How do video games affect behavior?

[TheShayminfreak2]

Please. If the child is older than 6 and has some halfway decent parents, they'll be fine. The real question is: How do we get parents to get up, stop shoving their kids in front of the TV all day, and understand that the more attention they give now, the more respect they'll get later? It's all about the parents. Would you read a murder mystery novel to a child? No. It's about what the content is, and the age at which it is delivered.

[LufersCallForDuty]

Everyone needs to chill. I love video games as much as the next guy! but this guy is just talking about possibilities and questioning what will happen in the future. he isn't saying every video game player will become a murderer. He is just posing questions and voicing evidence to show the possibilities are there (the 9/11 thing) he never says "every video game player will become a suicide bomber." He is simply saying the possibility is there. So.... relax people.

[Jeromepsy001]

The only problem I had with video games is loosing my 20/20 vision when i focus my eyes on a screen for an hour but besides that, video games are awesome.

[51Sarge51]

I'm just about start my third year studying criminology at university. From the past two years I have learnt that my lecturers and tutors hate two things; 1. Shithouse projectors and 2. People who argue that violent behaviour is linked to video games. In fact no study has found that violent video games promote delinquent behaviour, rather offending usually originates from the offender's upbringing (family and peer influences, socio economic status etc.).

[aaronleev]

The people that used flight simulators had one goal bring down the World Trade Centers. I dont know about other people but i didnt buy MW3 to learn who to kill someone.

[vgm9319]

To the people who are upset about children pursuing electronic fantasies instead of real life: children aren't allowed to participate in real life anymore, so what, exactly, did you expect?

[PsychsHD]

How come all these "experts" are old..? They have probably never been near a game themselves ... -.-

[TheCartographer89]

Thanks man. I really like your videos.

[snapgab]

Ant 5 year olds learning karate isn't bad?

[deathshadow790]

this guy must be against military training too if he's against people learning to defend themselves

[superaider1000]

:)

[reggiebush49]

saying looking down the barrel of a gun helps u kill in real life is like saying playing a madden game will get u a draft in the nfl

[crimsonmonieful]

@reggiebush49 Haha. Nice one :D

[Charlie12241]

Parents if you don't like video games don't let your children play them.

[coolsongslol]

i do not believe in this..... but my opinion is why don't you let them play one game like battlefield 3 for example and if their behaviour turns bad well do not let them play. If they just play it for fun and not walk around thinking their sgt black or whatever well let them play it at your rate.

[METALLOVEx]

but grand theft auto the object of the game is to beat people kill people steal and generally cause mayhem ....i play that a lot

[SonGokuSSj23]

Is elder scrolls v. skyrim  appropriate for a 12 year old? please multiple people answer my question.

[2owlsofthenight]

@SonGokuSSj23 It is violent but not as violent as most M rated games hardly if not at all any swearing, it actually came relay close to being rated T but just a little bit too violent (one decapitation scene that lasts for about 2 seconds). Not as bad as the majority of M rated games out there.

[doodoodudex]

@SonGokuSSj23 If you believe that blood isn't the worst thing in the world, then sure, it's fine.

[coolsongslol]

@SonGokuSSj23 yes i will say it is i honestly don't really know why these people have a sook about it read my other comment

[chichihua]

Of course it's not normal if you let kids of 10 years play a game like GTA or Mortal Kombat or whatever. Parents don't put a child of 10 in front of a porn-movie that states 18+ but they do place them before video games that are rated M? I say parents are to blame for this. But it's too far fetched to ban these games because parents can't say 'no' to their spoiled kids.

[MrSniperscope]

my mum let me buy 18 games when i was 6...and i aint screwed up...lol

[Ashrawwr]

this guy has no idea I bet he's never even played a game in his life killing simulator >.> he says terrorists used them to bomb but just because someone uses the tech for wrong uses doesnt make it bad

[JAI9ER]

iv played games since i was four i remember playing gta 3 and vice city im very social i dont show agression and i have finished school and left with 7c's 3B's and a A* so games dont have affect it people with weak minds who work on this point that it is a games fault

[dudeapokemon]

i assure you "experts" these games do not cause violence in real life. playing a non-rage inducing video game is a great stress reliever. the rating system DOES have an issue, i have to go into a store with my mom to get resident evil. i'm 16, why do i have to be legally old enough to watch porn just to buy a game were i kill something? it's the parents fault, if they don't want their 12 year old to play a violent game then don't buy them a game with a soldier on the front of it!

