Video Game Violence: Where's the Harm?

First posted by Kev Walsh at www.britsknowbest.co.uk. February 2008

It seems hardly a day goes by nowadays without a report of some kid shooting up his school ‘because he played Counter-Strike’ or of how young minds are being corrupted by ‘triple x pornography in games marketed to teenagers’. It was only yesterday that the infamous Jack Thompson put the blame for the recent NIU tragedy where a 27 year old gunned down students supposedly because he played Counter-Strike 4 years previously (and had absolutely sod-all to do with the fact he had stopped taking his medication for mental illness).

Like it or not, violence in videogames is big news at the moment. Be it school shootings in the US or links to kids and knife culture here in the UK. Forums everywhere from xbox.com to IGN and CVG are full of gamers up in arms that their beloved pastime is being brought into disrepute. However, is there more to this than gamers realise?

The fact is that violent game, as well as violent books; films; images, cartoons or websites can, and will, have some form of effect on the individual engaging with them. The effect it has however is entirely down to the suggestibility of the individual concerned.

During the 19th century Antonin Artaud created the Theatre of Cruelty. This is a type of stage theatre that was designed to be so visually shocking and sickening in its use of violent imagery that it was meant to have a cathartic effect on the audience, cleansing them of their anger, aggression and fear. By witnessing others engaging in acts that a person is meant to subconsciously desire allows them to purge themselves of pent up emotions and thus lead a better and more fulfilling life. If we look at the popularity of public executions in previous times, and even to the present day in many countries across the globe, we can see how this may well be true.

People have an innate desire to witness suffering. It somehow makes ourselves feel better. We love watching Comic Relief and Children in Need with all their stories of third world suffering and we gain some warped satisfaction from viewing images of war on TV. We KNOW that what we are viewing is horrible; that what we are witnessing is distressing and sickening; but we still watch it. Why? Because deep down the only way we can feel better is by reminding ourselves of what we are capable of, and feel more powerful knowing that we have the restraint not to carry out the acts we see.

The same theory applies to videogames, horror films and almost all other forms of ‘unengaged violence’. We sit down with our 360 pads and tap the B button to unleash chainsaw hell on our unsuspecting foe and a grin spreads across our faces. We let stream profanity after profanity when we get our arse handed to us due to a lucky plasma grenade…and we LOVE IT. Not just because it’s entertaining but because we are fulfilling those subconscious fantasies we so desire everyday but that our consciousness, and society, forbid to us to engage in.

However, what would happen if your consciousness was affected in some way?
It is well known and documented by psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists that certain things can affect how a person’s conscious and subconscious mind interact.

• Age – as you grow older the border between the conscious and subconscious mind becomes more prominent and thus much easier for us to avoid acting on impulse. This is largely down to learning the ways of the world and the laws of the society in which we live. Children therefore are more prone to act on subconscious impulse than adults.

• Testosterone – the greater the level of testosterone in your body the more prone to act on aggressive impulses you will be. It becomes much more difficult for a person to restrict the extent to which they express their aggressive impulses.

• Drugs/Alcohol – the more under the influence of drugs and alcohol you become the more the border between conscious and subconscious blurs. The easier it becomes to act on subconscious impulse.

• Mental Health – if you are already suffering from mental health problems then the higher the risk of you acting on subconscious impulse.

Obviously these things alone would not necessarily mean that you are going to go out and shoot down a few pedestrians but if these things are combined with other catalysts such as bullying, peer-pressure or exposure to violent images etc then the likelihood of engaging in a violent act is increased.

Therefore a child who is being bulled at school, going through puberty, witnesses’ domestic violence at home and plays Halo for 13 hours a day is more likely to commit an act of violence than a 28 year old that has had three pints of Golden Boot and has spent 4hours playing Gears of War.

The fact is that videogames DO affect the people that play them. Are they the reason why Stephen Kazmierczak decided to walk into his old University on Thursday 14th February 2008 and shoot as many people as he could before turning the gun on himself? Of course they aren’t but there is the possibility that, due to his mental health issues, playing violent videogames could have increased the probability of him committing a violent act.