Violent Crimes Keep Dropping As Violent Video Games Get More Popular
from the correlations dept
A few years back, we posted some research someone had done noting that youth violence had decreased drastically over the years as violent video games became more popular. Now Digg is highlighting a similar, and rather dramatic, drop in overall violent crime during the period since 1993 (when the video game Doom was released). Obviously, this is a correlation, not proving any kind of causal linkage. However, if it were true that these video games were convincing people to go out and commit actual crimes, it would be hard to bring that into line with this data. Combined with recent studies that have shown that violent crime decreases when violent movies are released, it certainly suggests that the "threat" of such movies and video games aren't as big as some would have you believe.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
The real reason
The young black men and trailer-park whites who commit the majority of violent crimes are not influenced by video games or movies, since they cannot afford either of them. A more consistent association is seen with the rise and fall of drug epidemics; crack cocaine peaked in the 1980s, and now methamphetamine is fuelling a smaller crime wave.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I'm proof
That said, today is going well, so I'm sticking to my MCVs and Dragon Tanks for now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Take a look at human nature
However there is the 1% of mentally disturbed people who take these forms of entertainment and turn them into tools and guides for life.
I wonder if they did a study....take every player of doom & GTA, take away their games and give them a Bible to read. I believe that 99% of the people would not commit any crimes, but 1% would then begin to stone people and nail them up on crosses.
If the same crime rates exist with the introduction of video games as did with the introduction of Bibles, would we blame the Bibles for the violence?
**Disclaimer**
I am in no way bashing anything about the Bible, I am only using it as a reference as what is accepted in today's society and the Oxymoronic actions of our govenrment officials.
**END**
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The real reason
Oh my god, I think hell froze over... I agree with dorpus.
Most violent crime we see today stems from one of three things: drugs, gangs, poverty. I forget the exact number, but something like 80% of all property crime in Oregon stems from methamphetamine. By far meth is the most destructive influence at the moment, followed close second by gangs.
Do people think meth heads and gang members do training raids in Duke Nukem before they attack someone?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: The real reason
...weird. I agree with him, too.
Satan must be pretty cold right now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Take a look at human nature
I as well am not defaming Christainity, whose central dogma is loving and productive. However, the sheer number of individuals who fall on their sword over specific outdated ideals and feel there is no leeway are dangerous... not because of the message put forth in the Bible, but because of their personal mental limits. The weak minded and uninformed are much more opt to resort to violence regardless of their influences... which is pretty much your point as well, Wisconsingod.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Crime and video games
I have heard people many times comment about how violence in video games helps them "vent" at something not real. I would love to see studies supporting that.
I tend to believe that any significant drop or rise in violent crime has more to do with bigger societal issues and less to do with GTA or Doom.
That is not to say that there will be isolated instances of people mimicking what they see in those games.
Seriously, wouldn't it be pretty scary to run into some kid on goof-balls acting out in a car what was seen in GTA? It is a pretty horrible thought if it does really happen.
We need to at least see if it is possible.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Take a look at human nature
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thing is all crime rates are going to rise and fall over time. What causes it is anyone guess.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Drop in crime v. Legalization of Abortion
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: The real reason
that's preposterous! jack thompson clearly demonstrated that they use grand theft auto.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The real reason
This is... a clearly written, coherent, rational, well-reasoned, on-topic post... that actually states a valid and agreeable point...
Who are you, and what have you done with the real dorpus?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Points
I have absolutely no problem with games like Doom (love it!) or some others with at least a moral/ethical "excuse" for the bloodletting. I mean, who could fault you for shooting demons? GTA is something of a different story, IMHO. It glamorizes stealing and killing innocents and cops. I think that's a bad role model. I work with some inner city kids and I can tell you that there are some who take the GTA lifestyle as an exciting alternative to working at Mickey D's. And, despite what dorpus said, many of these poor kids actually do have playstations, etc. as an alternative to a car, a nice stereo, a good computer, etc. and they spend immense amounts of time playing games on them. In those cases, I do think that the percentage of GTA players that get "inspired" by the game is significantly higher than 1%. The solution of course is not outlawing GTA, but providing better education and better jobs, but that takes hard, long-term decision-making, something I have not come to expect of our governments.
The one thing which is implicit here but has not been explicitly pointed out is that it is "good" "news" to link some heinous crime or crime spree with a popular but disturbing video game like GTA or Doom. The 95% or 99% (who knows?) of people who use these games to blow off steam instead of blowing off their boss's head (or yelling their head off at their spouse, etc.) is not a good news story, since there's no excitement/fear/dread factor. So, of course, it won't be reported. Given how much BS people see on TV and believe, you know what happens next...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The real reason
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The real reason
I don't agree with dorpus's comment which assumes that all young blacks commit crimes as oppose to only "trailer-park" or poor whites. The common denominator here is poverty, so a more accurate statement would probably be "young underprivileged men commit the majority of violent crimes." And that statement I do agree with. But I do believe dorpus is correct in saying "A more consistent association is seen with the rise and fall of drug epidemics." For some reason people seem to want to minimize the effect drugs have on the crime rate by pointing the finger on violent games and movies. In my opinion crime rates are dropping because we're just getting out of this crack-cocaine haze we've been in for the last 2 to 3 decades.
But I don't think that the author of the article is necessarily saying that the raise in violent video games is the reason for the drop in crime. What the article seems to be doing more then anything is discrediting the ridiculous idea that violent video games and movies contribute to the increase in violent crimes by showing that a correlation exists between violent games and movies and a decrease in the crime rate.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Points
Well, you were on a roll... then you made that statement. Drugs are not the source of the problem because they are expensive. They are the source of the problem because they are not free. The addicts that steal for their fix do not have jobs that pay enough to buy real food, let along legalized versions of their drug of choice.
