Violence in Video Games
polycounter lvl 17
What do you think when violence in video games is brought up in a conversation? Grand Theft Auto? M for Mature? Real life violence that is said to be caused by the violence in games? I think that none of that really matters. Now before you start getting suspicious or cautious, I have something that is not black or white with the opinions of games such as Grand Theft Auto and the sort. Why have they been driven to such things with video games? I believe it is because they have <u>not</u> been taught to distinguish realism from reality. No matter how violent the games are, there is one thing that separates it from real violence. IT ISN'T REAL. Yet, because many children have not been taught to distinguish the two opposites, they have a higher likeliness of becoming what the game is. If we teach them what differences there are, which there are almost an infinite amount, they may start to realize that you can not hijack a Banshee and buy an Uzi at Ammu-Nation. If they know what will happen in real life compared to the game, they will start to figure out how far apart the virtual and the real world really are. Think about it. If they know what will happen in real life, that will almost undoubtedly prevent any misconceptions of how life may work and be a much more rational person as life goes on, learning how things really work. Even though you may think children are already aware of this, there's a pretty fair chance they may be becoming desensitized, which is drastically different to mental awareness of the world and how it goes. I have been putting a lot of thought into this, and I would prefer you leave any thoughts you have about this.
P. S. - Yes. I have returned.
P. S. - Yes. I have returned.
Replies
There is a very large gap between your feelings when playing a video game and your feelings when you aren't playing a video game. When you play video games your mindset is on a goal system. Do this because fire melts ice, kill him because he is in your way. No consequences, no fear. In real life there are always consequences. Depending on if you are caught by the law, or even guilt, violence in real life will stay with you while vg violence goes away as soon as you hit the power button.
you realize i am just 13, right?
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that explains so much...
grow up.
People who are already severely mentally unbalanced are the only ones who fail to make the distinction between real life and the media. In my experience, the vast majority of children (and adults) do not fall into this category.
"I am probably the only 13 year old who listens to Bjork, Pink Floyd, and Emerson Lake and Palmer while playing Midnight Club 3."
I mean, come on. Nobody actually plays Midnight Club
I mean, come on. Nobody actually plays Midnight Club
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I don't think anyone actually listens to Bjork, either :P
I'm 19 years old with a great job, I'm going to college, I have a girlfriend, and I'm a nice guy.
Correlation does not imply causality!!!!!
and yes everything you heard about violent video games is true, scientists have recently discovered that violent video games cause cancer, baldness and less frequent erections.
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I mean, come on. Nobody actually plays Midnight Club
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I don't think anyone actually listens to Bjork, either :P
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I do!
...when my girlfriend makes me.
or that's the excuse I'm going with
The ratings system should bridge that gap, as much as it needs to, by clueing parents and non-gamers in to what audience a given game is intended for. If parents understood that not all games are intended for their 6-year-old, there might not be so much grief from "family interest" groups. I think half the moaning over violence in games comes from people who don't grasp this -- who think, maybe based on the presence of the word "game" itself, that all videogames are intended to be casual family fun.
what do the rest of you think?
r.
and yes everything you heard about violent video games is true, scientists have recently discovered that violent video games cause cancer, baldness and less frequent erections.
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Damn, damn, damn.
My cousin is a great example. He´d chop my head off with a machete if he had one... good times good times...
You see, it is just a pure logic problem.
"try to take away a wow-player from his game and he will kill you."
quoted for agreement... you actually see the evil on their eyes
that Mean disturbed people, like videogames as much as us normal people.
Its up to society to label these people as such, before they do any damage.
Personally I don't like violent games for the sake of it, but still play the odd violent game like gta or gears of war, but the violence is just 'part' of the experience.The game has to be fun too.
With kids and such a parent has to use common sense on this issue, like with films.
Kids have always enjoyed violent games and I am sure this will not change anytime soon.
It's up to the parents to decide what is suitable for their kids to play and enforce their own codes of morality.
Honestly, this discussion is like soo last year...
[/valley girl accent]
Parents need to be parents and not let their children run wild. They need to teach them the world has boundaries not bumpers and they need to make sure they are ready to play watch and read certain types of media. As for the industry being responsible, all we can do is give suggestions to parents via the rating system. If they choose to ignore it then they have only themselves to blame.
Rather, video games are there to be a scapegoat because the idea of a kid getting the idea to kill someone from Grand Theft Auto is believable. Logic would suggest to those who aren't avid gamers that watching someone getting killed in real life, and watching a character getting killed in a video game are one in the same. They're not. They're completely different.
See, human beings are one of the few species that can express what we call empathy. The ability to share hurting emotions with another person. Sympathy, essentially, if a bit deeper than that. We have been taught all our lives that video games are not real, and therefore, we do not feel empathy towards video game characters.
It has nothing to do with whether or not the lines between reality and fiction have been blurred. The person doing the murdering or raping or whatever knows full well what they're doing. For whatever reason, they do not feel empathy. They don't think of it like a video game. It's not like playing Grand Theft Auto, where there are no repercussions. It's that they just don't care because they're fucked in the head, to put it bluntly.
I'm sure someone else has already explained what I just said in much fewer words, but there you go. That's my two cents.