Karen Sternheimer: violent videogame play up, youth-violence down |
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University of Southern California sociologist Karen Sternheimer notes in an article in the winter issue of the American Sociological Association's Contexts magazine, that while a lot of folks tend to hold video games responsible for the violent youth, they tend to ignore that as videogame play has skyrocketed, youth violence has plummeted.In the ten years since Doom's release – the game often blamed for the infamous Columbine High School shooting – juvenile homicide arrest rates fell 77 percent. And now, students have less than a 7 in 10 million chance of being killed at school. Sternheimer notes:
It is equally likely that more aggressive people seek out violent entertainment. ...After adult rampage shootings in the workplace, which happen more often than school shootings, reporters seldom mention if the shooters played video games.
Sternheimer adds that in the end, placing the blame on videogames removes the culpability of the criminals. This is tempting for most, especially when white, middle-class boys who live in the suburbs of America are the culprits. Sternheimer writes:
When boys from "good" neighborhoods are violent, they seem to be harbingers of a "new breed" of youth, created by video games rather than by social circumstances. White, middle-class killers retain their status as children easily influenced by a game, victims of an allegedly dangerous product. African-American boys, apparently, are simply 'dangerous.'
As for previous studies that have shown that videogames did increase aggressive behavior, Sternheimer says that those don't offer much insight as to why only a few isolated kids, and not the millions of others who play the games, decide to pick up real weapons and shoot people.
If you're a but more curious about the subject, a copy of Karen Sternheimer's article can be had via our "read" link below.
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Comments [refresh]
Violent video games are good because they are an avenue for violent people to take out their aggression INSTEAD of on real people. Jack Thompson has it the wrong way around
I like this guy
finally someone speaking out that has common sense
I think the name Karen impies that its a woman.
This guy is a legends and all you yanks should be backing his logic
Kids are too stupid not to commit crimes lol
Also that security has gone up and people are too afraid and paranoid to do anything.
well yea paranioa seems through the roof.
Ah well at least here in Oz murders or killings are very rare, and 90% of the time there (were) between teh rival crime families.
No video games to blame here people
Said exactly what I wanted to say.
And "ummmm" I think "blah" thought it was a guy, like I did, first because of the picture, and second because it's more natural to hear about guys talking about this subject matter.
Either way, 1: Suck it Jack Thompson. 2: You go, girl!
"juvenile homicide arrest rates fell 77 percent. And now, students have less than a 7 in 10 million chance of being killed at school." means that by not restricting these violent games we make it easier for these aggressive students to satiate their appetites in an environment where no physical harm is made , right?
Finally, someone has sense. If violent video games do anything, it helps surpress (pun intended) violence from children because they're venting their frustrations against groups of non-feeling pixels in these violent video games.
The statistics in the article also show this, and it gives the impression that giving these children the violent games will stop them being violent in real life.
If anything makes your children violent, it's their upbringing, or a mental illness, or a hereditary short fuse. Just because a child goes crazy once and kills children in his/her school, doesn't mean you deserve to take the easy way out and blame video games.
And even if it is the games, that what age ratings are there for. If a 10 year old boy is negatively influenced by GTA: San Andreas, then it's the idiot-who-bought-the-game-for-him's fault.
As an owner of several anger management education centers. I work with hundreds of young people ordered by probation departments and schools to participate in anger management classes. Not one of these delinquent youth can contribute their aggressive behavior to video games. If anything video games become an outlet to the deviant and violent society they live in. The majority of these young people are angry due to abuse, nelect and lack of hope.
http://www.daybreakservices.com
http://www.daybreakservices.com/blog