(I DO HOPE THIS IS IN THE RIGHT FORUM) Now, I do have my opinion on this topic, but I wanna know what you think. Do video games cause the gamer to emulate what goes on in the game? My answer: No. 

When I had a babysitter when I was 10, I was miserable. She was a 52-year-old woman that was very strict. Not only was she incredibly illogical, but she was very strict about what video games I played. She says it's because American mothers don't want their kids with guns, etc. I couldn't play all my favorite games such as Ninja Gaiden (Yeah, the NES version, not the violent XBOX edition), Double Dragon, Contra especially, SimCity, Street Fighter, Commando, Galaga, and even more. She was super strict. One reason was because she thought I would copy what goes on in the games. Ninja Gaiden, you're using a sword to slice and dice enemies, in Double Dragon, you beat up people, in Contra, you're in a war, in SimCity, stuff can happen in your town like Bowser attacks, floods, earthquakes, twisters, fires, and crime alert, which is why she hated SimCity. In Street Fighter, you fight, in Commando, you shoot and you're in a war, and in Galaga, well it's basically Space Invaders, except the screen moves. 

Now, it's rare for people to copy the game. When somebody commits murder, it's not about him playing Call of Duty, but how he was influenced in his lifetime overall. I play Street Fighter a LOT, and I'm no world champion Jamaican kick-boxer. That, you can't do in real life. In Grand Theft Auto, the events in that game are possible, but it would be hard to convince the player to actually want to do that. If a gamer emulates what you do in that game, it's not because of the game. The video games are just the apples on the tree. It all starts on how the person was treated, influenced, etc, in his life. If someone's a peace-loving person, they may play Mario, Crash Bandicoot, and whatnot. If I like doing violent things or like witnessing violence, then I'd want to play something like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. It's us who decide on what games we enjoy. The game has nothing to do with it.


Well, this is my opinion at least. Do you agree with me? Why or why not? 

I agree with you. That would be a no because video games would not influence some on to go and commit crimes. At most maybe minor crimes.

I definitely agree with you as well.

Video games are known to be fake and created for the sake of entertainment or in other words, one can do whatever one can do depending on the video game. Influence won't play much into a one's life unless one cannot tell from right and wrong, has bad life experience, or if one is really young which causes them to imitate them. We all have different interests in certain games but that necessarily doesn't mean it will definitely a person into that gaming environment and lifestyle.
As long as one can tell the difference between right and wrong, I see no harm in playing certain games. That's a biased comment and ideology that your babysitter had because games like Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Skyrim, and etc are very popular and you don't see the whole society going off to kill each other due to video games.

If I had that babysitter I would have waved my copy of Doom Collector's Edition at her. She'd be so scared that she would be like "OKAY OKAY PLAY YOU CAN PLAY THAT GAME JUST GET IT AWAY FROM ME." Besides, that babysitter does not have the right of controlling what games I can and cannot play. That would be up to me, as a person.

And SimCity and Galaga being not allowed to play? I think your former babysitter might have been a little crazy and extremely paranoid. SimCity is a city simulation and Galaga is extremely inoffensive.

I've heard of a couple people who have become more agressive because of playing call of duty or such but the real reason behind this is not the violence in the game itself but the toxic community that it contains. As I gamer and friend of many gamers I see this as untrue I play Assasin's Creed and I don't go around making brotherhoods with my friends to kill people if "required". A video game is something you choose to play to have a fun time not something you choose to follow or "emulate" at least that is my opinion. 

No I do not, the reason why people have that notion is due to them not being fully informed on video games. They get their information from "legacy media" (TV, newsprint, etc.) which is dying. 

I don't think so, mainly because, how would they explain the violence that happened before there were any video games? Most people that play games and then do something like murder people, probably already had something wrong in their brain, and they were always capable of murder. The video games were just the trigger that made it happen, which could happen with movies or television.