Violent Video Games and Crime

IF 0.4 4区经济学 Q4 COMMUNICATION

JOURNAL OF MEDIA ECONOMICS Pub Date : 2020-10-01 DOI:10.1080/08997764.2021.2008409

Joost Impink, P. Kielty, Han Stice, Roger White

{"title":"Violent Video Games and Crime","authors":"Joost Impink, P. Kielty, Han Stice, Roger White","doi":"10.1080/08997764.2021.2008409","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study examines the change in crime observed in the weeks following the release (exogenous shocks to video game play) of top-selling video games between 2006 and 2011. We find that the release of violent (Mature-rated) video games is associated with an increase in overall crime in the weeks following release. Crime increases for both youth and adults following blockbuster Mature-rated releases, but the increase in crime among youth is approximately four times greater (8%) than the increase among adults (2%). Conversely, we find that the release of best-selling nonviolent (Everyone-rated) video games is not associated with a change in crime in the weeks directly following the release. Our results suggest that the release of violent video games increases crime in the United States, at least in the short-term, especially among the under-17 population for whom Mature-rated games are explicitly labeled as not “suitable.” Interestingly, our results are completely moderated in U.S. counties that forbid alcohol sales, which suggests that alcohol is a necessary channel through which exposure to violent video games contributes to crime.","PeriodicalId":29945,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF MEDIA ECONOMICS","volume":"33 1","pages":"49 - 73"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF MEDIA ECONOMICS","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2021.2008409","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the change in crime observed in the weeks following the release (exogenous shocks to video game play) of top-selling video games between 2006 and 2011. We find that the release of violent (Mature-rated) video games is associated with an increase in overall crime in the weeks following release. Crime increases for both youth and adults following blockbuster Mature-rated releases, but the increase in crime among youth is approximately four times greater (8%) than the increase among adults (2%). Conversely, we find that the release of best-selling nonviolent (Everyone-rated) video games is not associated with a change in crime in the weeks directly following the release. Our results suggest that the release of violent video games increases crime in the United States, at least in the short-term, especially among the under-17 population for whom Mature-rated games are explicitly labeled as not “suitable.” Interestingly, our results are completely moderated in U.S. counties that forbid alcohol sales, which suggests that alcohol is a necessary channel through which exposure to violent video games contributes to crime.

查看原文本刊更多论文

暴力电子游戏与犯罪

摘要本研究考察了2006年至2011年间畅销电子游戏发布后几周内犯罪率的变化。我们发现，暴力（成熟级）电子游戏的发布与发布后几周内整体犯罪率的增加有关。大片《成熟》上映后，青少年和成年人的犯罪率都有所上升，但青少年犯罪率的上升幅度（8%）大约是成年人犯罪率上升幅度（2%）的四倍。相反，我们发现最畅销的非暴力（Everyone分级）电子游戏的发布与发布后几周内犯罪率的变化无关。我们的研究结果表明，暴力视频游戏的发布增加了美国的犯罪率，至少在短期内是这样，尤其是在17岁以下的人群中，成熟级游戏被明确标记为不“适合”。有趣的是，我们的研究结果在禁止酒类销售的美国县完全得到了控制，这表明酒精是接触暴力电子游戏导致犯罪的必要渠道。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

JOURNAL OF MEDIA ECONOMICS Multiple-

CiteScore

0.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Media Economics publishes original research on the economics and policy of mediated communication, focusing on firms, markets, and institutions. Reflecting the increasing diversity of analytical approaches employed in economics and recognizing that policies promoting social and political objectives may have significant economic impacts on media, the Journal encourages submissions reflecting the insights of diverse disciplinary perspectives and research methodologies, both empirical and theoretical.