[leegeorgeson]

They play the same violent video games in Japan. Japan has a REALLY low crime rate.

[magg3t013]

Wow...What a Liberal

[leegeorgeson]

@magg3t013 I vote Liberal and I think violent video games are just fine.

[Clariccy]

@magg3t013 Or just a person ..... with much more of a clue than you

[nagemsupreme]

Video games use the same negative/positive reinforcement as parenting. Yes, parents should be held accountable but even the non-violent games have a profound effect on the human brain. By playing a game over and over again information becomes imbedded into the brain whether we realize it or not. Have you ever went to sleep after playing a game for an extended amount of time and could still see the screen or hear the music when you closed your eyes?

[giant648]

these specialist's dont take a second look on the parents think for a second. your dad is watching football and the referee makes a bad call he jumps out of the chair and screams at the tv. you stub your toe and yell then he says thats it no more video games for you. then returns to get red faced at the tv. at that point the main roll model is the parents. they are there to mold the kid and video games don't do that. for once I would like to see a parent get yelled at for acting like a child bye

[TheIllusionelf]

I think only games you really loved as a child are the ones that rub off on you.

[theeffectivegunman]

killing simulator? I have played video games since the age of 4. my first games i can remember was the first quake game, duke nukem 3D, Postal road rash quake 2 etc etc and ive not killed a single person it made me good in english. The only bad effect is im not very social but i dont mind :) i was born 1994 btw.

[dudeapokemon]

@theeffectivegunman same, only 1995, though i played mario brother's games, oh, and sometimes starwars and 007, N64 ftw eh?

[swordhunter12]

The big problem with arguments like these is the consequence for killing someone in a videogame is completely different from the consequences of killing some in real life as is the science of it. Videogames don't tend to take into account things like recoil and wind resistance. Oh, and the guys who hijacked the planes? First of all there's a difference between a simulation and a video game and the hijacker were given lessons by professional flight teachers.

[drumslanga352]

VIDEOS GAMES AFFECTS YOUR FINGER PUT YOUR HAND BACK SIDE DOWN AND SEE IF YOUR FINGERS RISE ON THERE OWN

[ICodeInDreams]

No video game can ever be as violent as, say, a game of football. In football, you throw real human beings to the ground, and the injury rate is relatively high.

In "violent" video games, you press a button and a picture of a person holding a picture of a gun shoots another picture of a person. That's not violent at all, no matter how many pictures of blood spatter cover the picture of the world.

Also, "Playing Wii golf is not the same as playing golf"

Congratulations, you figured out the Wii.

[DrCaptainNonsense]

If only there was an option to rate a negative amount of stars. Violent video games don't do anything harmful unless the child or teen already has serious mental problems or can't tell the difference between reality and the game world...

I'm sick of this garbage getting onto channels like 20/20 so they can bother and worry parents into becoming overprotective and ill-informed. I'm sixteen, get straight A's, and am very polite. I've also been playing violent video games from a very young age.

[Clariccy]

@DrCaptainNonsense "Violent video games don't do anything harmful unless the child or teen already has serious mental problems or can't tell the difference between reality and the game world..." It affects the brain and mind, if you want it to or not. Brains aren't fully (within reason) till the mid 20's or somesuch.

[Sativasoldier666v2]

@Clariccy So you agree that Religion (BIGGER than video games) affect people brains and cause them to kill as well? if this is a reason, why don't we rid the world of religion? " It affects the brain and mind, if you want it to or not." if you teach the difference between reality and fiction to a child, nobody will be in trouble, I quote Anonymous "If video games causes you to kill, does Monopoly cause you to become a millionaire?"

