Is It Game Over For Gamers?

Is there really a link between violent video games and violent behavior? It's a question that I feel personally perplexed and slightly offended by. The reason I find it so perplexing is because I know the effects of violent video games first hand. Who I play in video games tend to be the exact opposite of who I am in real life. In Grand Theft Auto, I once "delivered" a prostitute to a "customer". In Red Dead Redemption I collected the hides of many forest animals to unlock an achievement. In Call of Duty, I tried to rack up the number of kill shots so that my team would win the battle. In real life, I'm a feminist that hopes to see the end of prostitution, an animal rights activist who wouldn't hunt, and a pacifist. Who I am in the gaming world doesn't reflect any of my actual beliefs.

We discussed this issue in psychology once. Apparently what scientists have determined is that violent video games do not cause violent behavior but that they do "prime for violent thoughts". I asked myself if I felt that I became a more violent thinker after I played video games. I will now take a 20 minute break to go play Assassin's Creed and see what the after affects are...

(35 minutes later). Well, that was awesome. For those of you who play I just was at the scene of the Boston Massacre and things got crazy. Anyways, do I feel like I'm thinking violently? No. I'm thinking about schoolwork and what I am going to eat for dinner. However, I definitely feel some sort of adrenaline rush from playing the game. It's a very action-physical storyline so there are plenty of cool combination moves and parkour-intense chasing scenes. It does feel as if my sympathetic nervous system has put my body in a "fight-or-flight" state. But I really don't feel violent right now. I guess I felt the need to test this theory because 1, it is always good to check yourself and make sure you're not doing something that will harm you and 2, there are many anti-violence organizations that are seeking to put an end or at least restrictions on some of my favorite game makers like Rockstar and Naughty Dog. I think that there might be an argument to be made that video games can reduce one's violent tendencies. Often when someone has aggression issues and seek positive ways to process and vent their anger, psychologists will tell them to join sports teams in which they channel their aggressive tendencies towards competitive athleticism. It's a good idea, right? I wonder if the same concept could be applied to video games.

I'm not saying that it would work for everyone, but maybe for some people who feel like their energies are very suppressed could let video games become their channel to vent. My cousin who served in Afghanistan once told me that he has a friend that served with him but came home with a bad case of PTSD. I didn't believe this when he said it but my cousin told me that, to get better and uncover the buried emotions inside him his friend would play war games. Apparently he is doing much better now and attributes some of his growth to being able to relive experiences through the video games. Now, this is a very particular experience and I am definitely not saying that this will work for everyone or that video games cure PTSD, but it was someone's experience. Personally, I think video games are a chance for me to vent my frustration in a non-violent way. I am very concerned with being politically correct and non-judgemental but I can't help but feel overwhelmed by the world sometime. I think video games help me stay balanced. I completely understand where the anti-videogame violence coalitions are coming from because I see how people don't act like their best selves when they play video games, I am a testament to that. However I don't appreciate being lumped into a group of people seen as being "more violent than others" just because I enjoy my playstation 3.