CoD, GTA and other violent video games implicated in creating real-life murderers and criminals

[Stinja]

This again... <sigh>

UK tabloids point the finger at Call of Duty, GTA in coverage of 15-year-old TalkTalk hacker

TalkTalk hacker:

The UK tabloids this morning report the 15-year-old arrested for hacking TalkTalk was a "violent video game addict" who wanted to be a professional Call of Duty player.

The Daily Mail's front page called the boy "a baby-faced loner who rarely leaves his bedroom".

The boy, from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, "spent hours playing violent video games such as Call of Duty, Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto" from the age of 10, the Mail claims.

Before dragging up "links" to mass-shooting murderers again:

It also mentions Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik claimed he had "trained himself" to kill his 77 victims by playing Call of Duty.

and:

Resident Evil also comes under fire. The Mail says Capcom's horror series was a favourite for Aaron Alexis, the US gunman who killed 12 in 2013 at a Washington naval base.

At least Eurogamer mentioned:

Both reports relegate claims the boy suffered from learning disabilities, ADHD and behavioural problems to background paragraphs. Neither report highlights the issue of parental responsibility.

 

[Toasty]

Surely we should all be up in arms over Watchdogs instead..

 

[Stinja]

Or even the Hacker video game?



I mean hacks have increased massively since 1985, when this was released!

 

[weaponx031277]

This old chesnut again....

Way i like to destroy people who bring this argument up is by saying this. O.K then we ban violent computer games that might cause one in a few million to conduct a violent act but on the flip side then we will ban Religion which causes many more people to go out and commit acts of violence. Soon shuts them up.

 

[kav]

Video games don't cause violent behaviour. If anyone disagrees, I'll kill them.

 

[iwb100]

Guns don't kill people, vidya games do......

 

[Expired]

Soaps are to blame for the countries ills. Dysfunctional families, murders etc ban Emmerdale I say!

 

[CAS FAN]

To be honest, whilst I disagree with the whole 'video games are bad' sensationalist headline nonsense, it is ridiculous the games that some parents let young kids play. Now I like GTA5, it's a good game, but it is an adult game and it's not great when I have my 9 year old begging me to allow him to play it with his mates. Some of his friends are as young as 7 and play GTA5. Now i'm sorry, but that is simply not right. Parents have a responsibility to allow kids to be kids and to grow up as kids without being faced with rape, murder, torture and other adult themes on a daily basis.

When you expose young rapidly developing minds to these issues in this manner, it does normalise them in many respects and at a time when your experiences will help form the adult you will become. Personally I consider each game on it's merits and decide what I am going to let my kids play. I have allowed him to play COD multiplayer as I feel that whilst there is clearly violence in that game, it is more of a straightforward violence to understand in a war context. Games like GTA seem more real life in their settings and they deal with far more disturbing issues, which I am not sure a child can fully appreciate.

I also think that balance is a great thing and we don't just let our children sit there playing video games, without developing a good understanding of the real world, through other activities. My kids spend most of their time playing outside. They go swimming, he plays rugby and she does horse riding etc. They love reading and creating artwork and have a wide network of friends.

I do think that there are a lot of great positives that come from kids playing games though. They are great for problem solving, developing reactions and spacial awareness and the online games (minecraft, COD etc.) are fantastic for teamwork and leadership skills. Folk who just knock games as being evil, without having a proper understanding, are just misguided and wrong quite frankly. It's all about balance from both sides.

 

[zt1903]

Funnily enough I went through the exact same thing with my son and GTA. Allowed him to play COD a few years ago for similar reasons to you but only now allowing him on GTA (he's 14) after a lengthy discussion about the themes portrayed in the game.

I was going to dig my heels in harder in relation to GTA but realised the media I accessed at his age (video nasties) was probably worse.

He also doesn't play GTA the same way I would. He mostly just wants to do the heists with his mates, he's barely scratched the surface of the campaign.

 

[iwb100]

Parents letting kids play age inappropriate games isn't a games thing though. It is just lousy parents. Like ones who let their kids watch anything on TV or view anything online. Or who just stick their young kids on an iPad to shut them up.

As a society we are very desensitised to violence in general nowadays. It doesn't mean we go round beating up old ladys. I can see some people being wrongly influenced but I think that issue is beyond games and about much broader media and content.

 

[CAS FAN]

Parents letting kids play age inappropriate games isn't a games thing though. It is just lousy parents. Like ones who let their kids watch anything on TV or view anything online. Or who just stick their young kids on an iPad to shut them up.

As a society we are very desensitised to violence in general nowadays. It doesn't mean we go round beating up old ladys. I can see some people being wrongly influenced but I think that issue is beyond games and about much broader media and content.

There's a couple of issues with that though. Firstly, whilst a movie or TV show can depict violence, the viewer is extremely passive in their consumption of that media. With a video game, they are a very active participant in the violence. One depicts violence, whilst the other creates a kind of violence simulator.

Secondly, whilst we as adults may be very exposed to violence (and other adult themes) these days, we have hopefully developed into well rounded individuals, with a strong sense of right and wrong and are therefore able to deal with those adult themes in the right way. If you have a child who grows up with adult themed video games as a primary influence, then the computers in their heads will be programmed to believe that the depicted behaviour is acceptable. All humans do is gradually build up a picture of the world from the influences around them. You could actually have two children who play say GTA5; one who's primary or only influence is video games and one who has many stronger, positive influences to go alongside the influence from video games. The one with the range of strong, positive influences will probably be unaffected by the content of the game as he/she has so many stronger influences to draw from. The one without the positive influences, will most likely feel that the influence they receive from the game is the way things are and should be.

As I stated however, it is certainly never right or helpful for people/the media etc. to start blaming say video games, for societies ills. There are certainly many influences and reasons for why people commit crimes and blaming video games in this way is just sensationalist nonsense. Similarly however, their effect on children can not simply be dismissed or compared directly to the effect from violent/adult themed movies.

It will be very interesting how the media views VR, when it kicks off into the mainstream next year. VR really can deliver a feeling that the gamer is actually there and I can see the uproar already, when GTA VR comes out.

 

[Nozey]

Just wait for a couple of months and they'll be saying he was a massive No Man's Sky fan, after he didn't turn up for his court hearing.