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[11193366]

Nice article, but I disagree. All of these studies are irrelevant. The fact is that human beings are built to be imitators. Have you raised a child yourself, 24-7? If so, you know that everything you do and say is rapidly and repeatedly mirrored back to you in your own baby. Why should this change as we get older? Certainly we continue to learn and imitate nonstop until we die.

It is no accident--and not by "free will/choice" dreamed up by you alone--that you, the author, choose to use English words to communicate and use a computer to type them on, etc--on and on to every activity you do everyday. This may seem obvious, but everything is like this--you have learned how to behave in every aspect of your life. And not just from your parents. Stories have always been used by cultures to teach about our worlds and how we should behave. Fairy tales, for example, give clear instructions to children that the world is dangerous...you cannot trust strangers or even your own relatives.

Parents are constantly teaching their children how to act, and human beings are not just built to learn from parents. In other words, our learning does not stop at one moment and begin the next. It is constant. Perhaps you are yelled at or fondled as a child. That's now part of your experience, your knowledge of what is possible. You cannot un-know it. Even if you never do the same thing, you will always be aware of the possibility. I believe this awareness, this familiarity, does make you more likely to do a similar deed. Of course it does! Once you know pot exists, once you see folks do it all around you, of course you are more likely to smoke it...etc etc. Violence is the same.

I also believe that different people have different inherent, genetic potentials for violence. Absolutely. It is well-documented, for example, that male babies are more aggressive than female babies. When you combine this proclivity with the pro-violent images that are everywhere now (this is unprecedented in human history...sure, some violence has always been here...humans are animals, etc. But the sheer number of exposures we now have to violence is insane. You can't escape it, even if you want to.) you have a perfect recipe for increased violence, especially when you have ready access to guns--such an easy way to kill.

Wouldn't it be odd if all of these things didn't increase violence?

[11193366]

One more important thing about this...

Even if folks who revel in violence-soaked video games and movies don't go on to commit mass murder, a la Cho Seung-Hui, have we measured the violence of these men in their personal lives? Society vastly undervalues the disturbing importance of so-called "domestic" violence. Who measures the damage done by husbands and boyfriends using disparaging or violent language/behavior towards their wives, girlfriends, or children?

In the US, a woman is raped every 6 minutes; a woman is battered every 15 seconds; and four women die every day.

It makes sense that people who are drawn to and who surround themselves with violence would be more likely to engage in violence in their personal lives, where society at large is usually not even aware of it.

Yes, violence exists without video games, but I doubt repeated exposure to savage images improves the issue.

[jccalhoun]

But the sheer number of exposures we now have to violence is insane. You can't escape it, even if you want to.) you have a perfect recipe for increased violence, especially when you have ready access to guns--such an easy way to kill.

Wouldn't it be odd if all of these things didn't increase violence?

Perhaps, but the incidents of violent crimes have gone down dramatically since the 90s.  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance.htm

One more important thing about this...

Even if folks who revel in violence-soaked video games and movies don't go on to commit mass murder, a la Cho Seung-Hui, have we measured the violence of these men in their personal lives? Society vastly undervalues the disturbing importance of so-called "domestic" violence. Who measures the damage done by husbands and boyfriends using disparaging or violent language/behavior towards their wives, girlfriends, or children?

In the US, a woman is raped every 6 minutes; a woman is battered every 15 seconds; and four women die every day.

It makes sense that people who are drawn to and who surround themselves with violence would be more likely to engage in violence in their personal lives, where society at large is usually not even aware of it.

Yes, violence exists without video games, but I doubt repeated exposure to savage images improves the issue.

The violence against women is quite disturbing and it would be nice if every rape case got the attention that the Duke Lacrosse case got.

Regarding videogames, however, the vast majority of the games depict violence against men rather than against women so it would be odd if videogames led to people being violent and if that violence were directed at women and not men.

Secondly, you post seems to assume that all videogame players are men which is certainly not the case.  While they are the majority for violent games, there are certainly man women who play them as well. 

The fact is that all across the worlds millions of people play videogames every day and on weekends hundreds of thousands if not millions of people play together in the same room.  It would seem that if playing violent videogames led to the players committing violent acts we would hear about fights breaking out at these events.   And yet, how often do we hear about fights or shootings breaking out at these gaming parties?

[jccalhoun]

One other thing, none of this is to say that all videogames are for everyone.  Videogames have ratings just like movies.  There are hundreds of "E for Everyone" games released every year that are as entertaining and as violence free as G-rated movies.  There are movies that aren't intended for children and there are videogames that aren't intended for children.
It would be nice if the ratings for games could be G, PG, and such but blame the MPAA for not allowing other groups to use their rating system.  So learn the ratings for games just like we know the ratings for movies. Act as you feel appropriate.