I don't advocate prayer.Fresh piles of dead school children is gonna stir up a little passion, and repeated "Oh, well. Thoughts and prayers. Zzz." Is gonna stir up a little frustration.
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I don't advocate prayer.Fresh piles of dead school children is gonna stir up a little passion, and repeated "Oh, well. Thoughts and prayers. Zzz." Is gonna stir up a little frustration.
I didn't think so, and I wasn't referring to you. I meant legislators who do nothing but toss out empty and useless platitudes and then brush the issue under the rug.I don't advocate prayer.
So yelling it is.
According to the statistics that I'm reading 66% of Americans play violent video games whereas it's something less than 50% of Europeans.Japan has a big video game culture, yet acts of violence are extremely rare there. Same with many European countries.
According to the statistics that I'm reading 66% of Americans play violent video games whereas it's something less than 50% of Europeans.
I know the gaming culture is huge in Japan, but like Europe they don't have the easy access to guns that we have.
Right, but if violent video games are a primary cause of violent behavior, it would still manifest even without guns.According to the statistics that I'm reading 66% of Americans play violent video games whereas it's something less than 50% of Europeans.
I know the gaming culture is huge in Japan, but like Europe they don't have the easy access to guns that we have.
I'm not so sure. Video games allow people to participate in violence with a certain amount of detachment. So do firearms.Right, but if violent video games are a primary cause of violent behavior, it would still manifest even without guns.
I'm saying that we're seeing a generation, or maybe a couple of generations at this point, who grew up shooting images of human beings as recreation.I'm struggling to understand what you're trying to say?
As someone who played such games, had friends and family members who played such games, and two step kids who play such games, I don't buy it. There would have to be a pre-existing, underlying mental issue. Games alone don't make a normal person lose their sense of logic and empathy.I'm not so sure. Video games allow people to participate in violence with a certain amount of detachment. So do firearms.
I think somene who would never have it in them to attack a room full of people with a sword might have it in them to point and pull a trigger multiple times.
And I think if we're talking about someone who grew up spending a significant part of their time doing just that, even if it was just at make-believe people on a screen, and did it while their brain was still developing, . . .
I suspect someone like that would wind up with some sort of hard wiring that would make it much more likely to point and shoot in real life.
Surely there's a study or something that lists what percent of those who carried out mass shootings were also avid gamers?I'm saying that we're seeing a generation, or maybe a couple of generations at this point, who grew up shooting images of human beings as recreation.
I wouldn't be surprised if this has something to do with why we're seeing mass shootings on the scale that we are now.
I mean we've had guns forever, but we just started turning them on each other in this way relatively recently.
I'm not saying video games are the only factor or even a major factor in the equation, but I'll bet it's still done something to help lower peoples inhibitions when it comes to pointing a weapon at another human being and pulling the trigger.
I'm saying that we're seeing a generation, or maybe a couple of generations at this point, who grew up shooting images of human beings as recreation.
I wouldn't be surprised if this has something to do with why we're seeing mass shootings on the scale that we are now.
I mean we've had guns forever, but we just started turning them on each other in this way relatively recently.
I'm not saying video games are the only factor or even a major factor in the equation, but I'll bet it's still done something to help lower peoples inhibitions when it comes to pointing a weapon at another human being and pulling the trigger.
Surely there's a study or something that lists what percent of those who carried out mass shootings were also avid gamers?
There have been multiple, in-depth studies on this because it was one of the things the gun lobby tried to blame to deflect from guns being the problem. And, of course, some initial studies with bad setups found a link which couldn't be reproduced later.Anybody else wonder about a connection between the rise in mass shootings and the rise in popularity of violent video games?
I mean how many people (kids especially) in the US spend a significant part of their day shooting at make-believe people on computer screens?
"The psychological group reports that more than 90% of children in the United States play video games. Among kids between the ages of 12 and 17, the number rises to 97%. More important, 85% or more of video games on the market contain some form of violence. The titles seem to say it all: “Manhunt,” “Thrill Kill,” “Gears of War” and “Mortal Kombat.” However, even the seemingly benign “Pokemon Go” requires players to go to battle.
The American Psychological Association observed in an August 2015 policy statement that research demonstrated a link “between violent video game use and both increases in aggressive behavior … and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and moral engagement.”
Do video games lead to violence? | CNN.View attachment 68847
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50 Years of Gaming History, by Revenue Stream (1970-2020)
I think to some extent these games have helped normalize gun violence. Probably especially true to an already disturbed mind.
There have been multiple, in-depth studies on this because it was one of the things the gun lobby tried to blame to deflect from guns being the problem.
And, of course, some initial studies with bad setups found a link which couldn't be reproduced later.
Get some other scapegoat, this one's already dead.
Who said anything about "games alone"?As someone who played such games, had friends and family members who played such games, and two step kids who play such games, I don't buy it. There would have to be a pre-existing, underlying mental issue. Games alone don't make a normal person lose their sense of logic and empathy.
In my opinion they have little to no influence on creating a spree killer. If they did it would have happened anyway, playing cowboys and Indians like I did as a kid would have pushed them over the edge.
Or cartoons that feature violence, movies, books, TV.
The availability of guns would be the only difference that distinguishes America from the rest of the world.
I would be kind of surprised if there were but looking for it would be an interesting project.Surely there's a study or something that lists what percent of those who carried out mass shootings were also avid gamers?
Video games are a much more immersive experience.
Have you ever felt your heart racing or your pulse pounding in your temples playing cowboys and Indians? It's a fairly standard reaction to a high intensity video game.
Studies have actually shown spikes in blood pressure while playing.
You're just part of the audience in all the examples you give. It's different from being a participant.
Yes I agree, people who don't have guns are much less likely to actually shoot people.
Is that your point?
This is something new?
Im pretty sure we have better mental health care than we ever have.
No, but it is automatically a sign that the one bringing it up, is trying to distract from the main issue. Before games it was TV and there is also the "poor state of mental health care". To me it shows that one is not interested in an open discussion, if the distraction is the first thing brought up.So if the gun lobby say it, it must automatically be wrong.
Neither am I. Heck, I don't even live in the US.I'm not a gun owner or a gun advocate so I don't need a scapegoat.
But I'm not emotionally tethered to the other side of the argument either, which leaves me free to explore the possibilities with something like an open mind.
I already said (above or in the other thread) that this has become a binary point when there is a gradient. But it is the gun lobby who made it binary as they oppose any regulation.Which, as I'm starting to realize, is going to to make it almost impossible to communicate effectively on this issue with the rest of you guys (especially, I suspect, the gamers).