[Play671]

never tell their parents that they must have control in their children about what they buy. This is a rookie mistake to say that, without an overall assessment of departures on other anti-violent. Education is the vaccine against violence. You have to educate your child to ignore the violence. Only then we can ignore these video games.And make a peaceful society. The effect of video games has a psychological effect. But this word can not be said because I think it does not exist.

[NE3PT7U0N4E]

I know how to be a good parent now

[DoomAgeding]

3:20 uh no the ersb do not the game making commpany dumbass shouldnt you know that your on tv brodcasting this to change the mind of violence and you have your facts wrong and the ersb arnt all to great on ratings some times i mean halo really m its not that violent

[DoomAgeding]

at 2:16 that wasnt a simulater that they learned from dumbass they hijacked the plane and either told the pilot to or they just killed the pilot and tokk controll they just had to fly straight cuz they where at avarage hight and well they crashed and they hit target but they blew up its not all that hard

[Finny1314]

My parents never knew I played until after 3 years of gameplay o.O

[TheRealDoubleJ1]

What's so bad about violent games.If parents allow their 8 year olds to play games like Grand Theft Auto,I guess that it's a kid friendly game.If your parents approve of it,its ok.

[MegaChelonia]

02:15

It isn't that hard to learn to crash a plane. :/ and simulators have to be almost exact in order to work. There's no 'B' button on a gun and you don't use and aiming stick. -_-

Also, There has never been a civilization in human history that has not committed acts of violence. Can you blame their violence on hieroglyphs or oil paintings or stone carvings? Oooh, a violent cave painting! I now feel the need to kill my neighbor! :/

[NDNguitarguy]

Many adults look at m rated video games as the cause for violence in our society. For example they conclude that a school shooting is the result of a child playing shooting games when it is actually the result of bad parenting, xtreme stress, bullying, access to guns, anger management issues, and or mental illness. Video games aren't to blame for violence In our society as much as society itself.

[DoomAgeding]

@NDNguitarguy wow thats really amazing and true and not just games movies to and books are blamed

[ATLMember]

Why would you want to play a game that makes you law abiding. People assume that people that play games suddenly, they won't be able to tell the difference between the game and life! It's complete crap. Videogames are fun because you can experience something outside of ordinary life. Imagine watching a movie that was just about a guy living his life and never did anything illegal or interesting. That's what non violent videogames would be like.

[luckynumber58]

we cannot trust kids with the knowledge of how to kill someone. one out of a million of them may use it. personally i think we should take this excellent philosophy even further by raising our kids in a n environment where they literally cannot learn anything that could be used against another person. they must be reduced to retarded worms writhing along the floor in bliss under heat lamps.

[MonkeyManWill]

I played halo in 2nd grade

[gruntlover2]

Video games do not encourage violence , people just want to kill guys like you because you are preaching bullshit

[ThePulb]

kinect is the best

[PartySpyro101]

Ive always known killing was bad "no mom i wont go out and noob tube someone". I get all A's im friendly loveable and i play M rated games! i dont see anything

[LoboalphaMASTER]

i play "violent" games since i ws 11, and that didn't had any effect on me, if im a bit more violent doday, its because i suffered from bullying for 3 years on school. violent videogames actually helped me to relax, i normally discharge all my anger on the NPCs, friend or foe

[drgoodman8]

my mum all ways said if i can buy it in the store i can play the game 

[SuperSaad64]

My parents let me play my first game with blood when I was 12/13. Before that they taught me the difference between real life and video games. What happens in the game you don't do in real life

[burra007]

@SuperSaad64 you losed, I played violent videogames since I was 6 years old XD, AND i HAVEN'T KILLEND ANYONE YET LOL

[mrbobo978]

I played GTA III when I was 11 because my Dad was well aware of the content, and he felt I was mature enough to handle it.

Fast forward to 2011, I'm now 21 and I've never stolen a car, never punched someone walking on the pavement, never fired a weapon, never hired a prostitue, never gotten involved with drugs, or gangs, or crime etc.

I've never had the urge to do that either, because I'm able to differentiate between reality and video games.

