Violent Games were Around Long Before Atari

Long before Lara Croft was digging her way through ancient tombs or Mario was trying to rescue his princess, violent games existed. They just were not video games. Instead, children often played cops and robbers, shot each other with water pistols, and sent toy soldiers into combat to kill each other. But why weren’t these considered violent?

Some would say that these non-video games are also violent. Kids used to love shooting each other with water guns, and, today, paintball guns seem to have replaced them as the fake weaponry of choice. These toys (well, paintball guns may not qualify as toys) are much less blamed as the origin of violent behaviour. But, surely taking a paintball gun, aiming it at someone, and firing it is just as violent as controlling a fake character. The case could be made that it is even worse.

However, no one ever questions the fake police outfits, sheriff outfits, and science-fiction toys that include plastic guns. Likewise, for whatever reason, punching a button to make Lara Croft shoot someone is worse than taking a G.I. Joe toy, putting a little plastic gun in its hand, and pointing that gun at another toy while making “pew, pew” noises.

Can it be proven that toys cause violent or unacceptable social behaviour? Who knows what is true?! Certainly, the studies that show video games cause violence are not very conclusive. If anyone has studied violent toys, chances are the results were pretty similar. There are so many factors that contribute to teens’ behaviour that it may be impossible to ever really know what causes social behaviour problems.