Violence and Video Games.

Interesting statement…

Jestor wrote: Don't want your kid lashing out? Teach control...

Can you “teach” control, or can you just provide opportunities for your children to learn it and help them as they stumble?

Wescli Wardest wrote: Interesting statement…

Jestor wrote: Don't want your kid lashing out? Teach control...

Can you “teach” control, or can you just provide opportunities for your children to learn it and help them as they stumble?

Touché sir....

It seems that most of the people that have posted replies feel that the violence in the game itself isn’t the issue, but how the violence is interpreted. And how much time a younger person spends playing without “guidance?” Is that right?

Then, should game manufactures be forced to create games that will not have ill effects on the lowest denominator if that is the case?

Isn’t that the role of our governing body; to “dumb” things down so that we don’t hurt ourselves or endanger others?

PS: I am playing Devils Advocate.

In reply to wes' devils advocate post, agreed that it is lack of parental guidance that it is the factor here. Think back to the times before games, if you arre old enough like me. Kids still played cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, had occassional dustups with each other and whatnot. Kids always play violent games, always have and until society radically changes, always will.

This society is violence prone. The number one offender is your government, in the form of this massively bloated military that we send abroad to 'fight for freedom'. Or stateside, you can see it in the form of the cops on the beat, armed with (saw one a bit ago) 9mm pistol, tazer, hanedcuffs, baton, pepper spray. These are not here to serve and protect. These are vioolent weapkns all, a recognition that this society is violent, and so cops prepare for force in kind.

This is a violent society. Has been since Columbus landed here and started jkilling or enslaving everyone he saw. To pretend that this is NOT a violent society is fuzzy headed wishful thinking at best.

So video games have grown to reflect this and correlate witht this fact. There is little causation, especially when there is prper guidance from others, usually parental figures.

Jestor wrote: Dressing up like a girl when I played dress up didnt make me a cross dresser... Nor gay, not confused, not trans gendered... Didnt make me feel bad for being a man, and that being a woman is sexy... (Cause I couldnt pull off sexiness? lol)

aaack someone please burn that nightmarish image from my mind :sick:

jestor how could you...there are innocent minds lurking about :laugh:

As pointless as blaming the novel "The Little Mermaid" and censoring it. Apparently made little girls not want to respect their fathers.

rugadd wrote: As pointless as blaming the novel "The Little Mermaid" and censoring it. Apparently made little girls not want to respect their fathers.

This makes me wonder about the rise in single mothers then, should we blame snow white ?? single woman, lots of little folks around her

Personally I'm looking forward to reading the previously unreleased autobiography title Walt Disney - "How I Ruined Social Morals Using Cartoons"

Wescli Wardest wrote: It seems that most of the people that have posted replies feel that the violence in the game itself isn’t the issue, but how the violence is interpreted. And how much time a younger person spends playing without “guidance?” Is that right?

Then, should game manufactures be forced to create games that will not have ill effects on the lowest denominator if that is the case?

Isn’t that the role of our governing body; to “dumb” things down so that we don’t hurt ourselves or endanger others?

PS: I am playing Devils Advocate.

As Des pointed out earlier, we are currently (ironically) living through the most peaceful period in human history. It is well documented that despite increased media coverage, violent crime is and has been on the decrease for many years. I don’t believe that game makers should have to adjust their product, but I think people (and parents!) need to be aware of the potential impact of what we consume and use it responsibly. There are far more influences on people that become violent than just a video game, and I would also put my money on the lack of parental involvement in conjunction with pre-existing mental health issues.

It’s the same argument with young women and beauty magazines. We know for an absolute fact that reading them decreases self esteem and raises the risk factor for developing negative body image and eating disorders. Should they be banned? No, partially because it is not the only factor involved, but also because the people reading them need to be aware of potential negative effects and take responsibility for that exposure.

Brenna wrote: Playing mahjong or suduku helps us develop better pattern recognition skills. Strategy games help us to learn to think strategically. Is it such a stretch to think that playing violent games develops our ability to be violent? After all, humans learn first and foremost though play.

There is no evidence to support this view. Playing 'brain training' games regularly has not shown an increase in ability outside of those games. Playing them regularly simply increases how good you are at that specific game rather than actually increasing your IQ...

If you were to commit yourself to 'brain training' then the very act of committing yourself increases how well you will perform outside of it because you are trying to do better outside of that game... Rather than the game itself having the effect... it's a 'post hoc ergo propter hoc' situation...

Whyte Horse wrote: yes, violent games breed violent individuals. I think the real reason we are having trouble linking violence to video games is because there is big money behind the game-makers.

I find your accusations baseless. You cannot use the absence of evidence as evidence to support your point.

I play violent video games but I don't kill people while I play those games. Even games where the objective is to kill people, I'm still not killing them... I'm doing what I need to do to win, I don't view it as causing death upon others, I am there to score points and secure objectives...

One cannot call what I think disassociation, because I don't even associate it as being the same thing to begin with! I, like the vast majority of video game players, are capable of making this distinction such that I don't go on a daily rampage and murder innocent civilians...

Of all the things that could be changed to improve the lives of younger people, I don't think altering the graphical content of some video games should be at the forefront of one's concerns... Note: better parenting...

I play the game EVE Online. There is no graphical killing in that game but it teaches/forces you to be far more ruthless and involved than any other game I know of... That would be far more damning than any amount of blood you can throw at a screen...

If you stop violent games then you also stop comedic genius:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USBnIopJk8o

Akkarin wrote: There is no evidence to support this view. Playing 'brain training' games regularly has not shown an increase in ability outside of those games. Playing them regularly simply increases how good you are at that specific game rather than actually increasing your IQ...

Sadly yes,there is an absence of controlled research to support it, there are however several compelling studies (and a huge amount of ancidotal evidence)on chess players in particular, that do support the theory that certain types of mental stimulation increases memory, focus, the ability to strategise and recognise patterns. (but of course now that Im looking for them I cant find them! Please hold callers...)