video games violence and hunting

[jamaldog87]

i saw something the other night on the news were they were said the if kids and teens play video  games with  violence's in them and hunt(they say the hunting get them ready for killing people) that there 50% more likely to do a mass murderer. I play games like GTA 4 and doom and there really violence and i hunt a lot but i would never kill someone unless they try to kill me or a loved one and even them i would not try to kill them.  After hear about that report it made me think about something i saw on youtube about video games  violence(here it is by the way  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mK4DjLKveo) to me there just try to pass the buck and not look at the people them self's. Saying games make people into killers is like saying guns cause crime it just don't make cents.

[dukkillr]

I think there probably is something to the idea that kids brought up surrounded by fictional killing have a harder time grasping the reality of taking life.  I also think there's a strong correlation-not-causation issue here too.  Most mass murderers these days have guns and know how to shoot.  Generally those people learned to shoot by being around guns growing up.  I actually think hunters have a better understanding of the finality of death than the average kid.  And there's no question they are more comfortable with gun safety.

You may not think it makes cents [sic] but if it did make cents would it also make dollars?  Please finish school.  Please.

[XD9]

This debate has been going on for years and years.  I even had to write papers about in college and we had debates about it in one of my classes.  For me, it's one of my "soap box" topics!    I won't even get started.

I agree with dukkillr that there may be a correlation but certainly no causation.  I've heard many "educated" people talk about how games like Doom and GTA teach you how to aim a gun.  That's ludicrous.  If they've ever played these games and then shot real guns, it would be obvious to them that there is no truth to that.  GTA is 3rd person...explain to me how that teaches you to look through the sights of a gun.

If anything, in my experience, I think video games can be a release of anger.  I'll probably get arrested for admitting this now but, one time, I got pulled over and received a ticket that I didn't think I should have (imagine that).  I went home, fired up GTA4 on the PS2, and went around the city killing every cop I could fine until I got a 5 star wanted level and the military took me out with tanks! haha.

Anyway, like I said, I won't get started.  I heard a quote the other day that I really liked though..."If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words."  No one seems to care that this nation is raising kids in public schools who can't spell, are told that's ok, and also told that there are no losers in anything.  Wait until these kids hit the real world and find out that life is not fair, there are winners and losers, and you WILL be JUDGED on your performance.  Wow, what a revelation!

Ok, I'm done...and way off topic...

[jamaldog87]

a lot of people my age seem to put up shooting pretty fast. My girlfriend never had before fired a gun but yet in still she is a pretty good shot( also i hear some-were woman are better shots then men because they will wait longer for a better shot), Myself i never learn how to shoot but  with my .22LR i can easyly hit a coon in the head at 85 yards(i am learning now to be a better shot). But most people that play games are really bad shot also i hear that most crimes a knife or something else is used besides a gun. I  am like  the super sniper at halo 3 but with a real 308win you would be safe standing still at 150 yards cause i now good with the big bores( only fired a few of them so far)

[Maplicito]

I would say that it's one of those things that can potentially be an influence on someone already headed far in the wrong direction.  But conversely, I would also say someone already leaning in that direction may just simply be more drawn to those games.  I would NOT call the games the cause.  I would say there is a sick individual, whether morally or mentally, and that if it weren't hunting and video games, that influence would be picked up somewhere else.  I've had the same discussions regarding heavy metal music.  There definitely IS some heavy metal music that is not a healthy influence, but by itself, it's definitely not going to kill anyone.

I think it's naive to say these things don't influence people, but like any influence out there, someone with a healthy mind and upbringing knows how to keep their influences in the proper perspective, and get the positive out of them instead of the negative.  As such, I think the focus should be on mental health and healthy upbringings.

And I agree, hunting can actually bring a fuller understanding of death.  I also think properly supervised gun use at young age can promote responsibility in young people.

[Brithunter]

Well if it was on the news then it MUST be true  after all the never tell lies or distrort the truth for their own ends do they 

 Now as for violence in video games personally I cannot see any difference from them and the wars games and Cowboys/Indians games we played as kids! we shot each other daily and many times a day yet none that I know of went on killing sprees. It's just more pyscho babble as far as I can tell  .