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[Shin]

Hardcore pornography and video games are contributing to the rise in violent crime by desensitising young people to vicious behaviour, Diane Abbott has said.
The shadow home secretary said boys as young as eight were accessing online pornography and suggested that exposure to extreme imagery could be partly to blame for violent crime.

Her comments come as Theresa May faced a mounting backlash over her dismissal of a link between a spate of fatal stabbings and the police cuts she presided over at the Home Office.
Home secretary Sajid Javid has rowed in behind calls from senior police chiefs for more cash to pay for additional officers – but the prime minister and chancellor Philip Hammond have so far rejected the demands.

Ms May announced plans for a knife crime summit after a number of deaths, including 17-year-olds Jodie Chesney, in London, and Yousef Ghaleb Makki, in Manchester, at the weekend.
The recent tragedies have sparked a heated debate over police numbers, which have dropped by more than 20,000 over the past decade.

“I’m not one for blaming the media or blaming music and drill videos or whatever, but culturally, there is a sense in which sometimes we are desensitised to violence,” Ms Abbott told The House magazine.

“I just think some young people, the video games they play, the stuff they see online, it may desensitise them to violence.

“I wouldn’t say that’s the main cause of violent crime, I would say the main causes are really economic and to do with what’s happening in the education system.”

She argued that violent and hardcore pornography was a contributing factor, particular with young children viewing extreme content online.

Credit: The Independent

 

[Husky]

Well gee, I'd take them seriously if only they offered a citation other than "I think."

 

[Fbh]

Thread title made me think there was an actual study or something. But of course it's just another politician talking shit based on what she "thinks" and "feels" as opposed to any actual evidence

 

[Spukc]

Porn+Vidya games = crime

News maker 3.2 seems pretty original so far.

 

[crowbrow]

Why only pornography then? Why not violent content in general? The fucking western prudish view of the world again. Violence is only bad when mixed with sex or video games it seems...

 

[Shai-Tan]

It's a nontroversy. The article itself has this sentence debunking her

However, last month a major study found no evidence to link violent games with real-world aggressive behaviour. The alleged connection “hasn’t tested very well over time”, University of Oxford researchers said.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Lmao, anything to avoid talking about the real causes.

 

[Whitesnake]

There is credit to the idea that exposure to certain kinds of media and certain areas of the internet may desensitize people to violence, death, or other shocking subjects.

The claim that still needs to be proven is that this desensitization leads to an increase in crime, or has some direct link to it.

Over the years I've seen a lot of things on the internet, and I've played plenty of violent games.. I'm subscribed to /r/watchpeopledie. Yet I've never even gotten in a physical fight since kindergarten, and I have no interesr in doing so. The most violent thing I've done is kill a garter snake.

 

[Northeastmonk]

It's a nontroversy. The article itself has this sentence debunking her

I guess all those Parental Control Settings aren't working either. They don't even have to "Click here if you're 18 or over". All they need to do is a Google image search.

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

Nobody consumes more hardcore pornography and video games that I do, and I'm a model citizen. Hell, I barely leave the house. There's not enough time, what with all the hardcore pornography and video games to enjoy.

 

[AnotherOne]

Total no sense... mental health is key issue.

 

[Shin]

Lmao, anything to avoid talking about the real causes.

And to leave a mark on history instead of looking at what their city actually needs.

 

[Quezacolt]

These people should stop trying to put the blame on everything, instead of just accepting that humans can be awful beings. We didn't have videogames or porn centuries ago, and humans were still killing each others, starting wars, raping, etc... I played violent games for decades, also watched lots of violent movies, and you know, watch porn sometimes, and you know, kst people don't even believe when i say i can be get angry. They should blame the lack of education or even the places of where people might live, those are the biggest reasons, besides, you know, someone being really crazy.

 

[The Alien]

With all the time spent playing video games and jerking to porn, who's got time for violent crime?

 

[Gavin Stevens]

Strange how I grew up in a time where Arnie would snap necks and throw saw blades into peoples chests, where horror films were all about gore, and where doom was like nothing else on the planet... and i grew up fine.

