Violent Video Games, Weak Statistics And Sensationalistic Headlines
from the details-please? dept
It seems one of the more controversial areas of study lately surrounds violent video games. It seems like every few months a new study comes out, and the results are always sensationalized, even if the details of the study usually don't add up to very much. Much more telling is the fact that as graphically violent video games have become more popular, incidents of youth violence continue to drop when you would expect it to go the other way. Obviously, this is an area that could use more research -- but so much of it seems to have serious problems. The latest "research" has come out on violent video games, and it's grabbing lots of headlines, claiming that violent video games are linked to "risky behaviors" and increase paranoia. Other headlines point out the "major public health issue" and the "negative impact on youth". Of course, the most sensationalistic claim is that somehow this study suggests violent video games make young males more likely to smoke marijuana. Of course, given that the effects of marijuana are supposed to make people less likely to go out and do stuff, it would seem to go against the view that violent video games lead to actual violence. Either way, it would seem that the press covering this story might want to dig a bit deeper into the facts. The study involves a fairly small sample size (100 young men) to start. Also, the fact that playing such games increases your blood pressure seems sort of obvious. People who are engaged in a video game are likely to have their blood pressure rise. That just means they're really engaged in the game. As for the "leads to pot smoking" claim, this one deserves the most investigation -- and one person who claims to have seen the study (if anyone has a copy, we'd love to check it out) says that what the study actually showed was that both the violent video gaming group and the control group said that marijuana was bad for your health on a six point scale. It's just that the violent video game play group found it slightly less bad. To suggest that this means violent video gamers are more likely to actually engage in such things seems like a huge stretch -- but it sure makes for good headlines.
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Gee haven't I heard THIS before?
As for the marijuana thing, yes its bad for your health but what kinda crap is this? Video gamers find it slightly less bad? Oook...anyone wanna chalk that one up to false info or something? If it wasnt obvious yes I game and find these "studies" offensive. Playing the "Evil games" sure beats sending my fist into everyone I hate's faces.
Saves a ton on tickets and court fees too!
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Re: Gee haven't I heard THIS before?
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Re: Gee haven't I heard THIS before?
I wanna hurt people who come up with this junk.
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Re: Gee haven't I heard THIS before?
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Re: Gee haven't I heard THIS before?
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Poor Coorelation
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Re: Poor Coorelation
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...violent video games kill people.
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Re: Guns don't kill
(_/)
(0.o) This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain World Domination.
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Re: Guns don't kill
(_/)
(0.o) This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain World Domination.
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Re: violent video games
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Re:
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Re: by TriZz on Apr 11th, 2006 @ 5:33am
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Causation-Correlation
- Causation may not show up as a correlation?
- In a multiple regression setting, a correlation between the outcome and a single covariate may not show up at all? (The association is present only after adjusting for other covariates.)
- Correlation (the Pearson version, taught in Stat 101 courses) cannot detect nonlinear associations, such as a quadratic curve? (It will show up as correlation=0.)
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I just wanna cut people's heads off...
Exiled has it right. The stress relief accompanied by taking master chief into a room full of Covenant goons killing them all and then shooting them as they lay dead on the floor just to watch the blood spatter is priceless. Imagine how many people violent video games have saved. lol. Seriously though.
The problem is that the young video game playing male is under attack by society for the Columbine incident. Since those truely psycotic kids played violent video games, all kids who play video games must be murdurous psychos.
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And as our parents' generation is hitting the golden years, they can't understand why "us kids" (now in our 20s and 30s) haven't dropped the video games. So, silly, baseless research is the hero of the day!
Imagine if one of the guys who played the "tame" videogame was also prone to making sacrafice of small animals... obviously, then, the only possible thing that could be inferred is that ALL PEOPLE WHO PLAY NON-VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES WILL MURDER SMALL ANIMALS!!!11 There just couldn't be another option.
...call me when you can survey 300 million people efficiently.
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I am a conker...
QED!
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Then sit back and wait for the "rocks and fallen tree branches cause violence in our children...and turn them into pot smoking mass murderers"...
Good grief
(_)o(_)
They can all kiss my ...
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"TETRIS HELPS KIDS BECOME MORE ORGANIZED IN THERE EDUCATION"
or
"PERSONS WITH PDAs ARE LESS LIKELY TO USE PENS AND PAPER"
wtf #$%*!!
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Well, it's apparently several studies published in the same journal issue. If you tell me your e-mail, I can send you them. I have one of those free e-mail accounts from google. I imagine it'd be easy for a human to figure out.
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!
and yo dude send me it id LOVE to see it
i love splinter cell doesnt mean im gonna go snipe some1 or do marijuanna now
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Re: !
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Bah.
