Are Video Games Really Making Us More Violent?

We’ve all heard that violent video games make you violent, but is it true? Myles and PBS NewsHour Student Reporters from Etiwanda High School in Southern California dive deep into the research to get a better understanding of the debate.
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**Are violent videos to blame for mass shootings in America?
Often times after tragic mass shooting, we hear politicians turn the blame to violent video games, but the reality is that the research doesn’t really support that claim. There’s little scientific evidence to suggest that playing violent video games leads to mass homicide or violence in real life. Instead the debate in the research field is about the role violent video games plays on more minor levels of aggression.
**Do violent video games increase aggression?
In 2015, the American Psychological Association did a huge review of the literature on violent video games and behavior, and concluded that violent video games is associated with increases in aggressive behavior and thoughts and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and sensitivity to aggression. But there is considerable debate in the field about the influence violent video games has on different forms of aggression. And it’s important to understand that there’s a difference between violence and aggression.
**What’s the difference between violence and aggression?
In general, violence usually refers to physical harm or physical acts that hurt someone-- like hitting, kicking, punching, and pushing. Aggression is a more broad term that refers to angry or hostile thoughts, feelings or behaviors. So everything that is violent is aggressive, but not everything that is aggressive is violent. For example, getting frustrated, yelling, talking back, arguing those are all aggressive behaviors, but they aren’t violent. The research on the effects of violent video games and behavior often looks at these milder forms of aggressive behavior.
Sources:
Societal Violence and Video Games: Public Statements of a Link are Problematic:
div46amplifier...
Technical Report on the Review of the Violent Video Game Literature
www.apa.org/pi...
Do violent video games make kids more violent?
www.psychology...
Do Violent Video Games Trigger Aggression? www.scientific...
Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence? videogames.pro...
Why Video Games Aren’t Causing America’s Gun Problem in One Chart:
www.vox.com/po...
TEACHERS: Get your students in the discussion on KQED Learn, a safe place for middle and high school students to investigate controversial topics and share their voices. learn.kqed.org...
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[@AboveTheNoise]

How worried are YOU about video games and their effects on our behavior? Let us know in the comments below!

[@migasthepepino]

I'm more worried about media glorification of mass shooters. I personally think that that and the spread of social media (which makes you feel like you have a voice and matter) are the reason mass shootings occur. I'd like to see some research on this.

[@robertskitch]

I can't say I'm really worried about any direct causation between video games and real world violence, but I am worried about them as part of our overall media diet and contribution to any cognitive biases. I think that the type of media we consume is important, and do wonder about the consumption of violent media and things like mean world syndrome.

[@rosti93]

I'm more worried of a person who can't tell the difference between real and fake

[@siemprepalante773]

@@migasthepepino @DoseofAwesome-I'm with you 100%.

[@kylehill1523]

@@siemprepalante773 I think the word 'Make' is entirely wrong concept to begin with. They don't make us do anything but they DO influence us to some degree or another. You have to get into biology and physics to understand what I'd say next so I'm not going to bother. Nobody reads beyond tweets anyways.

[@jollygator9080]

Kinda is like this - If you play a cooking game you will not become a great chef. Will it make you more hungry though? Well maybe, it's hard to tell.

[@AboveTheNoise]

That's a good analogy!

[@kylehill1523]

@@AboveTheNoise Except it could get you interested in cooking depending what type of cooking game you play.

