Video games' influence on violence in society

[Kevin Jenkins]

>You can't truthfully say that violent video games had nothing to do with
>this problem. Again, it certainly wasn't the _whole_ cause, but it did have
>an influence in all of this.
>
>
>Joe

I'd agree video games are indirectly part of the cause of violence, but only
in that they are a media form. It is a facet of a general problem which is
societies attitude towards violence. If society wasn't as accepting of
violence, as was true fifty years ago, you wouldn't (and didn't) see the
same kind of violence in movies, TV, video games, and other media that you
do today. Blaming video games is like blaming the sheets of paper and ink
in Nazi propaganda.

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[Joe Monson]

At 07:26 -0700 99.5.07, Kevin Jenkins wrote:
>>You can't truthfully say that violent video games had nothing to do with
>>this problem. Again, it certainly wasn't the _whole_ cause, but it did have
>>an influence in all of this.
>>
>

>I'd agree video games are indirectly part of the cause of violence, but only
>in that they are a media form. It is a facet of a general problem which is
>societies attitude towards violence. If society wasn't as accepting of
>violence, as was true fifty years ago, you wouldn't (and didn't) see the
>same kind of violence in movies, TV, video games, and other media that you
>do today. Blaming video games is like blaming the sheets of paper and ink
>in Nazi propaganda.

Which is exactly what I was saying: violent video games are not the _whole_
problem/cause, but they are a definite contributor. Most people today are
jut too accepting of all the violence portrayed everywhere: TV (including
the news), Movies, video games, comics, books, etc. Violence is everywhere,
and it _does_ influence how we act. It influences some people far more than
others (as evidenced by the recent Columbine HS shootings, as well as the
extraordinarily high murder rate in the States as compared to some other
places), but it does influence everyone.

The extreme availablity and prevalence of guns doesn't help matters any,
either.

Joe

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