I personally feel that gaming cannot be labeled the main cause of teen violence. I believe that people felt something needed to be blamed for the rising of teen violence lately, and gaming took a blow for it. Why would it have to be games that cause teen violence? Why not movies or music? What about shooting sports such as paintball or airsoft? There are many other ways kids could be influenced to cause teen violence, so I feel that each individual kid may be influenced differently by different things.


Please feel free to make arguments to support your vote.

Its the people who play the games that are mental already, Some games just fuel their imagination.

Teen violence did exist before computer games did, didn't it? I'm reasonably sure (although I don't have stats to support this) that there are teens who exhibit instances of violence without having had any computer game influence. On the other hand, I know plenty of gamers who are teens, crazy about games, but sane enough (no harm to society ). I am against anything (game or non-game) that spreads the idea of war, violence, et al and glamorizes them. However - while I'm sure there are cases where computer games have been responsible for teen violence, I cannot imagine that being an exclusive reason. Like Xboxgamer1200 put it, there are books, movies, and other media that can influence one's mind just as dramatically (sometimes even more) as computer games.



I'll second that. We're all different people, and react differently to different things. Sure, some games may have accelerated the concept of teen violence, some may have contributed non-trivially to certain instances of teen violence -- but it can't be the only influence out there. It's a complex world Of course, I am still against anything that glamorizes violence and makes you think it's really cool to murder someone off the street - and if a game is going to do that, I will be against that too. But I must mention this - if something 'makes you think that x=y', that is no reason to believe x=y. If you do, and then suffer any negative consequences (of believing x=y), it's partly your fault. Does that make any sense?

i dont think that it leads to violence because if your not smart enough to realize that its just a game theres something wrong already, i think that society just doesnt like gamers in general and are trying to make them and the games they play look bad

I'm not too sure about whether or not violent games add to the violence in children or teenagers or whomever, but you are right in saying that fact that violence was around long before any form of game was around. That just seems obvious to me. Saying that it didn't exist, just seems unreasonable.

Granted, some games are very violent and graphic, and I don't fully support that myself, but I do not believe the games are solely to blame. Before people blamed the games, they blamed the tv... and before that, who knows what (hey, maybe you know, it's just a little before my time lol...)

My point is, I don't think that teen violence can be fully blamed on gaming, but maybe partailly. The violence has always been around, and maybe the games have just added to it. But then again, I'm no expert in the subject...

Games may affect some people to some degree. I know that for sure. Every experience in life affects people and changes them to some degree. I strongly believe video games (especially online ones) do over stimulate the brain, and also cause aggression if someone plays too long. Gaming is fun, but it can also be stressful. As for violence, I don't know if it has any cases of that, but there is always a chance of it I'm sure.

Well stated, I agree with you 100% there. Yes, your mathematical equation makes perfect sence to me. However, I still do wonder why upper levels of math include letters and other crazy stuff. I was fortunate to get a B in Precalc this year, but AP Calc will be a new story next year...

Alright, back on subject...

A few years ago I denied the idea that games could ever cause teen violence. I felt that it was mostly parents trying to put a label on the cause of rising teen violence these days. I recently am starting to believe, as I stated before, that each individual kid may be affected differently. Video games can be frustrating or even cause a lot of emotion at times (may be evident when I am playing Halo 2 with friends), so it is my new belief that video games could be the spark for the fire with some kids. Although this may be the case for some kids, I personally feel that video games can be a good way for me to vent strong emotions a times.

This is a tough one and a topic that has made the feature presentation of many a current affair shows. Especially after Columbine.

I would say that it may fuel an already disturbed mind and may even in extreme circumstances act as a catalyst for a form of violence but I also believe that the game itself cannot really start the need for violence or violent tendancies except perhaps at a very young age, pre 10 year olds maybe, at that stage your mind is very much affected through cognative development and it could be possible to be affected. It's all very debatable though.

I do agree though that it's not healthy that such a ridiculously large portion of entertainment revolves around violence. Why does everything have to be that way? It's strange isn't it. An emotional response that most people would do anything to avoid is the primary form of entertainment. Sorry to say it, but the USA has a big role to play in this arena.