Violent Video Games: Not The Problem

Posted on by Kevin.

See Kevin interviewed by Teen TV News:  Videogame Addiction interview

We live in a world where information, especially of a highly negative and disturbing variety, inundates and overwhelms us every day.  Most of us struggle to integrate the information, let alone have time to understand and fully process it.  I remember during the Sandy Hook tragedy listening to satellite radio for four or five days straight, every time I was in the car.  I even lingered in the car when I would reach a destination, drawn to passively participate in the aftermath of the unfathomable loss of life.  I am now under another media barrage with the present naval-yard horror, and find myself  now driven to keep up.

What strikes me in this case is a partial focus once again on violent video games.  So, I shall again respond, providing my professional opinion as an expert in the field, and also updating readers on what science has to say.  Obviously, Aaron Alexis seems to suffer from some severe mental health issues.  Stories of erratic behavior, psychological disturbances, and details of his discharge from the navy have started to emerge.  And yes, he did play violent video games, like the emblematic, Call of Duty.  So now, the news media have started contacting me again, asking me to comment on this issue.

  • Do violent video games create a violence-prone individual?
  • Do they encourage violence?
  • Do they push a person down the path toward violent behavior?

These are the types of questions I am being asked.  I constantly scan scientific websites, the Internet, and keep in touch with academics to stay current on this issue.  To educate yourself, I recommend going to sciencedaily.com and doing a simple scan.  The website is a clearing house that offers short summaries of scientific studies. I just went there and searched for, violent video games brain, and came across the following article: Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men.  An author in the field of video game addictions, my curiosity was understandably piqued.  Yang Wang, a medical doctor and professor at the Indiana University Medical School, issued a powerful statement about the findings made in this study:  “For the first time, we have found that a sample of randomly assigned young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions following a week of playing violent video games at home.”  I was ready to believe and start altering my recommendations accordingly.  This sort of scientific statement—that appeals to measures of neurological and neurochemical activity—always makes a powerful impression on me.  However, experience has taught me that when evaluating a scientific claim, it helps to know who exactly has funded the research.

In this case, the research was funded by The Center for Successful Parenting whose mission is “to help parents understand the consequences of our children viewing video game violence.”  Does it sound to you like they have already made up their minds?  This group has sponsored other studies whose findings have ultimately been found questionable.  Furthermore, my experience of groups like this is that they cherry pick information that suits their mission and ignore that which “does not compute.”  I certainly think that violent video games impact the brain, just as lots of other activities do. We have reputable and repeated scientific data that suggest, for example, that watching violence leads to desensitization. We also have pretty sound evidence that problem video gamers have atypical activation patterns in the brain’s craving centers, as well as areas that regulate emotions, and impulses.  But the most recent study I came across, August 2013, found a complete lack of “evidence that violent video games increase bullying or delinquent behavior among vulnerable youth with clinically elevated mental health symptoms.”  The jury is still out, folks.  So before you go removing your child’s Xbox, take a few breaths and realize that 99.99999999999999999% of people who enjoy military games on the Xbox are not going to hurt other people.

Many parent groups see red when they ponder the continuing trend toward violent video games.   Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence (MAVAV), for example, sees the problem in epic proportions. The organization’s website declares: “The video game industry continues to market and promote hatred, racism, sexism, and the most disturbing trend: clans and guilds, an underground video game phenomenon which closely resembles gangs.”   First of all, most people I know who are part of gaming clans hardly leave their house and suffer from severe social anxiety, not good traits for a future member of a gang.  It is understandable for parents to worry when they see their children taking delight in mutilating and killing on-screen characters, as well as destroying cyber neighborhoods. In my personal experience working with hundreds of cyber addicts, however, I find that when kids have addictive tendencies toward video games—and the offerings of the cyber world in general—it is usually a signal that some other issues are going on. To be clear, excessive cyber behaviors are often a symptom rather than a cause.

I think the video game industry is motivated by profit, and generally cares little about corporate responsibility. However, research suggests the impact of violent video games to be somewhat small. I have had many young people in my cyber addiction support groups who had bona fide anger management issues. In some cases, violent video games provided a helpful outlet for built-up anger, while in others, seemed to exacerbate it. In all cases, however, the anger existed before the violent video games. The games did not make these children angry.