Yet there’s kids out there who only know modern day horror films, and shit like Fortnite, who are going around stabbing people...

Really weird that...

 

[onQ123]

So what video game & porn was Jack The Ripper playing before he started killing people?

 

[danielberg]

Dumbfuck new age jack thompsons using video games again to get their name recognition and pr out there.

 

[Endless Fluff]

Well, porn and violent games haven't desensitized me and I don't think that fictional media desensitizes someone so much that he can shrug everything off.

If it's real stuff, then I'd say they have a point? Like... man, the shit you can watch on some websites (like ISIS beheadings, they're downright butchering people there) might have an impact on you if you are a kid, or mentally ill and it's scary how easy it is to find and access all that stuff.

 

[gunslikewhoa]

What a stupid title.

 

[llien]

At the same time, actual violence in media is not a problem whatsoever.
Go figure.

"I have no data to support it, but I feel it is contributing!"... "and since it is so easy to get people alarmed throwing words 'kids' and 'porn' around, I am likely to succeed!"

 

[ThatStupidLion]

I dont agree with the correlation.

i also dont think 8 year olds should be able to access hardcore porn.

Theres a difference between forest stashed magazine pictures of titties & beavers versus having access to unlimited videos of vulgar and hardcore porn. An 8 yr old wont know that its fake and acting, nor will they know that “mother teaches daughter and son” is just a bologna label.

As a new parent i finally understand what parental controls are for.

 

[Shai-Tan]

There is credit to the idea that exposure to certain kinds of media and certain areas of the internet may desensitize people to violence, death, or other shocking subjects.

The claim that still needs to be proven is that this desensitization leads to an increase in crime, or has some direct link to it.

Over the years I've seen a lot of things on the internet, and I've played plenty of violent games.. I'm subscribed to /r/watchpeopledie. Yet I've never even gotten in a physical fight since kindergarten, and I have no interesr in doing so. The most violent thing I've done is kill a garter snake.

I think there is merit that watching real violence could cause desensitization but we shouldn't assume an equivalence with media violence that is more like play fighting that all mammals do. Steven Pinker's The Better Angel's of Our Nature suggests violence is a means for people to get what they want, not some innate drive that might be unleashed with exposure. There will be lower levels of violence if society is set up to prevent exploitation, to reliably punish bad behavior, to encourage respect for others and one self, with incentives in favor of legal economic activity. I'd recommend watching one of the many talks he did in promotion for that book.

 

[pawel86ck]

However, last month a major study found no evidence to link violent games with real-world aggressive behaviour. The alleged connection “hasn’t tested very well over time”, University of Oxford researchers said.

Studies aside I have my own eyes and I can clearly see there is indeed a correlation between games and people behavior. For some strange reason average gamer is angry person, who complain and hate other people for really absurd reasons. Even kids now behave differently compared to my generation. Kids arnt as social as they used to be, they prefer to stay at home and play games on ipods or phones when they should socialize with other kids and play normal sport games. Many adults now dont know how to talk to people, they have no real friends although many have 500+ friends over facebook. It wasnt like that 20 years ago, life was different.

 

[Grieves]

Has Diane Abbott ever got anything right?

 

[Breakage]

She'll say anything to take the spotlight off London's black community and its violent crime problem.

She'll never talk about the influence of this stuff:


Literally boasting about gunning people down among other things, but no the uptick in violence has nothing to do with black gangsta culture.

 

[Simply_Bry]

Just like hardcore porn and video games also caused the two World Wars and the Coliseum fights?

 

[Dunki]

Studies aside I have my own eyes and I can clearly see there is indeed a correlation between games and people behavior. For some strange reason average gamer is angry person, who complain and hate other people for really absurd reasons. Even kids now behave differently compared to my generation. Kids arnt as social as they used to be, they prefer to stay at home and play games on ipods or phones when they should socialize with other kids and play normal sport games. Many adults now dont know how to talk to people, they have no real friends although many have 500+ friends over facebook. It wasnt like that 20 years ago, life was different.

