pokoko said:
Isn't it a bit of an assumption to think that violent videogames are a cause in those situations rather than a symptom, though? What if violent people seek out violent media? When a child psychopath kills a dog, do we say that killing dogs is the reason he has become a psychopath? I have a lot of trouble with the causality some people seem eager to assign automatically. I still think violent people seek violent experiences, and that's always been the case whether games exist or not. Violent media should definitely be kept away from people with certain mental problems but I don't think we can just assume that they wouldn't be violent regardless. |
It would be a huge assumption (and wrong) to think violent video games cause anything. I've never said that, I said games can in rare cases exacerbate an already existing issue of violent tendencies in people with a certain set of mental & behavioral disorders. The violent tendencies already exist, so they are not being 'caused' by the violent media. However, if an individual has violent tendencies, a severe personality disorder, lack of empathy, and difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality, it stands to reason they should not be engaging with any type of violent media (fantasy that can bleed over into their reality).