Aggressive Video Games Cannot Become Normal

Let’s be honest for a second: we get judged a lot for blaming video games, right? And it is true, we like to point the finger form time to time, but this doesn’t always mean that we are wrong. Video games are a risk factor for aggressive behavior. What scientists have yet to discover is whether video games can lead to criminal behavior or not.

It is quite difficult not to get aggressive after watching what video games promote. The newest Arkham Knight game involves Batman interrogating criminals against the Batmobile’s wheel. Does anybody know the God of War series? You were meant to feel awesome in the game for stabbing enemies multiple times and mutilating them.

And let’s not forget the notorious Grand Theft Auto. The most debated game, rated M, “realistic” game in which people need to kill, steal, bribe, get into drug dealing and prostitution like it’s their day to day job. There are many people who want video games to be a nice experience and who do not want to point fingers, but these things are out there.

If you are not aware of it, there is a phenomenon called “social learning”. People witness things which they continue to repeat if they see they are perceived as normal. You killed around 120 people in GTA and you’re having a laugh about it in school? Maybe I’ll kill 300 and we can have a better laugh tomorrow.

Now let’s be clear: it is bad to assume that somebody killed 120 people in a game and will go kill 120 real people tomorrow. We lived in a well-established society in which social norms are understood and accepted. But if discussions like these are going to have some sort of impact.

Teenagers will not start killing people tomorrow, but perhaps one in one hundred, one thousand or one million teenagers might do it. Why? Because they might be prone to it: bad family condition, no proper understanding of social norms, some sort of mental issue or any other condition that might make them go on a killing spree.

While there is no major threat to talk about at this very moment, there still is a minimal threat that we should not ignore. This is why we point fingers. This is why scientists are trying to raise awareness about video games over and over again. If we allow these discussions or video game acts to become a subject of normality, we are putting ourselves in ganger.

Photo Credits eurogamer.net