[@MikeTXBC]

The biggest reason for school shootings aren't about video games or even firearms. It's about the lack of responsibility, empathy, and psychological resources in our schools. Teachers and the school administration, for the most part, ignore kids being bullied and harassed. They don't want to get involved because it could end with the school district being sued and the teacher losing her job. This is also why measures such as "zero tolerance" - which fail to take circumstances, context, and the overall situation into account - were enacted. It's not there to protect the kids, it's there to protect the school administration and school district from a lawsuit. The reason lawmakers go after video games (and in the past, it was D&D, comic books, etc) is because it passes the buck and gives the public an "enemy" to focus on. The vast majority of people can't think critically and don't really understand video games. People tend to see issues in black and white terms. Making video games the target gives the public a quick and easily identifiable enemy they want. Getting to the heart of the problem, such as putting measures in to effectively stop bullying and give kids the help they need, isn't quick, isn't easy, and there's no "bad guy" to overcome. So instead of thinking long-term, people opt for short-term solutions that don't solve anything. Why? Because it's easier to understand and yields "results" immediately. People don't want to plan for tomorrow, all they care about is today, and that's a very human problem we've had since the beginning of our species.

[@kylehill1523]

Actually in some situations D&D was dangerous. People actually did things but they barely made the news. When added up it was an actual cult where in major cities people were getting so 'high' and playing it they did things they shouldn't.

[@kylehill1523]

D&D has some dangerous concepts in it while otherwise it's a harmless game for the most part. Hence 'most part'.

[@BennyPlayer-du2je]

Are the vandals of the historic Robin Hood tree, amongst other historical places they destroy, fans of violent games like GTA and violent cartoons like Beavis and Butthead?

[@Smith14J]

Great video and message! I appreciated setting apart the difference between aggression and violence. All of these student reporters did a great job on this topic, who else could cover it better than the teenagers who exist within that world. Always carries more weight when teens are allowed to contribute and sound off on topics that really affect themselves!!

[@AboveTheNoise]

Thanks for the love. We had a blast working with these reporters, who were super interested in investigating this topic.

[@kylehill1523]

@@AboveTheNoise The word make was the wrong choice of words here bro.

[@AquaticStarchild]

Self-reporting isn't a reliable source, we have to run statistical analysis on use on violent criminals vs. general population. It is proven that exposure to violence increases violence IF there is no mention of the consequences of said violence and if the victim is considered to deserve it or be a non-person. It is absolutely ridiculous that the US values 'freedom of speech' more than shielding children from violence. Freedom of speech in the rest of the world doesn't mean you can spew just anything that harms other people.

[@wealthiness]

Yesterday I was watching "Adam Ruins Everything - Behind the Myth that Video Games Cause Violence" he was making similar statements.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Oh cool. We'll check it out. Thanks for the tip.

[@InfectedChris]

No. Because video game =/= real world. Politicians who don't even know what a video game is. How about the parents being parents? And finally, watch the evening news to see real violence. Days on end after 9/11 the stations had those videos on repeat over and over which would have contributed to more anxiety and stress because it was real.

[@XavierZara]

Even if they knew what a video game is, they wouldn't know how to play one (Except Mario Kart and Wii Sports)

[@robertskitch]

"Why are these games so popular anyway?" I'd say it's because the core mechanics for these games are *relatively* easy to iterate and innovate; generic in that they can be adapted to multiple titles; and are an easy sell because players are already familiar with them from previous experience. I'm not saying that making these games is necessarily easy, but I'm not sure what other types of games there are out there which could as naturally dominate the market? It's pretty easy for a type of game to be popular when the majority of games are of that type.

[@mvsawyer]

I have never been more violent then while playing Tetris. A non-violent video game.

[@cryptonic9246]

Can confirm, nearly smashed my monitor on multiple occasions.

[@jacoblongwell6419]

I think anything that reduces empathy is something we should take very seriously. I do believe however we should not start to ban things, people need aggression outlets. We should instead think about how we can make games that lead to more empathy. Then if the government wants to change behaviours they can just promote the nice to each other games.

[@dzrknx]

Well, my empathy has always been zero from the age of 7. Video games have personally increased my empathy by alot. Video games are taken way more seriously than they should be taken. My argument to those people are that, "10,000 years ago toddlers used to kill animals to live, real violence, what will shooting somebody in a game do?". At the end of the day, that is my perspective. Ps: I still have no emphaty but it has increased by alot.

