe outlet for aggressive behavior...simillar to a punching-bag. The small and frequent release of aggression through video games prevents a lot of aggression, hatred, and other negative feelings from being "pent up" in an individual. I think that it's a lot less dangerous to provide kids with a harmless outlet for their aggression than it is for parents to pretend that their kids don't need any type of aggressive outlet.

[KakTheInfected]

Well thank goodness. I was worried about that.

[Dhsu]

Nice find. If anything, I think that violent video games provide a safe outlet for aggressive behavior...simillar to a punching-bag. The small and frequent release of aggression through video games prevents a lot of aggression, hatred, and other negative feelings from being "pent up" in an individual. I think that it's a lot less dangerous to provide kids with a harmless outlet for their aggression than it is for parents to pretend that their kids don't need any type of aggressive outlet.

I dunno, I'm fine with violent games and all, but I don't think I buy the "outlet" justification. For example, I don't think it'd work if you tried to make a child-molesting video game to provide an outlet for pedophiles.

[Gruntguy]

I know playing violent video games like Halo or Gears of War makes me feel a hell of a lot better when I'm angry or bitter. When my girlfriend broke up with me and when I was feeling upset and angry, I would pop in Halo or GOW or any other bloody game that I have and that made me feel better. Not much better, but it helped.

[Ray Falling]

No, personal, social and political issues are more likely the cause of all these things.

However, when you play violent games, killing something may have less of an impact on you? I mean, you've seen plenty of virtual deaths to make you not even think about it twice?.

I'd be shocked if I'd get into a fight or something and end up killing the other person. (Though I'd most likely try to kick his ass Streetfighter style *laugh* that's my "outlet" )

Maybe these youths don't fully realize what they're doing and that makes them potential cold blooded murderers.

[sephfire]

I think everyone is wiling to admit that, on some small level, violent videogames can have an effect on their audience (good or bad). However, that effect is so small compared to the threat of other social ailments in America that it doesn't deserve nearly as much attention as it's getting. The more attention everyone pays to game violence, the longer it's going to take for us to address some of the big issues.

[Ninja-san]

Theres alot of things you can pinpoint as a root to one's violence. Video games seems to grab the attention especially with the media since they seem to love stuff like that.

On a random note when I was little i beat up my brother after reading a Hardy Boys book. My parents tried keeping me away violent things but didnt monitor books that much.

[DrEw.]

The US sends thousands of people around the world to kill people they've never met, and when one of them dies, they glorify their deaths with a big ceremony and recognition on the news.

This seems like it would be more likely to send the wrong message to teens than video games. But that's just my take on it.

[your the man now dog]

if you're playing video games, you're not out committing a crime. also i agree with the idea that games give people a creative outlet to let go of pent up stress and anger. dunno if this is true for everyone, but back in high school any bad event could be cured by an hour or two of Warcraft or Jedi Knight.

[Kirinthos]

whoa, whoa, would the "e" just not fit?

[Petara]

whoa, whoa, would the "e" just not fit?

Bah! We don't need no stinkin E's! ...or apostrophes for that matter.

Back on topic, though-

I've gotta agree with the whole "positive outlet" idea. We love video games for all too many reasons. An important one being; they take our minds of the nasty shit that goes on in our lives. At least, that has been my experience.

[herograw]

I dunno, I'm fine with violent games and all, but I don't think I buy the "outlet" justification. For example, I don't think it'd work if you tried to make a child-molesting video game to provide an outlet for pedophiles.

People in jail like to watch shows such as Law & Order and movies on the lifetime channel having to do with stalkers and rapists. television for women RoFL

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

I support video game producers making pretty much whatever the hell they want, but this article doesn't make that great of an argument.

Annual sales of video games and accessories now top $10 billion. Yet in the 10 years following Doom’s 1993 release – not to mention many other brutish titles since – juvenile homicide arrest rates fell 77 percent. And students have less than a seven in 10 million chance of being killed at school, Sternheimer found.

Simply because the two figures seem inversely related, this doesn't prove that one factor is unrelated to the other.

[!Nekko!]

