Posted July 31, 2019
The longer answer: The human is a very aggressive and territorial species of animal- specifically a primate and like most primates is also tribal. What humans do, the violence and aggression, is perfectly natural and goes back to the instincts required for early survival. The great torment for the human is that our intellect has far outstripped the natural evolution of our base instincts. Intellect cannot be overcome instinct at a species level. Modern social disorders, like pacifism, go completely against everything instinctive. Suppress the instincts of any animal and all you do is make it even more aggressive.
So the Romans came up with blood sports and the Greeks came up with the Olympics, as early attempts to manage aggression and stop wide spread social problems for an increasingly bored- yet still very dangerous animal. It gave people an outlet for their aggression and the spectators a team for their tribalism. Modern sports do the same thing, it gives us something safer as an outlet, all with rules and medical help on standby.
Video games are another modern form. Violent games do not make us more violent, we are that already. They give us an outlet, and make it that much less likely we'll go down to the Pub and start a brawl and glass people. Everyone jumps on the hype train and blames Doom for two kids walking a school and opening fire. But no one ever mentioned the other countless millions that played Doom and did not walk into a school and shoot it up.
Yes, video games like many other things, are types of social control that can be used to keep our base instincts relatively in check. But if you're having fun, who cares?