I do not play these games because I feel like I need to get pent up aggression out, nor do I feel paranoid after playing them. I play games b/c they're fun, like most people should. After, I feel like crap b/c I just wasted a ton of my time on it, when I shouldn't have. But it was a good high. Does it make me want to light up, or suspect my roomate will blame me for the stench in our dorm?
Naw... I don't see the connections. It's just a statistical excuse for moralilty freaks to spread thier ideals and opinions around, until everyone abides by them.
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mary jane is good for you.
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Violence in the media...
I did a study on this subject back at college, and reviewed a lot of sources.
It seems that the truth is not in the gray area...
Kids arent transformed by violent video games or murder scenes on TV.
The problem is that there is a small group of kids, those who have certain psychological problems, or have some predisposition to violent behaviour. It seems that violence in the different media can inhibit violent behavious in this "problem group".
But i guess that's just like saying we wont make fast cars because people are more likely to go fast, crash, and die in them...
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Re: Violence in the media...
The media and entertainment folks only give us what we demand. Sex and Violence themes are at the top of the list.
Here's a few additional thoughts.
Maybe the special intersest folks should do a study on which is a greater negative influence friends or video games? I think that answer is clear.
No video game ever made smoke pot. Peer pressure did. My sense of right and wrong made me decide it was a bad idea after I caved to per pressure. And, I'm not harshing people who smoke. That's their choice.
The whole thing is kinda funny too. For example, some people think I am nutz. Becasue I allow my kids (ages between 6 and 12) to play violent games. The two younger one play games like Sonic and Crash Bandicoot - which are mildly violent. And the older two play things like Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, Half-Life, Gun... But, I also make sure they understand the diffence between reality and the game.
In the end, it comes down to choices.
If my 6 year old can tell the differnce, there no logical reason a teenager can't either.
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Re: Re: Violence in the media...
When I was in college, I actually wrote a 20 page paper over the effects of violence in video games on teenagers. (ha got an A on it too) 90% of the studies that I came accross said almost the exact same thing.... If parents allow their children play violent games, they need to ensure that they understand the difference between reality and the game. It is that simple. Parent have to take responsiblity for teaching and educating their kids. Seem to me that most of the topics concerning kids these days link back to that central subject.
I also dont understand why the media and government is only blasting the gaming industry about violence. About 4 years ago the United State Army released a FREE first person shooter for people to download and play. There goal was to evaluate users various "combat" skills for the purpose of recruiting people. (If I am remembering all of this correctly, it has been a while) Interesting that the government dis-approves of violent games but allows the army to release its own....
BTW, in all my research I never came across a link between pot smoking and video games.......
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BS
(_/)
(0.o) This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain World Domination.
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History repeating itself ?
wonder what's next ?
Every generation seems to think the next generation is getting out of hand ..
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Re: History repeating itself ?
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?
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Re: ?
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BOLD
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I'm unbolding this conversation.
Violent video games don't cause violence, I only play racing games and I killed 9 people last week.
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Argh.
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Strange alternate result
Has anyone studied that affect?
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Huh?
Why do people care anyway? Movies are more real and more graphic. I know I was more ready to do violent things in real life after watching 'The Wizard of Oz' than I ever was playing a little GTA.
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Re: Huh?
My life in cyberspace is not that which I live in real life. Many people need to realize this.
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Re: Re: Huh?
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Lawlz
This just in! People who believe random "scientific" studies are more likely to be gullible and easily led by the carrot on the stick than people who don't.
It's true.
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narcotic herbs
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Re: narcotic herbs
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Re: narcotic herbs
Your exact comment was once the caption of a cartoon which appeared in either Playboy or the National Lampoon. It was two cops walking down a sidewalk when one turns to the other and says, " (your quote) "
I'm looking for the cartoon.
Rick
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Save the electrons
Wait a second...what have I done!?
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Me Too, Otto...
I trully think that video games have ruined my live(s.)
After Pong, I started throwing rocks at moving objects like people or cars, thinking they would just bounce off. Pacman made me start shoving plastic toys into my mouth since I was a child, and Frogger got me hit by a car more than once.
Needless to say, I started kicking and punching the other kids at school because I eventually thought I was a ninja, and I lost my paer route after Paper Boy came out. Mortal Kombat only made things worse with the ninja problem.
Once, I even had to go to the emergency room because I thought I could eat coins and poisonous mushrooms, and kept banging my head againsts bricks. Most of the coins came out the other end though.
You can imagine how dangerous I became after Wolfenstein 3d and then Doom 1 came out...
Now I'm in a "special" place where they give me fun pills every 4 hours and they only let us play checkers. Of course I choked on a couple of those too, when they didn't give me my medicine once and I dreamed I was PacMan again.
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Re: Me Too, Otto...