I support video game producers making pretty much whatever the hell they want, but this article doesn't make that great of an argument.

Simply because the two figures seem inversely related, this doesn't prove that one factor is unrelated to the other.

I took that quote as meaning - because the video game industry has grown so much, theoretically violence should have grown, but it hasn't. In fact, it fell 77% (That's HUGE). I don't think they meant that it dropped BECAUSE of video games. There's probably too many factors to list here that are the cause of the drop. I think sephfire hit it on the head. If there is an effect, it's definitely negligible compared to other factor's in children's lives (which seem to be improving).

I personally just see it as something of that these personality types happens to do as a hobby. These kids probably felt isolated to begin with and used video games to fill some void in their lives. Did it give them ideas for their crimes? Probably. But hell, violence is all over the media, it's hard NOT to get ideas if you need to. Look at all the unsolved cases because people (read: Adults) are taking cues from shows like CSI to cover up their crimes.

I think regulation is completely unnecessary, but I do believe that if these video game companies want these angry parents to stop filing lawsuits and waste their money on lawyers and court fees and annoying press releases, they should start endorsing this type of research and figure out how to teach these parents the signs of deteriorating behavior in children and figure out how to fix it. At least that way, it would be in their financial interest to try to educate people and get them off their backs.

Sorry for the rant. Parent's who don't take responsibility make me rather angry.

[DukeNukem007]

It's funny how the anti-videogame contingent blamed Doom for Columbine...they talked about how Harris named his sawed-off "Arlene" (after Arlene Sanders, who was not a named game character but actually the heroine of the Doom books, which every fan should read.) Since I had never heard about the books at the time, I was trying to figure out what the hell they were talking about.

But when you look at the whole picture, Harris and Klebold had much, much bigger problems that had little to nothing to do with games (i.e. the absolute inability to take a joke, and the inability to like other extracurricular activities.)

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

I took that quote as meaning - because the video game industry has grown so much, theoretically violence should have grown, but it hasn't. In fact, it fell 77% (That's HUGE). I don't think they meant that it dropped BECAUSE of video games. There's probably too many factors to list here that are the cause of the drop. I think sephfire hit it on the head. If there is an effect, it's definitely negligible compared to other factor's in children's lives (which seem to be improving).

You misunderstood me. I'm not saying violence fell 77% because of video games, since that would be a pretty stupid argument. It would be more appropriate to do a study about video-game related violence if the author wants to draw and reasonable conclusions.

[Airwalker]

Youth crime has gone way down--that's certainly a fact.

The cause of that decline is heavily debated. Why, I even read a chapter in a book (Freakonomics) that made an argument that abortion was the cause of decline. Or there are likely many other less controversial theories.

It doesn't mean video games caused the decline--that would use the same pathetic logic that links video games to school shootings, bum beatings, and other illegal activities swarmed over in the news today. It doesn't even really mean video games don't cause violence--what if it would be even lower otherwise? (I, of course, disagree with such the video game-violence link.)

But the fact youth crime is down over the past decade does fly in the face of a video game-violence link.

[Nick Hyral]

Youth crime has gone way down--that's certainly a fact.

The cause of that decline is heavily debated. Why, I even read a chapter in a book (Freakonomics) that made an argument that abortion was the cause of decline. Or there are likely many other less controversial theories.

It doesn't mean video games caused the decline--that would use the same pathetic logic that links video games to school shootings, bum beatings, and other illegal activities swarmed over in the news today. It doesn't even really mean video games don't cause violence--what if it would be even lower otherwise? (I, of course, disagree with such the video game-violence link.)

But the fact youth crime is down over the past decade does fly in the face of a video game-violence link.

It's been a few years ago now but in Dayton, Ohio a high crime neighbourhood was chosen for a study, in that study they brought in an arcade where for the week it was there the gaming was free. During that week of study. tjeu saw a drastic decline in the usual figures that were recorded on a weekly basis of teenage crime.

I don't believe that games themselves produce or promote crime, but when a person who has alot of troubles or problems in their lives has another outlet.. something to do like game, it keeps them brooding so much on a topic that could lead to potential violence.

[Devyn]

Games don't kill people. People do.