# Why are so-called "violent" video-games demonized too much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 25, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910 "2012-04-25T15:07:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/41 "2012-04-26T16:51:19Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It’s not so much that they “train” kids to be violent. What they really do in the long run is de-sensitize kids to violence. They teach kids that violence is the first (or only) resort instead of the last. But do they actually do that? Do we have any hard evidence that kids who play violent video games are actually less upset by real violence? If this is true, it’s not being reflected in the rate of violent crime in the US. That’s been going down since the early 90’s, and there have been no shortage of violent video games since then. Alternatively, violent video games might be teaching a difference between fantasy and reality. If kids don’t get upset by fantasy violence because they know it is not the same as real violence, is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Which one is violence on TV that might be real, but doesn’t affect those kids’ daily lives? Or they might be providing an outlet for violent impulses that doesn’t actually hurt anyone or damage anything in the physical world. I’ve used violent video games (pretty mild, in my case, since any kind of gore makes me want to vomit) for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/42 "2012-04-27T00:11:42Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > I think in rare cases, they can be the final straw that causes a would-be mass killer to carry out his mass killing. > > The only case I can think about right now is the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, he spoke about how much he loved “Dragon Age”, and a fantasist could easily see paralels with his plot. Is this any different from The Catcher in the Rye’s role in the murder of John Lennon, or Lennon’s own Helter Skelter’s role in the murder of Sharon Tate? Batshit is as Batshit does. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/43 "2012-04-27T04:37:44Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Is this any different from The Catcher in the Rye’s role in the murder of John Lennon, or Lennon’s own Helter Skelter’s role in the murder of Sharon Tate? > > Batshit is as Batshit does. Yep, playing or reading them won’t make someone do those things, but it might be the last straw that pushes them into it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/44 "2012-04-27T05:45:40Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > If this is true, it’s not being reflected in the rate of violent crime in the US. That’s been going down since the early 90’s, and there have been no shortage of violent video games since then. In fact, various studies have indicated that more video games (including violent ones) has a close connection to lower crime rates. A quick google found a mention of one [here](http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/05/18/uta-prof-video-games-leading-to-lower-crime-rates/), for example. The belief that violent video games causes real violence seems more faith based than anything; people just _know_ that it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/45 "2012-04-27T05:49:27Z")
> [@Doubticus](#): > > I haven’t seen any evidence at all that video games cause violent behavior. Spoken like a man who has never played Mario Kart with all 4 players on the same couch. And an unwritten “no blue shells” house rule. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/46 "2012-04-27T07:12:13Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Yep, playing or reading them won’t make someone do those things, but it might be the last straw that pushes them into it. Just do I’m sure we’re on the same page here, the category we’re describing here includes such works as “the alphabet,” right? You’re not actually suggesting that we should place any sort of limitations on the distribution of creative works which might potentially inspire psychotics to commit acts of violence, right? You recognize that this is an infinite set? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/47 "2012-04-27T08:28:11Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Just do I’m sure we’re on the same page here, the category we’re describing here includes such works as “the alphabet,” right? You’re not actually suggesting that we should place any sort of limitations on the distribution of creative works which might potentially inspire psychotics to commit acts of violence, right? You recognize that this is an infinite set? I understand that. Though Catcher in the Rye might have driven Chapman to kill the ‘phony’, if the book didn’t exist, it would just be another thing driving the obsession. If Dragon Age didn’t exist, then it would be another random thing pushing Breivik. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/48 "2012-04-27T09:00:12Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > If Dragon Age didn’t exist, then it would be another random thing pushing Breivik. Assuming that dragon age was even a factor. Among the many cultural references in Breivik’s 1,500 page manifesto was a brief mention of the dragon age series. That’s it. Nowhere does he say it was his inspiration. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/49 "2012-04-27T09:33:06Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > I understand that. > > Though Catcher in the Rye might have driven Chapman to kill the ‘phony’, if the book didn’t exist, it would just be another thing driving the obsession. > > If Dragon Age didn’t exist, then it would be another random thing pushing Breivik. Yeah, no doubt true. Be better if he were crusading against Warrio, or running around abandoned theaters to destroy Nazi zombies. Incidentally, the OP has an axe to grind, and this appears to be a part of his larger loathsome thesis. It’s not clear that he actually believes what he says. Check out his other threads, notably [thread=649773] Do you think Anders Behring Breivik is different than Muslim terrorists? [/thread], if you want to see where his head is at. Save time for a hot shower afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/50 "2012-04-27T20:43:22Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ha, that reminds me of a time I was playing Grand Theft Auto III. I’d developed this habit of taking a shortcut to the mission giver Asuka by driving at max speed off an elevated road, crashing into her parking lot, and crawling out of the car before it exploded. At one point after doing so I recall actually thinking “You know, this game does not teach good driving habits.” I will admit that more than once, after a marathon GTA session, I’d be behind the wheel and I see, say, a break in the trees by the side of the road, and for a half-second a thought would pop into my brain along the lines of “Hmmm, wonder if there’s a hidden ramp over there? This is pretty long straightaway, so if I really punch it I could probably get some good speed going. That might be a Unique Jump, which…whoops, never mind…reality”. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/51 "2012-04-27T21:02:28Z")
I had this happen all the time after playing GTA. Plus the underlying desire to steal an ambulance. Still haven’t done it, but I am off this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Cheerleading\_Dropout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac8455/32.png) [@Cheerleading\_Dropout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheerleading_Dropout)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910/52 "2012-04-27T22:29:18Z")
I’ve played violent video games such as FPS games for a long time now. If anything, I find that they give me a release for violent or angry energy. They are more of an outlet than something that encourages me to become more violent. I’m saying this as someone who is 14, around the age that many critics think would be targeted to become more violet due to these games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910.md?page=2)