Video Games, Immersion, & Columbine, Part II

"The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer sees all the wickedness; the theologian sees all of stupidity" - Arthur Schopenhauer

This is a continuation of a three part series that you can subscribe to on my newsletter:

The 90 Day Content Challenge.

Click here to read the article.

So, why am I opening with a "you're stupid" quote? Well, you will soon find out.

. We touched bases on the notations of video game addiction, which is a widespread controversy. In our previous example, we discussed the Columbine Shooting of 1999, the notions of my telltale experiences with the video game: "World Of Warcraft," and the idealization that eSports users are massive consumers of energy drinks and Adderall.

Today, However...

Today, however, we are touching upon a much more dangerous topic (yes, worse than addiction): do video games relieve aggressive behaviors or do they make us prone to them?

Before I continue, let us back up to a time and place when times were simpler:

Donkey Kong.

I recall playing this thrill ride with my mother at the young age of five, on my Nintendo whatever platform. I was so young, I barely remember how Donkey Kong looked. I recall leaping across 2D levels in a time simpler to many: when video games were fun, engaging experiences one could engage in with their family and friends.

Rest In Peace, Keith!

I also recall my flourish into video game design (never successfully done with my first official studio: New Breed Games, LLC) that, for some odd reason, still holds the "LLC" title according to the State of Florida database...

...so, do not tell anyone I have not paid my taxes (then again, we never made any income, so it is a 50/50 win for me), but the point is beyond that: I was designing video game ideas in my head way before then.

My cousin, Keith, who unfortunately took his life on May 4th, 2019, was the first to introduce me to this realm of the real world when I would watch (never played, just watch...) "Final Fantasy" before it restituted itself as a telltale series. I would watch for hours as he played this game, and I recall learning my first officiated swear word (now commonly used) from him. Thanks for my potty mouth, Keith, but this was not the point.

And you will always be missed. This one is for you, buddy...

I had already designed a video game in my head, and suffice to say, my first game design experience was based on thoughts I came up with in fourth grade.

The Aggressive Debate

Now, I was born in 1989, so Columbine was roughly ten years after this time.

I recall the horrors portraying two armed shooters.

They customized levels in the game: "Doom," as previously discussed, to match the layout of their school before the rampage took place. When this occurred, it was first laid on the back of Marilyn Manson, which they were rampant about. Then, it turned to the game: "Doom," which took the heart of the ugly debate, and the dawning of a new theory:

"Video games cause aggression..."

Now, do note that studies early on indicated two things:

1) Video games do not cause aggression,

2) Video games can cause aggression.

Does this make sense to you? Me neither.

The Truth Of The Matter Is...

Even more recently, video games continue to progressively take the blame for violent behaviors, including the recent school shooting of El Paso.

When this took place, at-present President Donald Trump stated:

"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace..." D. Trump

The Step They Missed

Now, I am not going to lie: the studies about video games and their ties to gun violence and aggression are commonplace, and I do wholeheartedly believe that there is no scientific evidence that they cause aggressive behavior, nor is there evidence that they do not. Though my first article on this topic covers some of the dangers of video games and inherent addiction to them, there are no conclusive studies behind video games and aggression.

But there are also no conclusive studies that video games do not play a direct role.

As An Example...

A recent study by the American Psychological Association, which I recently became a member of after my Undergraduate studies at Florida International University, indicated that indeed, video games do cause aggression. I quote the article sent to me recently by a friend:

"Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life" - The American Psychological Association

Now, bear in mind that studies have also been performed prior to the recent debaucheries of school shootings and bullying that indicated video games increased the ability of teamwork, communication, and a sense of identity.

But will we trust laboratory-based settings, such as the APA, or random bloggers trying to make it sound as if gaming does not have a negative side effect on people? As a species, we are born and bred to hunt, to kill, to mate, and to repeat.

The Theory I Have Is...

...Well, it is what many believe, and what many disdain: some studies indicate that video games enhance spatial navigation skills, communication, and teamwork. Think about it if you are a gamer or a parent watching your child on an XBOX or PlayStation device with an absurd headset, talking to friends and teammates.

This is where the theories begin to pile up. Before recent studies were performed, it was believed and relinquished that gaming actually has a positive effect on people. When you think about this in context, a shy child can lose themselves in a game, talking to friends and communicating tactics on how to, say, flank the enemy team.

The Keyword Is "Enemy..."

Now, note that phrase: "flank the enemy team."

