In 2004, a study was conducted to find out how many school shooters actually played violent video games. Only 5 out of 41 surveyed shooters claimed to have an interest in violent video games, that is 12%. Ever since video games have become violent, people have been falsely connecting the amount and severity of violent video games and the increase in crime rates. They are saying violent video games are what causes people to do violent things. The problem is that the majority of mass/school shooters do not play video games. They are just trying to get revenge on the world for something they had no control over. Violent video games do not cause aggression amongst players: they decrease hostility in players, encourage social interaction, and lower
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However, there are studies that prove this theory incorrect. Most people feel some sort of need for violence. This is often caused by anger or conflict. Some people release this through hobbies or hostility, but studies show that violent video games release the need for violence. A study conducted by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson at Texas A&M took 103 adults and split them into groups. The results “showed that the violent games helped reduce depression and hostile feelings through “mood management,” essentially acting as a “stress ball’-” (Fleming 1). This shows that you can release stress by using video games the same way someone would punch their pillow over and over. Another case that shows this is form Whitney DeCamp at Western Michigan University. Whitney says “some studies have revealed a connection between kids playing violent video games and violent behavior. But there is a problem with "looking at those two things in a vacuum’-”. What Whitney is saying is the people that believe video games make people more violent only see the two concepts. They can’t see that parenting or the environment might affect them. Lastly, a study was conducted among 1614 players to see if computer games were used to relieve stress. The majority of the players showed that they used video games as a coping mechanism especially after a stressful …show more content…
They believe that video games cause people to go out in the public and commit crimes, however researchers have debunked this theory. They say that video games can be a way for someone to relieve stress similar to the way a stress ball does. It calms them down and makes them less likely to enact violent crimes. The individuals who are convinced that video games are the root of violence also think that they make the players antisocial. Nevertheless, many video games require the players to interact with each other to form strategies or to learn how to navigate the game. This will sometimes even lead to long-term friendships. Lastly, these people believe that video games teach children and adults that violence is the answer to everything. This is not true because, the majority of violent video games take place in some sort of war-like scenario. This means that violence is the only way to play the game. They do not teach people that violence is always the answer, they teach them that war is a very deadly situation---because video games are the closest many people will be to war---and that it should be avoided at all
However, there are studies that prove this theory incorrect. Most people feel some sort of need for violence. This is often caused by anger or conflict. Some people release this through hobbies or hostility, but studies show that violent video games release the need for violence. A study conducted by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson at Texas A&M took 103 adults and split them into groups. The results “showed that the violent games helped reduce depression and hostile feelings through “mood management,” essentially acting as a “stress ball’-” (Fleming 1). This shows that you can release stress by using video games the same way someone would punch their pillow over and over. Another case that shows this is form Whitney DeCamp at Western Michigan University. Whitney says “some studies have revealed a connection between kids playing violent video games and violent behavior. But there is a problem with "looking at those two things in a vacuum’-”. What Whitney is saying is the people that believe video games make people more violent only see the two concepts. They can’t see that parenting or the environment might affect them. Lastly, a study was conducted among 1614 players to see if computer games were used to relieve stress. The majority of the players showed that they used video games as a coping mechanism especially after a stressful …show more content…
They believe that video games cause people to go out in the public and commit crimes, however researchers have debunked this theory. They say that video games can be a way for someone to relieve stress similar to the way a stress ball does. It calms them down and makes them less likely to enact violent crimes. The individuals who are convinced that video games are the root of violence also think that they make the players antisocial. Nevertheless, many video games require the players to interact with each other to form strategies or to learn how to navigate the game. This will sometimes even lead to long-term friendships. Lastly, these people believe that video games teach children and adults that violence is the answer to everything. This is not true because, the majority of violent video games take place in some sort of war-like scenario. This means that violence is the only way to play the game. They do not teach people that violence is always the answer, they teach them that war is a very deadly situation---because video games are the closest many people will be to war---and that it should be avoided at all