Videogames more dangerous than smoking?

[BelmontSlayer]

According to Cancer Research UK (http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/smoking/#source8), cigarette smoking is responsible for 30 per cent of cancer deaths per year in the developed world. In Britain in 2005, that would have equated to 46,000 deaths. What's the next most dangerous societal ill? Researchers from the University of Michigan say violent videogames and films.

According to Reuters (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071128/tc_nm/media_violence_tech_dc), a new University of Michigan concludes that exposure to violence as depicted in TV, film and videogames "raises the risk of aggressive behaviour in adults and young viewers and poses a serious threat to public health."

This is the latest research in a string of work that looks into the impact of violent video games on the impressionable young minds of gamers. Last year, the University of Missouri-Columbia published research (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article786445.ece) saying there is a causal link between computer games and violence, not merely a simple association.

In the most recent bit of research, L. Rowell Huesmann (http://www.rcgd.isr.umich.edu/people/huesmann.html) and his colleague Brad Bushman point out that this exposure -- what they call "virtual violence" from either in shoot-em-up video games or slasher films -- leads to aggressive tendencies, particularly on children and teens. The researchers looked at more than 50 years of violent films, TV shows and video games.

For society's benefit, we can only hope Huesmann and Bushman will be taken off the streets and locked up now that they've concluded their studies.

Fellow users of DCEmu, what do you think? Do videogames cause people to commit crimes? Or is this all just a bunch of hogswash?

via Times Online (http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2007/11/videogames-more.html)

[Airdevil]

I would LOVE to see the documntation for this "research", which i doubt will ever be publically available.

I wonder how much Jack T paid them.

[fook123]

Violence and crime has gone down since video games.
http://economist.com/images/20050806/CSF334.gif

[Gene]

Now that you mention it, I was actually just outside shootin' my mag, running from cops, and slapping around some hos, just after playing call of duty 4 on Nintendo ds, you know. I got one of those violent urges, where you just gotta kill something.

Yeah. This makes sense.

[JKKDARK]

lol this article is a joke, it's not true

[jools]

lmao it just gets stupider every time :p

[masamune]

hmm... I think I'm immune to this whatever, I don't feel any more violent than before playing video games... maybe I'll use my blood to make a vaccine so you guys can rest easy. My childhood friend Howie died playing a video games, dammit I will find a cure.

[Sonicboy 101]

What a load of crap.
The only reason that people commit crimes and such is because they're not right in the head! They obviously haven't got a grip on reality.

[Shadowblind]

Now that you mention it, I was actually just outside shootin' my mag, running from cops, and slapping around some hos, just after playing call of duty 4 on Nintendo ds, you know. I got one of those violent urges, where you just gotta kill something.

Yeah. This makes sense.

Its so obviously true! I mean, I was just playing God of War II yesterday, and now I just want to go kill Zeus and Ares, right? I think I'll go get the guy from Manhunt 2 to make me some blades on chains and swing them and go massacre people since they look so obviously like cyclops.

[pibs]

haha freaking shadow, im too lazy to commit crimes thats why I play video games lol

[Basil Zero]

Lmao, they need better researchers

[armyStrong]

I just...don't understand...

The correlation doesn't even make sense...You simply can't compare violent crimes with smoking-caused cancer deaths...
There are so many factors that go into violent crimes that trying to put video game/movie violence on the same playing field of causes with cigarettes (concerning cancer) is laughable...

I am at a loss for words to further describe the stupidity of this study...

[_X_Zero]

HAHAHAH thats soo much B*S*....

[stevo11185]

This reminds me of a study conducted by people in the past....about effects of smoking. People didn't listen until people started to die....the same will happen here.

Motive for the move to rubbish research about the risks of smoking = money

Motive to keep violent games on the market = Money

The sooner people realize that gaming companies are not out to let you have fun, but to make money, the better. and really, have you even read the research. Without reading it you cannot say one thing or the other whether it is wrong or not.

Do you really think that Rockstar want to let 'Adults' make a choice what game they play. If you look at the figures Manhunt was one of the best selling games. Also research showed that SOME people who played the game went on to kill other people. And before you rubbish all of this just realise one thing, not everyone is the same. But the point here is

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN THE CURE

[devdj]

it seems that only incompetence and impotence cum from the
University of Michigan. By the way this is another useless thread about Michigan.

[Triv1um]

Next time its going to be Videogames more dangerious than shooting yourself in the face.

Its ****ing pathetic.

[wolfpack]

Videogames are the reason I DONT commit crimes.

Why really shoot a cop in the face and get jail time when you could load up Grand Theft Auto and shoot hundreds of cops in the head and outrun them in the game and NOT get jailtime in real life.

My conclusion to this study is, those researchers are on crack.

End of Story.

[digitalhijinx]

This is a pretty funny, yet at the same time pretty sad story,

A) I love how they group movies and video games and
then point the finger at video games.

and

B) How they say that people who bought some of the best selling violent video games killed people. That's just ridiculous. I mean how many American males ages 15-25 havent played Grand theft auto, Halo, Counter Strike, Man Hunt or whatever their biased violent video game is.

The point is, its just something that is part of people's past time now, it'd be like saying baseball in the '20s caused violence because "some" people who played it went on to kill people :eek: I mean come on, use some common sense.

[Uberman]

Bad parenting is far more responsible for people committing crimes than video games will ever be. :mad:

[SILENT ONE]

These Idiot "smart" people. People kill people because they are crazy, not because
they seen it on tv, or because they did it on a game. Sure a couple rounds of Hello Kitty DDR could make you want to kill someone, but that doesn't mean all video games make you want to kill. If you truly want to kill someone your just a crazy lunatic. Just take some Prozac and stop blaming everything on scapegoats. You crazy S.O.B.

[fook123]

Just the other day my son made a banana cannon in woodshop and he was lobbing bananas across the street.

[armyStrong]

By their logic, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals or other NFL teams with less-than-angelic reputations would inevitably turn a person into a criminal...and we should therefore ban football from being played in the States...

[rabidchild]

It's true. Everyone knows there was no violent crime before video games were invented.

[Ultima Chocochu]

The "research" taken amazes me, especially that comparison of smoking to games and such
I love how much consideration is taken to all the murders and killing in the past
SO now that there is a reason to say why people are violent is games?
What about all the years before, boredom?

The only way I think something like movies, or videogames effecting someone is if something is wrong with that person mentally
Which should not effect the majority of the people who aren't going to go do things they see in movies or games.


Just the other day my son made a banana cannon in woodshop and he was lobbing bananas across the street.
XD
Used to perfection.