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| Yes | 44% | 1815 votes | Total: 4127 votes | |
| No | 56% | 2312 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI was reluctant to vote in this debate. For as long as people have argued the effect of violence in video games on real life behavior, I have swung back and forth between sides. The issue is not as simple as many people make out. This is because ultimately, the impact of a violent video game on an individual is not based on the game-it is based on the person playing the game.
I am siding with the yes voters on this issue. I am also a gamer who plays violent video games. Am I a hypocrite? I don't think so. I'm not in favor of abolishing violent video games. That said, I DO believe that violence in video games has contributed to real life violence. This may make it sound like I think that real life violence is a good thing. I do not.
Violent video games are like a litmus test. Some people can play them and not be negatively affected. Some people cannot. I believe that those individuals who have trouble separating fantasy from reality should refrain from playing violent video games. People who have a naturally violent or explosive personality should also avoid playing such games. I have played violent video games for over fifteen years. I have enjoyed shooting villains, lopping the limbs off of evil ninjas, and blasting the heads from zombies. I've never been negatively affected by these games. No doubt has ever existed in my mind that these things are all pretend. When I am done playing, I turn off the console or computer and return to real life. Yet some people can't seem to make this separation. It's as if for some people, the gap between the game and real life doesn't exist. I have personally seen people at the arcade slam quarters into the slots of violent shooters and act out all of the anger and hostility in their personal lives through the medium of the video game. This is unhealthy and wrong. If video games ever became a source of release for me through which I channeled anger and hate, I know that I would have to give up my hobby. Video games are meant for relaxation and entertainment. They are not meant for people to do things they would like to do in real life but only don't because they don't want to go to prison. When people play video games because they would like to do inappropriate things in real life, they foster unhealthy desires in their minds. I do not doubt that for many violent people, violent video games have offered a kind of practice realm for them to work themselves up to the point of doing something inappropriate in real life.
Obviously, separating people into these two catagories is difficult to do in an administrative sense. I suppose there isn't any way for video game vendors to interview game purchasers and ask them, "Are you a violent person? Do you have trouble separating fantasy from reality?" So perhaps the distinction I am making isn't helpful. Maybe violence in video games needs to be abolished altogether. If that's what's necessary, I for one am willing to give up violent video games to make the world a safer place. But I do wish for an easier solution. I wish people would practice self-control and know their own limits.
Learn more about this author, Adam Karnes.
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No
Violence in video games does not contribute to violence in real life. There are terrible acts of violence being committed in places that do not even have electricity, not to mention video games.
Most of the violent crime being committed in South Africa are being done by young men that have hardly touched a game console in their lives. Suicide bombers are not exactly the type of person who sit and play " Western" video games for hours. I doubt that they would even think of playing a game when they have the option of killing innocent people in the real world.
A lot of violence in real life was being committed in the days before video games were even invented. It is funny to think that apart from the wars, the last century had probably been the least cruel so far. Life in the Middle Ages was very hard and people's lives were not worth a lot.
During Roman times people were fed to the lions to entertain the crowds. The people of those days would probably scoff at the virtual violence that is fascinating people these days.
People are violent. They have been violent and they will be violent in the future. That is a fact that we have to acknowledge and we have to know how to deal with it. The only thing that has really changed, is the weapons that people choose to kill each other with.
I doubt that one will ever be able to take the violence out of a person. Our aggression has allowed us to survive this far. We have been "bred" to be violent in order to survive. A woolly mammoth would not have allowed a group of men to kill it simply because they reasoned nicely with him!
Just like everything else in life, violence should be handled in a balanced way. We must have tough people to look after the law and order in a country without personal rights being abolished or ignored.
This is not easy to do and most countries struggle to achieve this balance. It is however the only thing that we have to keep the violence in real life in check. Expecting violence to drop when you ban video games is a bit naive.
So I say that the violence in video games does not contribute to violence in real life. In the worst case, video games will give someone an idea of what violent things to do. It will not MAKE him violent. His genes and environment are responsible for that .
I agree that parents should keep a close eye on the games that their children play. The games must be age appropriate and children as well as grown-ups should also have other interests apart from video games.
Violent games can be in a way therapeutic. Who has not enjoyed destroying the enemy's army or killing that huge monster or gobbled up the dots in Pacman. We are violent people, but we can choose not to be violent to other people and we can choose to live in a society that protects the weak and the young.
Video games does not contribute to violence in real life. People are violent by nature. Until we realize that, people will keep on doing horrible things to other people and refuse to take the blame for it.
Learn more about this author, Marina Shemesh.
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