But his has to do with social media and games in general not certain genres of videogames.

Violent video games do not make you violent
sexist video games do not make yo sexist.

 

[ShdwDrake]

Online gaming is toxic af so I can believe it.

 

[Whitecrow]

Online gaming is toxic af so I can believe it.

Oh come on. Games doesnt bring any toxicity that cant be alleviated by smacking your desk....

 

[Shai-Tan]

Online gaming is toxic af so I can believe it.

Substitute "toxic" for "lax morals" and it fits every moral panic about the behavior of youth from rock music to comic books. The greeks were complaining about youth subculture thousands of years ago. Socrates was put to death for corrupting the young.

edit: to put it a different way. even if "gamer culture" is toxic over and above normal youth rebellion and transgression, there isn't evidence this is dispositional or translates to other domains. i.e. behavior is sensitive to environmental conditions (not surprising absence of sanctions enables acting badly with impunity)

 

[lukilladog]

What a load of crap, you can put all the COD champions in the middle of some real conflict with guns and they will freak out in the same proportion as any group of persons do, guaranteed.

 

[Oemenia]

Gamers, like men, are just the worst.

 

[ShdwDrake]

Substitute "toxic" for "lax morals" and it fits every moral panic about the behavior of youth from rock music to comic books. The greeks were complaining about youth subculture thousands of years ago. Socrates was put to death for corrupting the young.

edit: to put it a different way. even if "gamer culture" is toxic over and above normal youth rebellion and transgression, there isn't evidence this is dispositional or translates to other domains. i.e. behavior is sensitive to environmental conditions (not surprising absence of sanctions enables acting badly with impunity)

Toxicity implies more than a lack of morals. And gaming is much more than 'youth culture'.

 

[Dthomp]

Came for the hardcore porn, leaving unfinished.

 

[Shakka43]

Ahh Gaming, the good ol' scapegoat for poor parenting.

 

[Kagero]

I'm a priest and I'm a heavy consumer of both, so not true.


Wait, actually.....

 

[Salvatron]

People who push this lie should be voted out of politics. The vicarious experience of X ≠ The actual experience of Y.

ex:
The vicarious experience of watching Saving Private Ryan ≠ The actual experience of storming Normandy Beach on D-Day.

 

[cireza]

Violence in every media on earth not to blame for surge in violent crime.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Art imitates life. Not the other way around.

 

[Solo Act]

I'm not agreeing with Diane Abbot. Let me make that as clear as possible.

That said, there is a growing desensitization happening around the modern world, and I don't understand people who deny it. I'm not specifically blaming video games, comic books, movies, television news or whatever else; it's more of a combination in my mind. I believe that reading an article like this and reacting in such a way that implies "someone taking my games away" is your biggest concern is immature.

I have served in the military. I have seen things that I assumed would have horrified me. Instead, I remember calmly feeling like I had seen it quite a few times before in different forms of multimedia. To those of you writing that those feelings do not happen, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Shai-Tan]

I'm not agreeing with Diane Abbot. Let me make that as clear as possible.

That said, there is a growing desensitization happening around the modern world, and I don't understand people who deny it. I'm not specifically blaming video games, comic books, movies, television news or whatever else; it's more of a combination in my mind. I believe that reading an article like this and reacting in such a way that implies "someone taking my games away" is your biggest concern is immature.

I have served in the military. I have seen things that I assumed would have horrified me. Instead, I remember calmly feeling like I had seen it quite a few times before in different forms of multimedia. To those of you writing that those feelings do not happen, I don't know what to tell you.

Consider that there's an inference in there about causality. Several studies have not shown such a connection, including studies using physiological measures. I can remember videos I have seen from many years ago due to being disturbed for weeks or more after seeing them and I have never had a similar response to virtual violence outside of maybe I saw the Devil and that was more feeling gross with it taking the serial killers perspective.

edit: I wanted to add that I'm not trying to discount your experience and it's probably common to feel like what's happening is not real or depersonalized but you seem to have received the most important element which is the moral weight of violence