What are the stupidest rumors you've read about gaming?

University's publishing social science studies in media outlets.... isn't social science.

These need to come from peer reviewed scientific journals to be credible. The media will run stories on studies that the scientific community may not accept for various reasons (poor design, lack of successful replication, etc.). You should not rely on
media outlets for credible sources in scientific findings. Sometimes stuff gets out in the media over one single study, and if it is never replicated, the idea still looms in people's heads even after it's debunked.

What you guys are focusing on is the question at a whole which the answer really is "it depends." It is not a black and white question. So many factors influence a person's emotional/behavioral reactions to environmental stimuli, such as personality factors,
pre-existing predispositions towards socially unacceptable behaviors or psychopathology, gender differences (i.e. males tend to be more physically aggressive)... maybe even video game addiction in this case?

Some people, for a myriad of reasons, may be more vulnerable towards being influenced by this, whereas others may not and I have heard there is some evidence to support this in more naturally aggressive individuals. The same applies with aggression responses
to bad controls or a bad game; some people may shrug it off and sell back the game and others may throw their controller at the TV.

There probably will never be a universal "yes" or "no" to this question; not everyone throws the controller and not everyone shrugs it off. Not everyone plays Gears of War and then picks a fight at the grocery store an hour later. If we could actually
say "violent video games CAUSE violence" as a definitive generalizable statement then a majority of gamers would probably be in jail for assault (or at least the ones who leave the house periodically might).

 

Azrael that was not the study, the one the BBC refers to was the Half Life 2 study that involved a modified version of the game, it was modified to have the violence removed and poor controls added, this was not explained to the people playing the game,
they used an un-modified game as a control.

This was a study by OXFORD UNIVERSITY in conjunction with Rochester University.

Maybe you will get lucky on your third attempt at trolling me...

 

What's wrong?

Left your links in your other suit?

Google is your friend.

 

I have told you what the story was about if you want more info find it yourself as I can't link you to the BBC news App on ios due to it not having an address bar.

And to be honest with you I don't find the story as important as you obviously do, I guess the findings must have struck a nerve in you.

 

[quote user="Azrael008uk"]

What's wrong?

Left your links in your other suit?

Google is your friend.

[/quote]

Bud, you've provided no credible evidence as to how video games cause people to be violent. You're never going to find any evidence, either.

You people are about as ridiculous as the ones who think the flu vaccine causes autism, or that the moon landing was a hoax.

 

In a parrallel universe perhaps.

I'm happy to sit back and bask in my 'rightness'.

At least you're in the right thread.

 

"You people are about as ridiculous as the ones who think the flu vaccine causes autism, or that the moon landing was a hoax. "

People are kinda silly. We landed on the moon. End of story. Anyone that doesn't believe that is a blithering moron. Also, opting out of vaccines for fear of your child getting autism is just another instance of people being blithering morons. The thing
is, WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSES AUTISM. I've heard everything from pollution to obese fathers. There are reports of autism in kids that were NEVER VACCINATED. So that theory just went down the drain.

I know these are off topic, but I had to say something about them.

Oh...and about violent video games:

If a kid is truly disturbed, it's not because a video game or a violent movie caused it. We see graphic images all the time over here in America in movies and news as well. I just watched a surveillance video of two idiots running around and shooting at
each other inside a hotel, like it was a scene from Face-Off. There is usually a sign if a kid is troubled. A kid doesn't generally go from happy-go-lucky, science fair, friends and football to randomly stabbing at people in the hallway at his school. It's
a parents job to see red flags and get the child some help.

Do I think that a 12-year old should be playing SAW or CoD? No, I don't. I don't think that a parent that is allowing that is doing a very good job at parenting. I don't necessarily think it's going to mess up the kid, but there is plenty of time in a
person's life to indulge in a gaming hobby. There are a lot of non-violent games that are a lot of fun. Parents sometimes give in too easy. When a parent gives in too easy, THAT is what causes trouble. When the kid is running the show in the household,
anything could happen and most of it isn't good.

 

^ Well said, and the autism reference is a prime example of misinformation in the media. A researcher found results in a study that indicated that possibility, it went to the media, and people STILL think that is the case. However, it was never replicated
and has since been debunked since it was a fluke finding. Yet, so many people develop this extreme anti-vaccination stance for their children based on what is now considered misinformation (though studies show people tend to acknowledge/remember misinformation
more than later clarifying information). Media and popular beliefs are not credible.

People are just engaging in confirmation bias, using only things that they feel support their claim (in some cases, even citing mere opinion pieces). It's just going to go on for pages of regurgitating the same responses and same citations ultimately leading
to both parties being further entrenched in their beliefs.

 

I'll just go ahead and add the following thought: If a child hits another child during recess, do you blame the child for being aggressive, or do you blame the practice of recess, labeling it a hostile environment that causes violence in children at large?

I feel that in this day and age people want to dismiss the concept of personal responsibility for one's actions and blame the environment. "He did this because he played this video game, listened to this music, watched this movie," etc. People differ in
so many aspects that I have previously mentioned that one's reaction to his/her environment can differ greatly from another's. Even if the environment *influences* someone's behavior, that does not mean it *causes* it. These are two very distinct concepts.
Our personality, attitudes, predispositions, emotional state and even genetic makeup or physical/mental health play a role in our actions. Human behavior is not chemistry or mathematics. There is no clear formula to determine an individual's behavior or
the reasoning behind it that is stable in every instance. At best we have predictions. Heck, most people couldn't tell you why they act the way they do.

To quote Aziz Ansari, "Some kids are just s****y."

 

I work with kids day in & day out - trust me, they're monsters that won't hesitate to go for the jugular.