Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence?

Yes

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by Aaron Michael

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The question is highly controversial. There is no hard evidence to support one side or the other. In my personal experience, video games I have played have had significant influence on my thought patterns and behavioral impulses. For instance, after playing a racing game for an hour or two, getting in the car to drive I found myself taking harder turns and accelerating faster. Is it coincidence? I think not. Did I consciously choose to drive more aggressively? No. It was simply mental conditioning from the "training" of the video game which altered my style of driving without my even thinking about it.

Everyone learns differently, and maybe for some people video games have no influence on their real life at all. However in my case, I know that the answer would be yes, if I were to play violent video games. Because I know this to be the case, I don't play violent video games. I know I am also strongly influenced by what I see on TV and in movies, and what I read. Consequently I avoid watching movies or television, or reading books that depict situations or actions which I would not want myself involved in or doing.

The thing about video games and other entertainment is that in order to make a profit, the designers need to include something that sets their product ahead of the rest. The easiest way to do this, besides top-notch graphics, is to include an element of shock. As a result, with the passage of time, games become more violent, more explicit, more illicit, or what have you. Meanwhile, the consumer becomes increasingly desensitized to higher levels of violence, etc. In a progression of consistent usage, eventually the violence becomes normal. Without knowing it, violence has become part of the mental processes of the consumer.

Consider a hypothetical test subject living an average life who has had a high level of involvement in violent video games. At some given point in the subject's life they may face a problem or conflict in which violence is one of a number of possible solutions, but not the most beneficial or effective one. Having played it out in their mind so many times, it only makes sense that a violent course of action would more quickly present itself in their mind and seem a more acceptable or normal course of actionand thus easier to adopt as a solutionthan it would otherwise, if they had not had the same level of exposure to it. This is not to say that the subject would definitely take a violent course of action, but it does make it more likely.

I think that by increasing the likelihood of violent actions in the way described above and in other ways, violence in video games does contribute to real life violence. Do I think it is the sole or primary cause? Actually, I don't. Video games have been around less than 100 years. Violence, however, has been around since the beginnings of human history. The first child ever born murdered his younger brother out of jealousy. The causes of violence are numerous. Video game violence is not the cause of real life violence, but I think it exacerbates the problem. Unfortunately, some people may convince themselves that by letting off steam in a video game through violent enactments, they are avoiding the actualization of such behavior in themselves and others. This is a tempting conclusion to draw. However, what is actually happening is that they are merely encouraging and reinforcing the root of violent behavior in themselves by permitting those feelings to go unchecked in a virtual environment. Because it is not in the real world they feel it is harmless entertainment. However, letting that emotion have free reign within a simulated environment is a form of training and conditioning. It could be years later long after violent thought patterns have become engrained and solidified in their minds that a situation in real life catches them off guard (as real-life is prone to do), and for that split second when they are not in control their mental-emotional conditioning reacts impulsively and they suddenly find that they have committed a horrible act in real life without even thinking about it. When questioned by the authorities, or their own conscience they will probably say something like, "I don't know what happened, one moment we were in an argument, and the next moment, so-and-so was on the floor in a pool of blood." God forbid such a thing should happen. The human mind is a sponge. It absorbs whatever liquid it is placed in. When we're squeezed, whatever has been brewing around in our heads comes out in our actions, one way or another.

It is important to understand the fundamental truth that whatever you surround yourself with will become part of who you are, regardless of what you think about it. If virtual reality has no impact on human behavior, then why are pilots trained in flight simulators? Why are there so many software programs available for everything from improving your golf swing to learning Spanish? To a certain degree, they work. We are fooling ourselves if we think that human behavior is not influenced by the things we see, hear and enact. Violent video games do contribute to real life violence because they train those who play them to act violently in real life.

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