[@cestlavegan5793]

Not really worried. But we should certainly look out for our children. Exposing young children to graphic violence, even if it's fictional, just can't be good for their mental health. Age matters. I mean, a 12-year-old playing GTA might not be that terrible; but a 5-year-old playing a game like that could really be tragic.

[@kylehill1523]

12 year olds is worse then a 5 year old. At 12 they often have 'fixed' ideas of the world and think they are invincible already without the video game equation giving them bad ideas to begin with. Many do act it out just you don't hear about it on the news all the time. A lot of cases go under the radar.

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

• (1) All countries have violent video-games, (2) the US has more guns than anywhere else, (3) the US has more mass-shootings than anywhere else. Hmm, there must be some sort of connection, but what? What could it be? 🤔 • 2:18 - "The trump-in-a-blender games are the worst, most egregious games and they must be stopped now." • 4:02 - Armoured Skeptic showed that too ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/jILUi4WErN96bJo ) and it's just so obvious when you see it like that. • As IGN put it: "Every Country Has Video Games, Only One Has A Mass Shooter Problem" kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6vTaa2Bn8uFrQ

[@hauuau]

Of course correlation is not causation but it might be useful to compare general level of violence in the world before video games became a thing and afterwards. It's pretty clear that modern societies are much less violent compared to 50 or a hundred years ago. And it's also clear that most violent places in the world don't have any access to video games. It's more productive to try to solve real problems which cause real violence like poverty, religious extremism, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, international criminal organizations, lack of mental care, lagging behind communities, etc than to try to blame all the hard problems on video games.

[@vithei477]

Modern societies are more violent?? That isnt true at all. There was way more violence before.

[@easygoingdude9990]

@6:25 PREACH!

[@AboveTheNoise]

LOL

[@mansodev]

I like how at 1:18 the controllers are turned off lol

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

This is probably a bit more out there for this channel, but something that has been really fascinating has been research approaching violence as a contagious disease. Not a viruses or germ sort of contagion, but it follows traceable spread following epidemiological models. People are already using this research to inform media representation of suicides, but it looks like it might be applied to violence toward others, particularly mass shootings, which often appear to be suicidal themselves.

[@chris5145]

Worried, younger people turn angry much more quickly if you say anything negative about violent games and often dont stay polite using words like "whateva, f*k off" etc while i am not even upset or angry. Cognitive functions go up, intelligence increases but so does short temper and adrenaline and lack of self control and very fast talking and using short words

[@kylehill1523]

WRONG THINK! Your banned!

[@chris5145]

@@kylehill1523 thank you for giving a good example : )

[@kylehill1523]

@@chris5145 The whole argument isn't 'either' 'or' which is sadly how things always turn out to be.

[@AmoGus-s7z]

Video games don’t make me violent, you do.

[@dhindaravrel8712]

You also need to differentiate between aggressive and defensive behaviour. Talking back is a perfect example of defensive behaviour. If you're accosted by someone verbally, defending yourself verbally is not a sign of aggressive behaviour. That's a question of defence. It's the same with physical violence. If you're attacked and you defend yourself, that doesn't make you violent. That's just the common sense of not wanting to be hurt and taking steps to avoid it.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Yep, there are definitely arguments that not all aggression is bad. In some cases we celebrate aggression like in sports, or debate-- being competitive is arguably a form of aggression. And if you're not aggressive at all then people are probably gonna walk all over you. Here's an interesting perspective on it: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/young-people-close/201801/why-young-people-need-their-aggression

[@dhindaravrel8712]

@@AboveTheNoise I think the exaggerated emphasis many cultures place on competitive sports does a lot more towards promoting aggressive and violent behaviour than PvE games do.

[@aidenzorn8322]

gamer rage happens in all games, not just violent ones.

