I do believe that shootings are sometimes encouraged (although not caused) by video games. I don't think that someone who was not inclined to kill could become murderous after playing hours of video games, but I do think that someone who already had violent tendencies could play video games and think of such an unspeakable act as more... speakable. When killing is normalized and discussed casually, the results can be dangerous.
There was an example of a young man names Chris Harper-Mercer, who killed 10 people (including himself) and injured 7 more. He was obsessed with playing violent video games, and had open conversations online with other gamers who supported his plan to shoot up a school. He told some anonymous supporters on 4Chan what he was going to do the night before he did it, and was met with encouraging comments, with language similar to language that might be used to discuss a video game. After he did it, people on the same conversation talked about what happened in terms of a "score," suggesting that they thought of the real world in vide game terms.
http://www.charismanews.com/culture/52651-14-mass-murders-linked-to-violent-video-games
There was an example of a young man names Chris Harper-Mercer, who killed 10 people (including himself) and injured 7 more. He was obsessed with playing violent video games, and had open conversations online with other gamers who supported his plan to shoot up a school. He told some anonymous supporters on 4Chan what he was going to do the night before he did it, and was met with encouraging comments, with language similar to language that might be used to discuss a video game. After he did it, people on the same conversation talked about what happened in terms of a "score," suggesting that they thought of the real world in vide game terms.
http://www.charismanews.com/culture/52651-14-mass-murders-linked-to-violent-video-games
Hi Aly,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your statement that though video games may not be the cause of the violent acts, they can and sometimes do play a factor into people's actions. In my own blog I commented how violent video games that involve killing other people can cause a person to be more violent. I know this first hand by observing several children I nanny for. There was a little 4 year old boy that was allowed to play Grand Theft Auto, and a result he acted violently and threatened to kill me every time he did not get his way. Like you I am not saying that video games cause shootings or violence, but I do believe there is strong correlation.