[jchw]

The assertion that violent video games cause violence is pretty non-sensical to begin with given that violent media already existed before video games. It’s just another way to push censorship. You see a lot less criticism when the same thing is done for pornography and eroticism, even though there is no real hypothesis for why it would be any different.

[nindalf]

While I don't think violent video games cause violence, it's not a completely ridiculous premise. Interactive video games require you to take and execute the decision yourself, putting yourself in the shoes of the player character.

If you've played the Last of Us 1 or 2, you know what I'm talking about. If you saw it, it would affect you deeply. But actually doing those things hits so much harder. Is it possible that has a deeper effect on us compared to a movie? I don't know, but it's not a ridiculous proposition.

[jchw]

Film was scary too at one point. And before that, books. The media became more sophisticated over time, and the moral panics always followed. Yes, this “new” media is interactive and immersive, but there has never been that much compelling evidence that increased immersion actually changes matters that much.

I think VR may be an interesting test case in the near future as it is immersive enough to potentially be more traumatic and more unsettling... but that still doesn’t mean playing GTA or Doom increases your odds of going on a shooting spree.

The fact that you can make potentially more impactful stories using more modern media seems neutral to me. But to be frank, you really desperately do not need modern technology and fancy graphics to make an incredibly emotional, impactful game. Just look at indie games like Undertale and Celeste.

[TedDoesntTalk]

> Film was scary too at one point.

And there have been many film-inspired murders. the mass shooting inspired by the Dark Night. John Hinckley’s assassination attempt on Reagan ( inspired by Taxi Driver ).

John Lennon’s murder was inspired by The Catcher in the Rye!

Here’s a link to some:

https://www.newsweek.com/nine-horrible-real-life-crimes-were...

And remember, not all such incidents are famous. So doubtless there are more.

There are sick people in the world who are indeed influenced by all sorts of media.

this was the key idea behind A Clockwork Orange.

Whether such media influences “healthy” people is another question.

[jchw]

Here’s my stance: if we can’t show a meaningful and strong correlation, it doesn’t matter. People have a personal responsibility to follow the law. Consumption of such material needs to be so dangerous that it justifies compromising speech rights, and as of now, decades past the original video game violence debates, we’re still not even sure it does anything.

People can be “inspired” by a film or a game to do something illegal, but it’s impossible for us to tell if they were simply likely to do it anyway, so individual cases don’t say very much.

[TedDoesntTalk]

It also depends on the person. We are all individuals with millions of different variables contributing to our behavior, some genetic and some environmental.

Some of us may be driven to violence by video games. And maybe those people aren’t included in these studies.

[Miner49er]

Well violent media and violent video games can both cause violence? Just cause violent media already existed doesn't mean violent video games don't still cause violence.

[jchw]

Why would we be concerned about video games and not cinema? All of the sudden, violent media is concerning when it happens to align with a generational gap?

[SkyBelow]

One thing I don't quite get is the extent that people who are against the idea that (violent) videos games cause violence seem seem to have a very significant about face in opinion when the topic switches away from strictly physical violence to those that would fall more under the topics you raised, yet the logic is pretty much the same either way.

[TedDoesntTalk]

Violent media is not interactive. It is one-way.