Don't forget, this has been tried in the past by both the Dutch and the Swiss. This is a brief description of the Swiss experiment:
This was the source of that snippet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Remember; however, GTA was fashioned off of a situation that ALREADY existed prior to GTA ever being developed.
The problem existed long before GTA did...
And actually - someone I know has severe Alcohol and Drug issues, along with that 'Gang-Bangers are cool' mentality.
I'm sure he's played GTA - but by and large he seems to get into that the most after listening to all the music that glorifies it. He's tried to 'glamorize' that life and GTA didn't have a thing to do with that. I can't say I blame the music either though - really, it's no one's fault but his own. He knows better, just chooses to ignore it.
But I agree with you 100% - education is the key. Any sane person realizes that GTA is simply a game.
And really - TV news likely is more depressing than anything - all the dwell on is crime, hate, and greed..
Basically, with drugs being illegal like they are now, this is simply the prohibition of the 20's/30's all over again. Just instead of the organized mobsters, it's a lot of smaller, less organized gangs. But I'm sure - 'above' the level of the street thugs, the dealers are well organized - it's just the guys in the streets that are the pawns. In the end, GTA just glamorizes this situation like 'the Godfather' or Sopranos glamorizes mob violence - if GTA's 'evil' then these 'mob' shows are every bit as harmful.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I wrote the original post
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The bible...
He died to take your place and was seperated from God in every aspect, so that those who put their trust in him would never have to experience that. The difference was he was brought back to life! If we die, we do not have that power to raise ourselves. We die in our sins.
In the past its true, people have done alot of stupid things in their ignorant understand of the bible and their interpretations. Does that make the scriptures invalid? Nope! Nor does it mean we should ignore everything and just pretend we don't see the bad around us and do nothing.
The bottom line is, in the end it is not I who will be judging, but the one i serve will be and he is the one who has laid down what the rules are. It would be like someone going into a court room and getting mad at a judge because they ran a stop sign and then tried to argue that they didn't see the sign. The sign was there all along, the fact that you didn't see it doesn't make you exempt from the punishment of running it. But then all of a sudden someone comes in and says "i'll pay their fine". Well, thats what Jesus did for you and i. Will you let him pay your fine? Or try to pay for it yourself?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Drop in crime v. Legalization of Abortion
Hard to beat less criminals = less crime.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
maybe that's because...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
My two cents.
Remember, in the 50s, housewives were marketed are sorted of speed, and we all remember the great "Housewife Massacre" of 1957, right?
I don't think we're arguing, I'm just sticking my point in. Drug prohibition does not work, and costs far more than it saves. We should stop it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The bible...
Yes people have done stupid things in the past because of their ignorant understanding of whatever religious text they choose to follow. Does that mean we should let them do what they want becuase their holy book of choice said so? Of course not. And make a correction stupid choices related to religion are not limited to the past. Abortion clinic bombings, the centuries of war in Middle East, and even the recent "War on Terror." Yesh some of those "terrorists" are compelled by religion to do what they do.
So please do not try to turn AgaricX's comment into holy war bait.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Points
But once someone has already taken into their habit to break the law by producing more and more laws that control peoples lives they are willing to break other laws. In essence as the relation to the law and the morality that it once represented weakens it is easier to justify breaking the laws.
"Tolerant drug policies in Switzerland have resulted in an influx of drug users. In 1987, the Swiss Government permitted drug use and sales in a part of Zurich called Platzspitz, or “Needle Park.” By 1992, over 20,000 drug users congregated in the park, and the surrounding areas were overrun with crime. The park has been shut down and the experiment has been terminated."
When one area has more tolerance for a specific group of people than another area it is natural for the people of that group to migrate there. If you take all the crime in a city and put it in one block that block has alot of crime.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The bible...
If you do read the bible some day, you will see that it has more controversial situations in it than any game I have ever played or any movie that I have ever seen (excluding AO games and XXX movies.)
I guess you're a little misinformed about your religion.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
What about Parenting?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: The bible...
Pay for it myself. I work currently as a Support Assitant in a homeless hostel, and one thing we try to impart to our clients is the act of taking responsibility for ones actions. I don't need someone else to give me a 'get out of jail free' card, I need to make sure that I am a good person from word go.
I personally have a great dislike for GTA and similar games (though if one is blowing up monsters or demons, not so much), and I used to think that yes, it can certainly influence the impressionable and the very young. But then again, that is not the only bad influence that exists.
The idea that these games could actually be preventative rather than causative had never occurred to me, but it makes a lot of sense. Context is the important thing, shooting pieces of machine code or pixels is far more acceptable than shooting people. I'm going to wind my neck in now, and not criticise these games so much. As I think another poster said, man has an instinctively agressive nature as part of his survival program, those urges/desires/reactions need to channeled somewhere.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No violent games/movies != No violence in real wor
This could be an explanation for the fact we are discussing about.
Anyway these kinds of movies and games could also give inspiration for bad behaviors...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
female
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Violent Crimes Keep Dropping As Violent Video Game
[ link to this | view in thread ]
It's all in the crazy people's heads!
Thanks for reading ;)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
It's all in the crazy people's heads!
Thanks for reading ;)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
open murder conspiracy in portland oregon
p.s. the address where this ocured is 8800 se causey loop n-205 clackamas OR 97086, the whole neaberhood there has heard of this and the authorities used a warrant to kick out the tenants above shawnas apartment
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Violent Games
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Scholarship
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gratuitous violence
[ link to this | view in thread ]