Though we can insinuate that these studies are spot-on, and that they do make sense, there is more to it than that. Most researchers who state "video games do not cause aggression," or that they have "positive effects," are ignoring the dangers.

It almost seems a conspiracy to believe that video games play more good than bad in our lives. Now, there is nothing wrong with unwinding after a long day of work or school and losing yourself in a fictional world. The fact is, it is not that video games cause aggression.

Rather, it is the type of game that matters.

World Of Warcraft

As stated in Part One of this three-part series, not all games can cause aggression. I have a cousin who is twelve, and he spends around three-to-four hours a day after school playing games. The difference is, he plays games like "Minecraft" and less violent-prone games. His parents made sure he did not have access to, say, "Call Of Duty."

My point is simple: video games do not cause aggression.

Rather, the type of person, and the type of game, matters. Games like "Call Of Duty" have emerged, where the idea is simple: kill the enemy team. Yes, "kill the enemy team." How can we possibly say this belongs in the hands of a twelve-year-old? I have spent time on games such as this, and when you lock into a video game with the mindset of aggression, we are mitigating around the idea that video games do not cause aggression.

The type of game matters.

Donkey Kong, As An Example

Now, "Donkey Kong" still exists, believe it or not, and I am sure that the title rings a few bells, as it was one of the most popular games of its time. Can throwing barrels and crates at people via a monkey-based persona cause aggression? That is not confirmed, but I would say that it is not quite the idea that games cause aggression.

Rather, if you lock a pre-pubescent child into a violent game (such as the most recent release of "Mortal Kombat," which I will include a video link of below just to indicate how drastically-violent and gory this game is), yes, will cause aggression, and yes, it will not alleviate stress. Now, there is something we are missing in this equation...

My Point Is This...

Video games do not cause aggression. It is the fact that if you hand a child, or even an adult, a digital gun, and that digital gun becomes an extension of their personality and their addictive tendencies, one of two things will occur:

a) They will learn valuable teamwork skills, will enhance their communicative abilities, or...

b) They will take that gun-like extension of themselves, and will become attracted to it...

Video games are conclusively (nor are they not conclusively) the same as handing a young child a toy gun and saying: "Go kill your friends outside." If you simply say: "Go shoot your friends with a fun water gun, but play nice!" chances are, they will have fun, right? They will not engage in violence, for almost all of us did this as kids.

We see time and time again that the mystery of gaming is unlocked by the type, not the game, itself. I used to play "Counter-Strike" in middle school.

We would sit around the technology lab, shooting each other on an old-style LAN network, where one day the teacher actually said out-loud:

"How many of you are playing Counter-Strike?!"

Of course, we panicked. Her words after our immediate response was:

"Just make sure you leave it on; do not turn the computers off. Some of the kids in the next class want to play, too..."

Indeed, at the tender age of twelve, around the same time the Twin Towers collapsed (which they actually aired live to us, which is beside the point, but still a bit creepy when you think about it), I was told by a teacher to continue playing one of the most addictive games of all time. This immediate exposure to violent gaming did not quite increase aggression, but this was way before gaming became so haphazardously dangerous.

To be honest, it did increase our abilities to get through the day, and we had a lot of fun.

Suffice To Say...

There are studies that exist stating that gaming can increase spatial skills, which I can agree on. As a former paintball player, I recall that every time I left that field, I felt good.

I had relieved my aggression and for that entire week, my confidence rose.

I was the top video game player at our school; I was a fond member of several paintball teams (the fun kind, not that stuff in empty fields); I grew up playing what many consider the most violent sports of all time: Tae Kwon Do, Ju Jitsu, paintball, airsoft, and I still frequent gun ranges. And yet here I am, writing, going to school, and consulting for businesses. So, I turned out fine. Why did it everybody else get so messed up?

Guns do increase the adrenal response we all have, whether designed in a video game or by the darned military itself. According to Rong Shao, who studied the effects of video game violence in 2019, I found a rather wholehearted statement that concludes our day:

"For individuals with a good family environment, exposure to violent video games had only a moderate effect on aggression; however, for those with a poor family environment, it had both direct and indirect effects mediated by aggression. This moderated mediation model includes some notions of General Aggression Model..."

I urge you to read the article, as it concludes upon the idea that it is not quite just the medium of the game, or the type of game, but also, the upbringing of the child or individual in question. When we are at a young age and are exposed to violence (whether in the form of a video game or a social situation alienated from an XBOX, i.e. family history of violence), the GAM (General Aggression Model) falls into place.

