In 2006, an 18-year-old named Devin Moore was arrested in Alabama on suspicion of car theft. The police officers brought him into the station and started booking him without any trouble. Minutes later, Moore attacked one police officer, stole his gun, shot him and another officer and then fled down the hall and shot a 9-1-1 dispatcher in the head. He then grabbed a set of car keys on his way out the back door, got in a police car and drove away.
The basic claim in the video-game controversy is that video games are even more likely to affect people's behaviour than TV because they're immersive. People don't just watch video games; they interact with them. The games are also repetitive and based on a rewards system.
Moore had no criminal history. According to the lawsuit filed against video game companies after the incident, Moore had been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto before the killings [source: CBS News]. At least on the surface, the connection between Moore's game play and his real actions is logical: In "Grand Theft Auto," players steal cars and kill cops.
In my opinion, I feel that Grand Theft Auto should be blamed for causing this type of behaviour, but only because Devin Moore had no criminal history prior to this event. I agree with the article where it says that these games are based on a rewards system, where players are rewarded for committing illegal acts. Out of the three theories i have studied, i feel that this example fits into the hypodermic needle model. The game has taught Devin Moore that he will be rewarded if he were to steal and car and then kill a 9-1-1 dispatcher, as well as shooting two officers, when this isn't the case. This is just one of many examples where people have copied Grant Theft Auto, which promotes prostitution, drugs, gangs and violence, and have taken what goes on in this game into real life.
Good application of theories, Tom.
ReplyDeleteHow about the uses and gratifications model, however? Many people play computer games and are not affected to such extremes.
I agree, the uses and gratifications model argues 'what we do with the media' rather than 'what the media does to us'. This case study argues what the media does to us, such as causing s to act in a violent manner. Instead it is important that gamers understand 'what we do with the media', and whether we should in fact understand that games aren't as important as this person is making out, and we shouldn't let them take over out lives.
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