Lol funny... But kind of stinks too. You took the video game imagination to another level (14yrs old 8th grade)
Friend:
you should try out the game runescape. great game. Its online only
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the video game offers the perfect solution for this seemingly paradoxical state
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Video Games do make you violent
Come on people, give me a break. Violent video games cause no problems except those people who allow them to cause problems.
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you know......
.....it's people mad about other people who say that violent video games make you kill people that kill people
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RE: guns kill people...
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Thanks Google Scholar :)
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wrench in the works
I don't smoke pot or play video games, but i just killed 5 people.
how do you like THAT?!?!?!
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it has always been about violence
i know that you're thinking "what the heck, doom2 is far from being as violent and bloody as its successor doom3 !!!".
but let me tell you one thing : ONLY THE GRAPHICS HAVE ENHANCED.
if the blood wasn't so real in old days video games , it wasn't because programmers and players were afraid, it was simply because they didn't have the technology to make things look more real which was by the way a DREAM.
statistics and studies are not evil, they are indeed most informative. but i think whoever is involved in this kind of studies should have at LEAST a general idea about the theme of study, which in our case is Violent Video Games.
hers a brief history for those who missed the evolution:
--ill start as far as i remember and go back to old school games, and you'll always find that the main idea is: KILL OR BE KILLED (PacMan, nibbles, space invaders...) and many many more.
--then ill go to the 90s and there we find (doom, quake, prince of Persia, F22 air dominance and much more)
and the main objective was usually total destruction, and the only difference again is of course graphics.
therefore its like if the study says: -higher graphics details are making players more violent-.
well i played my self video games since i remember, yet I've never been in a fight ever, and I've never enjoyed torturing anything.
the video games concept has a philosophy in it, it is much more complicated and delicate than it seems, for me playing is discovery, challenge, adrenaline rush, eternal life(there is no permanent death in games you can always have another chance), making the impossible come true, being anybody(a prince, a commander, a soldier, a doctor, a hero, a winner, a looser sometimes) , a small escape from the stupid world i have to live in everyday.
if video games would have to look like reality one day, then where would the fun be?
imagine a speed cars game where you have to respect the speed limit!!! and to stop for the police car the is trying to pull you over!!!.
well, this i have in my life, what i want and expect from such a game is definitely the opposite, i want to try things, i want to go 300mph and crash, i want to loose the police car behind me and maybe ram it. not because I'm evil or i want to kill police officers, but simply because its something NEW for me, its FUN, its like watching this bad Boys TV show , but I AM running the show!!! its that simple, and maybe ill try to play as a police officer and chase the 300mph car!!! which i could never do in reality because, well, I'm not a police officer. :)
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dear god
As far as pot thing goes... it makes u not want to go out sit home munch on stuff and hmm that leads to bordem so they play games, I want to know if those people that said its not that bad and they play games if they smoke pot already im sure u would get alot of yes's back
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I also play many other video games for large amounts of time such as Halo and 99.9% of the time the game involves killing things. I also play a RPG similar to D&D. I have never even touched a gun in my life (nor do I want to), have never done any drugs, have drunk alcohol only 6 times in my life (I can legally drink) and never speed.
Aparantly I would be doing even less than the zero crime I have ever commited if I didn't play violent video games.
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I play CSS, so I must be a murder
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For a good visual...
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Same old thing ...
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violent video games arent all bad
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More people need to hear this
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you guys have a point. thanks for agreeing w/ me.
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asdf
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Re: asdf
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GET A LIFE!
wats ur excuse???
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Re: GET A LIFE!
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I play Halo, but I don't kill others!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Stuff
I play Halo, but I don't kill others!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Myspace makes people want to chase iguanas into the Pacific Ocean!!!
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when your angry
0 0
----
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video games are awsome
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This Shizzit Is Whack
"Marijuana Affects The Memory"
lol had to write that
0.o
~
(>^^)> KIRBYS DANCING
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(SHIT)AKI MUSHROOMS
I think you should keep your panzy
mommas loving "ASS" outta others peoples bizz.
i mean if i wanna get baked, or torch'd thats my bizz not yours.
If yall agree re: dis
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RE: video games are awsome
Obviously you havent tried
HALO
OR
HALO 2
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RE: RE: TO TRIZZ
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RE: Me Too, Otto... by Professor Highbrow
Conkers Bad Fur Day For Nintendo 64
After That Game I Started To Hit People In The Face With Frying Pans.
lol
P.S "IM DEAD RIGHT NOW ILL BE ON TOMMOROW"
ORIGINALLY MY NAME WAS GONNA BE JIZZMAN LOL
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does it really matter
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Good for a laugh, not for facts...
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Glory to the hypnotoad
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Video Games are not viiolent
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