[@ogtriplextriple2271]

Ye especially slow moving games and flappy bird

[@danielpeckham5520]

We play the same video games in Australia, but the difference in crime rates America vs Australia is shocking. It's not the video games causing the violence.... it's deeper cultural issues.

[@filiparizanov-bebic5636]

All type of video-games should exist, violent video-games are still games, good video-games are chosen, bad video-games are eliminated!!! Build constructive video-games, of which humanity will evolve!!!

[@prodbySHXDE5541]

bro that mcenna person be sounding like shaggy, "lIKE...LIKE...LIKELIKELIKE..."

[@Duraputer]

I think violent video games aren't good for young and underdeveloped minds, but it's perfectly ok for young adults. 5 year olds shouldn't play GTA, but 17 and older is fine.

[@davideden2496]

Agree.

[@kittenclaws5775]

Correlation ≠ Causation. Are video games creating aggressive behavior or are people with aggressive tendencies using video games as an outlet? I kinda expected that point to be brought up in the episode. Either the studies must address this or their results are suspect. How do they isolate for this variable?

[@AboveTheNoise]

Great point thanks for bringing it up. The research is pretty complicated and there was a lot that we wanted to include that didn't make the cut. But yes, that's one idea that people with aggressive tendencies seek out aggressive and violent media and not the other way around. Here's one study that you might find interesting on this: www.psychcongress.com/article/violent-video-games-may-provide-aggression-outlet

[@cameront352]

good video, but just wanted to point out that in the intro for the group of kids, the controllers were off.

[@AboveTheNoise]

LOL! Dang it! We were hoping no one would notice 😉Thanks for watching!

[@stevecrafter518]

here's a fun meme to think about Me: playing nerf with friends and hitting them with foam axes. Adults: ... Me: Playing a roblox nerf game that simulates the real life physics of darts. Adults *T H I S I S N O T O K I E D O K I E*

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

Nice overview of the research. In the last comments, not so sure about the “old people” reference. Sure, but parents have also been a target audience for politicians. I guess those are “old people” from some perspectives. Regardless, pandering with “do something”-ness is a good warning. Current politics is awash with this sort of thing, from all camps. It makes for bad policies, and distracts from real problems, or worse, their real solutions.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Thanks for watching and commenting. Your point about current politics seems to be in line with the Society for Media Psychology and Technology division of the APA's statement on this issue. Check it out: div46amplifier.com/2017/06/12/news-media-public-education-and-public-policy-committee/

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

@@AboveTheNoise thanks for the reference! Yeah, that is helpful. Oh, and thanks for your show and your work. Good stuff.

[@TabernacleTeacher]

It contributes to laziness stupidity unproductivity

[@GustavoLadeira42]

Short answer: nope.

[@Iamnofirefighter]

Nice overview

[@angeldeb82]

Thanks for the info, Mr. Bess. BTW, the notion thought up by those clowns who think that violent video games lead to violence... this is just like saying that playing Red Dead Redemption 2 (shown in this video) can give you tuberculosis and cause you to spread the disease on other people. No offense, guys. (P.S., R.I.P., Arthur Morgan.)

[@kylehill1523]

Bad agrument.

[@evilotto9200]

Glad video games could take some heat off the J. D. Salinger estate

[@rsaunders57]

This "these relationships aren't strong" and "there is debate in the field" sort of thing seems a lot like "the connection between humans and climate change isn't very strong" and "there is debate in the field". Sure, gamers don't think games are bad - just like companies with coal-fired power plants don't think CO2 is a problem. This video didn't get very far "Above the noise", it was just the noise on both sides. It's also not very good framing to think that "old people" (nothing judgemental there) hate video games because they cause children to become violent. That's the "only humans cause climate change" argument that's a bad frame, intentionally easy to refute. The actual argument "lots of experience killing others in a video game might desensitize some people to killing in the real world" is a lot more nuanced. The gamer saying she likes games because she doesn't get to do that sort of thing in the real world is actual an argument against violent games. She sounds like she might be intrigued by the opportunity to kill kids at her school if offered, a scary concept.

