In a previous post about whether or not child sex bots should be banned many posters said that they should be banned. The recurring justification for the ban is that it contributes to criminal sexual urges against children. As a counter argument I brought up the example of violent video games and mentioned that if these sex bots can be banned as a way to regulate the thinking patterns of pedophiles then it could set a precedent and that the argument being used is logically the same argument people use to ban violent video games or pornography.
In the discussion I asked if anyone could cite a single scientific study in support of the ban? In addition I cited the study on violent video games which proved:
The psychological questionnaire revealed no differences in measures of aggression and empathy between gamers and non-gamers. This finding was backed up by the fMRI data, which demonstrated that both gamers and non-gamers had similar neural responses to the emotionally provocative images. These results surprised the researchers, as they were contrary to their initial hypothesis, and suggest that any negative effects of violent video games on perception or behavior may be short-lived.
Violent video games found not to affect empathy
Playing violent video games is proven not to affect empathy. A person can kill innocent people all day in their fantasy world and there is no evidence which shows it will turn them into a psychopath in the real world. So it seems a person can behave as a psychopath in the game but this according to the study has no impact on their empathy in the real world.
I would say that there could be games which are more dangerous than others where the lines are perhaps blurred, but this study applies specifically to video games and so the result narrowly should be applied to that example.
Should violent video games be banned?
References
Frontiers. (2017, March 8). Violent video games found not to affect empathy: Study finds no link between long-term playing of violent video games and changes in empathetic neural responses. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 6, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308081057.htm