[TheJackal501]

weird how come I used to play doom in lots of hours and still get to good grades, then I became quite aggressive and get in trouble for saying things. My theory is violent video games don't effect grades in school but effect your behavior

[TheJackal501]

I like this video, it explain clearly to me

[sockschappercat]

Any gamer can tell you

1. Even military simulators (such as ARMA2) do not resemble real life situations.

2. If you enjoy killing then you are a psychopath.

3. If you cannot tell the difference between real life and fantasy then you have a serious problem.

4. It is easy to mow down human-shaped pieces of code with an machine gun shaped piece of code, but it is not easy to mow down humans with a machine gun.

I've played violent games my whole life and still feel bad about throwing a punch.

[JoarMusic]

Video games damaged my brain so much that I believe the twin towers were brought down by explosives and that the planes were empty and remote controlled.

[HWEforlifecmalex]

nothing really bad about it it just can get addticeing thats all.

[Giddo11]

Sadly violence is also part of human nature. In the roman collosium, the crowd cheered for blood. Children and adults came. The masters made deadly new items and brutal weapons for the gladiators to use to kill one another. The people cheered, as they do today. The only thing that we do right today is that the violence is simulated, and not real

[TheJushwa]

they are just mad because i pwn them at games lol

[legoclonetrooper1234]

screw this i played video games since i was 4 years old and now im 13 and i play like left 4 dead gta iv gta san andreas postal 2 al that stuff so far nothing has happened just the fun i recieve from the games

[BAchickenwing3]

@legoclonetrooper1234 i agree im addictid but i do sports and crap im just wondiring why parents even care im probably just as fit as anybody in my family but i spend more time playing call of duty than baseball.

[TheCoolisimo]

you ive actually seen a youtube video of someone pretty much refuting everything this guy said

[TaisenkiByakko]

Played games since I was 3 years old (1992)

I play many violent games. I can't shoot people in real life. Not because I havn't had the opportunity but because I have a thing called empathy. Not only that...I'm even afraid of heights in game! Bizzare

Violent games, if anything, allow people to do things that they can't do in real life (like shooting people).

There are problems with the video games but violence isn't one of them. (The problem is that they arn't exactly innovative in 2011)

[kennyrulez27]

these guys are mad cuz they cant quickscope in mw2 or they cant jump snipe in halo lulz they hacked their mw2 10th prestige rofl

[ig88bc]

A lot of this stuff is speculation, which annoys me when politicians try to claim that it is fact.

[SGawesome]

As long as the person play the video game understands the difference between real life and the video game then it's fine to say if I play blackops I will gradually become killer is dumb

[PSspecialist]

STOP BLAMING VIDEO GAMES FOR VIOLENCE STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP

[bparrish25]

are you kidding me? comparing a flight sim to a game. flight sims are neo realistic, ive never seen anyone get shot with an fing controller before....

[TheTVProjects]

I'm 13, I'm valedictorian and I'm a total black ops addict :)

[bparrish25]

@TheTVProjects ever killed anyone?

[MexicanGoldfish]

lol if video games affect children most of our parents would be running round neon rooms picking up pills and being chased by aliend whilst dressed as a yellow blob

XD

[xeivrom]

this is so true im 13 played mw2 and red dead redemption at 12 now i go and kill terrorists in Afghanistan and kill banditos wow there the worst thing ever.

[freshkidd1110]

I have an xbox 360 and the only types of games i like are call of duty games but just because there violent doesnt mean anything because in a way i learn stuff like 50 new guns and other stuff like never stay next to the bomb in search or demo. when its about to explode

[REDBIT1234]

wheres the proof

[branstan100]

I am a 1960 vet from blackops on weekends and a Assassin in 1500 on the weekdays.

[gorillaman2000]

I'm a Jainist... I'm religiously obligated never to intentionally harm another living being. And I play Black Ops. There is a HUUUUGE difference between video games and life. Shooting a blob of pixels is very, very different from shooting a man.