[@Ulquiorra_..]

Any study that has been done hasn't shown a link between videogames and violence that's clear where the debate actually is is if they actually cause more aggressive behavior. Now as for climate change there's a stronger connection between CO2 and global temperature fluctuations and the consensus seems to be that it's a major factor and the debate that it isn't doesn't seem to have a strong arguement. I agree this video wasn't great but they did give you the information about the issue. Also, they never said that old people hate videogames because they cause children to become violent

[@Ulquiorra_..]

A lot of videogames are played because they allow you to do things you can't do in reality and reaching the conclusion that because she said that she might be intrigued to kill kids at her school is foolish with all the information available. Now I will fully admit I would most definitely be classified as a gamer I've played lots of videogames alot of them with violence. I've done some horrible things in videogames lots of which I wouldn't do in real life because like most people I can separate fantasy from reality. However I do agree that more studies need to be done to determine if there's any desensitization of violence through videogames although currently it doesn't indicate that.

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

Randy Saunders The “debate in the field” is about weak connections to aggressive thoughts and behaviour, not violence. The video did get “above the noise” by clarifying that point. Sure, gamers have a bias about games, just as non gamers do. But where do you see that bias influencing scientific research conclusions? There is always bias in science, the trick is teasing it out, being transparent, and most of all controlling for it. Dismissing the conclusions reported in the video with comparisons to coal plants is overly dramatic and gratuitous.

[@A3Kr0n]

Videos about videos wondering if video games make people more violent, make people more violent IMO.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Yikes! We're in trouble then...

[@cooldude3856]

i bet above the noise wouldnt reply to an old video on video games about whats his favorite video game

[@travisrassel9978]

Hmmm. No. It depends on what kind of person you are. If you are more prone to violence then yes.

[@Chamelionroses]

Short answer no... long answer the science says no

[@BennyPlayer-du2je]

Are the vandals of the historic Robin Hood tree fans of GTA and violent cartoons like Beavis and Butthead?

[@RamonQuiro7]

It's fantasy.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

It's pressure from right-wing, corporate and evangelical groups that drive the criticism of video games, and you're pretending that that doesn't exist, who's making Trump say that, think about that. And PBS should be banning Koch Bro's and that type of funding.

[@raziel3099]

No.

[@orlandit.1788]

Mostly gamers trying defend themselves from true. Violent games normalize real violence. Period.

[@Persivefire]

Watch game theory's take on this

[@AboveTheNoise]

Thanks for the tip. We'll check it out.

[@jessschweitzer5677]

I don't know about anybody else playing a violent or what some people would call Violennt" video game yeah that's because I'm trying to put effort into doing something but I get all this just excited when I finally beat that level cuz I took out my frustrations out on a game 🎮😜

[@boss_galaga94]

I guess there was no violence at before video games lol

[@toraxmalu]

🙀OMfG!!! Frankly? Again *these* discussion‽ You're nuts…

[@Duraputer]

Minecraft is a violent video game

[@ninjago3368]

Will Donald Trump

[@migasthepepino]

This was a very poor episode, there's much more to say, all against "video-games cause violence". This episode just makes it seem like there's not a strong correlation. In fact, There's a negative correlation according to the research out there. This was a poorly made episode

[@diegoherrera5118]

Nice bro 6 subscribers and no original content! I see no dose of awesome whatsoever!

[@AboveTheNoise]

Hey, thanks for watching and for the feedback. As with all our videos- there's always so much more we can say about that topic, and for this one in particular we did leave a lot on the cutting room floor. We were more interested in exploring the debate about violent video games and milder forms of aggression-- since that's the main debate in the research field. But to your point there is some research that suggests what you're saying about the influence on video games and violent crime. Check out this article: pdfs.semanticscholar.org/12a2/177f6f623387c2b8877878bf6433ce6bc50b.pdf