Trevor, a fourteen-year-old in one of my support groups, had been severely bullied in middle school. He had withdrawn from social contact into first-person, squad-level shooting games like Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. He did not just want to kill opponents. He wanted to humiliate them. After he killed a player in one of his online multiplayer games, he then moved his soldier over the top of the “dead” player and tea-bagged him. Obviously, this behavior related to Trevor’s unresolved emotions. His problems were a bit too serious for the group to deal with, so I referred him to a therapist. Dealing with his video game addiction was, nevertheless, the gateway toward getting to his deeper problems.

I have had many folks in my cyber addiction recovery groups go on to have a variety of issues diagnosed, from ADHD and anxiety issues to bipolar disorder. Excessive and obsessive use of video games, computers and the Internet almost always point to other problems which underlie them.  Think of these behaviors as simply the tip of the iceberg.  Let’s not look for an easy and well-packaged solution to this present tragedy.  We need to become more adept as a society in identifying people early on who need our help, compassion, and intensive mental health intervention.  Too many people fall through the cracks. We all want to do SOMETHING, so that we do not feel so helpless in the face of such an unforeseeable tragedy. But banning or burning your child’s Xbox is not going to really help.

15 Comments

  1. This is a outstanding post. Thanks for sharing it!

    Posted on by Ian Dombroski
  2. Ideally you have gained a much better knowledge of the value they feature.

    Posted on by Leonie
  3. ?Que pasada!! Unoos mmuy buenisimos puntos de vista!
    Realmente me gustaria que tu redactaras mas articulos ademas los demas post de
    la blog personal es bastant valioso.

    Posted on by juegos infantiles gratis juego para niños y niñas
    • Thanks for helping put that into perspective, Suzette. So often, we think that things are constantly getting worse.

      Posted on by Kevin (Author)
  4. Kevin, my second grandson plays video games, and we regulate his game time. He does like violent games, but he shows no signs of violence. In fact, he is a very gentle, loving and caring person. When I was a kid, we played army men, and army. Yes, we “SHOT” each other, but it was really all in good fun. I think these crazy parent groups have some issues inside themselves that they are not examining!!!!

    Posted on by Jerry
    • Jerry, it is important to guide them to have balance in their lives. I think some parent groups are misguided in their anti-video-game zeal. I look at the science. Look, I deal with video game addicts, so I am a realist about the potential for harm. However, I remain firmly convinced that violent video games do not create violent people. I will keep track of the science, and will change my opinion based on the science. I have examined my heart, and I do not have a hidden agenda. I am not drawn personally to games like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, but when I was a boy, I liked war movies, and martial arts movies. I am, at heart, a pacifist.

      Posted on by Kevin (Author)
  5. Well said Kevin. We all have become desensitized to violence in the media; what was once intended for restricted audiences is now easily accessible at 9 or 10pm on network television in the form of CSI, Criminal Minds, to name a few. For a small percentage of the general population, evidence indicates a link between long-term violence and playing violent video games.
    Temperament, exposure, and high emotional experience such as trauma increase the chances of violent behavior in an individual, as these risk factors may suppress emotional responses and lower empathy over time.

    Posted on by stephanie
    • Thanks, Stephanie. You make an excellent point about the easy accessibility of mature content, which certainly is true across a variety of different media. And yes, children who have experienced trauma, or have certain atypical neurological conditions, should have their media use carefully regulated. Please come back and comment again. You really add to the discussion!!!

      Posted on by Kevin (Author)
  6. i played all these games when i was a kid from 11-well till now and i have never ever got violent from it

    Posted on by Joe
    • Joe, did you ever get REALLY upset when you mother tried to restrict you from the games? Or did she ever do that?

      Posted on by Kevin (Author)
      • i dont think she ever did i remember at boarding school my friend had one of the many GTA games and covered over the 18 certificate but the staff knew what the game was so took it off him he got a bit annoyed but not violent in anyway

        Posted on by Joe
        • That sounds like a normal child’s reaction. Thank you, Joe. I stand by my conclusions, based on experience and science.

          Posted on by Kevin (Author)
  7. I find this very rewarding to read and share with other peoples. The majority of people live in ignorance and choose to make their own self analysis and make conclusions that are unnecessary. As always, great info, great read! Will continue to share!

    Posted on by Matt
    • Well Matt, I just try to speak the truth in these matters. So much misinformation muddies the water.

      Posted on by Kevin (Author)

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