[oyokid]

ho he forgot to say at the end "killing people in a game is not the same as killing in the real world" .It's not because you play violent games that makes you violent. It's because you're already Violent that you play those type of game (I'm not talking about everyone, but only those crazy guys who end up killing people IRL)

oh and BTW the rating system is not made by the same people who makes the product. moron

[JAACastle]

hi there, thanks for shareing your views on this subject. For others, im a 32 male who now since my health changed in 2000 (muscular skeletal disorder, epilspsy and neuralga, and memory loss from 2000 before), find that i am having to re learn a number of things. I got this lot from poor posture, intense staring at one point ie my screen and not excersising my eyes by having a break. the rest may be from a accident, stress and bullying. why i shared i dont know but i hope its helped someone.

[alexdoodd]

apparently im going to kill people soon, even know im a vegi, and im SURE 100% someday I will nuke a whole state. Why would we do that????

[chuffo12]

GTAIV is by far the best game I've played and I'm 12, but it doesn't make actually want to shoot people or kill hookers!

[resilienceman]

Problem is with this world now is theres too many people trying to second-guess through things that they think affect something but don't.

[Manofdahour98]

I played Fallout 3 when i was 12 now i go out and kill people with mini-nukes, I also played splinter cell when i was 13 so I'm a super trained spy.

[calebt1000]

Its not the kids faults its the parents if u know violent video games are bad why the hell would u buy it for them . The video should be called how do videogames affect parents

[15zelda1]

the ratings for video game aren't from the people that make them they're rated by the esrb.

[Roberco]

A huge majority of us (myself included) have grown up with video games. Eventually we'll be the ones making policy, so it will be interesting to see how our stance on these issues changes in the future. I wonder what the difference is in brain activity for someone reading a book vs. playing an interactive game based on the same book? Interesting, indeed. There are tons of games coming out that are essentially interactive movies (Uncharted 2 being one of my favorites).

[residentevilkid01]

most of my friends, and myself, have played pretty violent games since we were like 10, and it hasnt affected any of us in ANY way at all, i love violent games, and i mean VIOLENT games, and i absolutely hate getting into fights at all in the real world. if you dont want them to play violent games, DONT GET THEM THE GAMES!

[muxmedia7]

if i learn to kill people that have a gun pointed at me in a game, ill have a higher chance of learning to defend myself in real life. lol. if i play a tactical game like css where i should learn where to move in a combat situation i would have a higher chance of defending myself if anything happens. people like him shouldnt be making a living by "researching" bullshit. none of this means im going to become a sociopathic murdered... i played DOOM when i was 6, do u see me killing people?? no

[stop222200]

@muxmedia7 iv played resident evil sents i was like 4 or 5 and im not going out shooting people or any thing, games dont make kids violent, bad parenting make's kids violent

[aboug1]

Honestly... I think that it really wastes your time fromf doing many other useful and important things..... In fact I think it makes you lose track of time and it even gets you into the habit of being irresponsible.... not that everyone can really act responsibly.... but even though some ppl tend to act irresponsibly out of will..... many video game players who have potential to be responsible for their life begin to lose that potential after a while and even the will for it.

[ThePredator62]

the experts never say that it is the parents fault for allowing the kid to play the game if the parents dont approve of the game then they shouldnt let there kids play them if they dont approve of them. i play a lot of games and i am passing school with A's that is all i get is A's

[yahh1111]

ther is a defference betwen 9/11 and a video game . do you understande the difference or you comment on something you don't have . HALO or any other game is for pleasure and not for anything else . in video games with guns for the most part {99%} you are a hero in the game . for example mass effect, call of duty , perfect dark, darsiders , spinter cell , metal gear solid ect you are a hero .

[yahh1111]

ChildrensHospital do you have dance dance revolution. if you don't it helps me to burned 300 calories within a day and yet I still go outside, it does not encourage you to stay inside but it does encourage you to dance. it is a fun way to exercise.

if you dint have it buy it, try it and then tell us the kids that make this game popular that we should stop playing something that makes US have fun.

PS do you have an XboX 360 or any teen games try it its fun.

[KittySnowene]

I blame the crappy video games.

[Zidrien]

Parents: Just do your job!