The General Aggression Model

In one of my Undergraduate classes, we learned about the General Aggression Model. It dictates that there is a tendency for our species (as well as many other species) to become attracted to violence. Now, the fun part is, it is not that it is in human nature to destroy ourselves. We are not attracted to violence. Rather, we are subordinate to it.

"We not only lack dominion over nature; we are subordinate to it" - Malcolm

My point for today is, there are a lot of studies indicating violent games show a heightened increase of aggression, but the type of game matters. However, look at me as a broad example. As a child, as well as an adult, I have played violent games. I came from a well-mannered upbringing, allowing for me to learn societal and emotionally-based values.

But if you hand someone already prone to aggressive tendencies, as the GAM states, a fictional gun, chances are they will fall victim not to the game's violence, but the immediate environmental clues they grew up on. Aggression is not a "one-way street," when you think about it. It is a humanistic and primal tendency (rather, an innate desire) to "hunt."

Anthropology & Gaming

Anthropologically speaking, the human species is no different on a genetic level than that of a primate, or even a lion. All species, dangerous or not, have similar subsets of genetic makeup. We will never quite escape the grasp of our former selves, where to survive, one needed to hunt. That brings up the anthropology of the topic at-hand: we are already prone to aggression, but upbringing teaches us how to behave.

If you come from a violent family environment, you do not need to play a violent video game to become prone to aggression. Just like Marilyn Manson and many games today are subjected to controversy, we feed on that on a very basic level. It is merely instinct: hand someone a gun and they will wish to hunt. But if you teach the child, or even the adult, to use a more socially and societally-based mindset, explaining that violence is not the answer, we can beat our primal tendencies. So, in theory, gaming does not cause aggression.

But it does give us an excuse to blame others for it.

The Blame Game

Before I leave you for this second part of the three-part series, I wanted to make mention that, despite this not being my best work, I do have some points to make. Marilyn Manson, as an example, was blamed as the musical ideology behind the Columbine shooting.

We need to begin to think much like Eminem did in one of his songs:

"When two dudes are bullied and go shoot up a school, they blame me and Manson. But where the hell were the parents at?" - Eminem, circa 1990's

Whatever your ideology behind his music may be, he makes a strong point: Columbine may have been designed in "Doom" as a level to practice violence, but during the research phase of my aforementioned video game lecture in yesterday's article, I did find that Columbine was blamed rather haphazardously on factors we did not quite know.

Well, until recently.

They were found in 2004 to have been seriously bullied in school; they were shooting real guns in their backyards; they were socially isolated; their main targets were not every student in that school. In fact, one student testified in Court that after the two were shot and killed (four hours later, which is suffice the point, but still, it is something to consider), he was hiding under a desk. One of the shooters walked by him and said:

"I'll let you go. You were always nice to me."

The foundation of the human spirit is, essentially, to blame everyone but others around us. "Doom" was not the reason for the shooting, as they could have just as easily plotted the entire orchestra of their killing spree on a sheet of paper. Rather, they had no parental control, and thus the media rained down upon all of the factors except one...

Their upbringing.

Games Do Not Cause Violence

They can theoretically expose us to it, but they do not cause it. Study upon study has amounted over this topic as video game violence increased in brevity, and as more and more shootings took place in recent years, gaming became a centerpiece for the media's heritage to take everything they assume, and to drown or snuff it out like a candle beneath a cup.

Rather, just like Eminem pointed out: where were the parents during all of this? In more recent years (and I dare not touch upon a very controversial topic), school shootings, and shootings in general, have made gaming a placated reason as the cause for violence.

Rather, we are beginning to find that though as a species it is normative to try and blame something alien to us for it, we need to realize that the fact that Columbine (and all other shootings, for that matter) were founded on one simple notion: the video game is not the problem. The violence may be extreme, albeit, gory to say the least, but gun control laws, mental health issues, and even school bullying are amidst us.

It is in our nature to want to hunt; that is anthropology. But rather than assessing the "blame game" on facets nonexistent from these individuals' lives when we hear about it on the news, we need to be placing more emphasis on gun control laws and harsher penalties for bullying at schools. That, despite popular opinion, is a topic I dare not touch, but I did want to make mention that, for the sake of argument, where did the guns come from?

The game does not cause aggression. It mediates it, explains it, and allows for a violent part of our brains to wire itself neurologically and chemically. But if you hand a child a violent video game, many studies do indicate that they can do more good than bad.

We will touch bases on that tomorrow!

1) Click here to subscribe for Part III

2) Don't hand your child a fake gun...

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