Problem solved.

[MillCityPersons]

I learned violence was bad when I was five and started murdering theological hordes of aliens in Halo when I was nine. Now I'm failing school with A's and B's!

[optimusmikey]

@MillCityPersons same here except i played mortal combat wen i was 5

[flamingarse1]

@MillCityPerson SAME THING WITH MY FREIND DRAKE :D his grades better than mine T.T

[DoomAgeding]

@MillCityPersons haha thats good

[DoomAgeding]

@MillCityPersons haha 

[DoctorThor21]

@MillCityPersons I'm in the same situtation, only I played GTA rather than halo. And my grades are always above a 3.50 GPA. I think that people need to understand that gamers can differentiate the game from real life. Video games are not some sort of "virtual reality" that trains us to kill people and whatever else.

[matt2house]

I dont necessarily believe that games will cos children to be violent. They can be influenced by violence by either tv or even other people. But more to the point games does make people less proactive and phased from real life situations.

[BggProductions]

Using the 9/11 attacks as a comparison is so wrong! The difference is intent. Those terrorists used flight sims to learn to fly with the intention of hijacking planes. Kids do not play games with the intention of learning how to become a better murderer.

[jbrenner2008]

i think if a child can distiguish entertainment to vilence he should be able to play any game he wants

[chaurora]

THis is great information, I am doing and essay on violent video games, great video!!!

[adnjt]

@chaurora Do you have the essay? Im doing one to.:)

[altairPWK]

@chaurora lol me too! Research paper on the positive effects on video games, here I come! ^^b

[MrWarlord13]

its not the child's fault that games cause violence its the parents fault for not teaching there kids that violence is bad if we don't teach kids violence is bad then the kid thinks violence is OK its not the childs fault its the adults fault!!!

[lookbehindyourself]

Im sorry but most information offered in this video is false. There is NO proof of violent video games lead to violent behaviour. In fact for some children, such as myself. Video games are a release as well as entertainment. I can focus my anger or frustration into a video game, and in doing so will not take it out on the ones around me. And as far as these video games being training simulators to make children better at killing... that is the governments fault. They wanted that outcome.

[MaoiMeowi2]

Um...why do these "experts" never say that it's the parents' fault for allowing their kids to play the games they shouldn't approve of?

[nukenfry]

@MaoiMeowi2 What drives parents to be so passive to violence? Or perhaps even active in the consumption? Perhaps a child's first experience with video games was not because of their parents letting them play it but instead at a friend's house. Or maybe their father, or older brother or sister play games and they found exposure through that. I was exposed to more violent, although technologically limited, video games at a young age but my mother kept me away from extraordinary violent ones.

[nukenfry]

@MaoiMeowi2 Perhaps the exposure was not by way of parents but because of an older brother playing the games? Or even a parent? We could also ask what makes parents passive to such violence? I was exposed to some violent games at a young age, but they were primitive, such as Sega Genesis. The real violent ones my mom did not allow me to play but when I became older I was slowly allowed greater access to more adult content. Even at an age of 12, 13 or 15 such violent games had an effect on me.

[Syntheticxox]

@nukenfry They had an affect on you than you are actually in a minority....I played games since i was a young child and I never got increasingly violent. Each Kid is different and if you have aggression problems you probably showed that even before you started playing such violent games...just saying. Or watching them as you put it. The Studies on if they do or do not cause violence are controversial there is no actual proof they do.

[gruntlover2]

@MaoiMeowi2 Parents do not have the right to tell the children right to do

[ironspring]

@MaoiMeowi2 and you believe the title "expert"? all you have to do to be an expert is put a few years into a field and you become an expert. Doesn't mean your good at what you do, just means you did it for a long time. Oh, and you have to have a few people agree with you too.... which also dosnt mean the agree-es are intelligent just means they agree.

[k8pendragon]

Thanks so much for this! I'm doing an English assignment at the moment and this info is really useful.

[Dakiris]

any noob can tell the diffrence between video games and real life if they kill some one dont blame it on the game blame it on how there raised or if they have somthing wrong with them