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I know these days, whenever young people or teens do something bad, parents and the media blame the video games for their problems. I mean, why do video games have to be blamed fro all the violence for the younger generation?
Video games are one of a variety of influences such as the breakdown of the family, factors in the broader community etc. The more realistic a video game is, the more it contributes through desensitizing and training. When you get to the virtual reality type games, it is not much different from the training that the government provides people like the police, FBI, etc. The kid that shot people in the school in Paducah, KY shot more effectively than anyone in the FBI has done on a case. It may not be the games that made him do it, but I'm sure they contributed to him being so deadly.
My generation played cowboys and Indians with cap pistols and BB guns in a real outdoor environment. This was pretty realistic play. BTW this was the pre paintball era and way before video games were even dreamed of.
Our generation was not lacking in the violent games department. Dodge ball can rapidly tell you who your friends are.
My generation played cowboys and Indians with cap pistols and BB guns in a real outdoor environment. This was pretty realistic play. BTW this was the pre paintball era and way before video games were even dreamed of.
Our generation was not lacking in the violent games department. Dodge ball can rapidly tell you who your friends are.
For an interesting view on it, I would suggest reading On Killing by Dave Grossman.
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Originally Posted by NewToCA
Probably because it is a significant and real problem:
Myths and Facts
Myth 1. Violent video game research has yielded very mixed results.
Facts: Some studies have yielded nonsignificant video game effects, just as some smoking studies failed to find a significant link to lung cancer. But when one combines all relevant empirical studies using meta-analytic techniques, five separate effects emerge with considerable consistency. Violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behavior. Average effect sizes for experimental studies (which help establish causality) and correlational studies (which allow examination of serious violent behavior) appear comparable.
Myth 9. The effects of violent video games are trivially small.
Facts: Meta-analyses reveal that violent video game effect sizes are larger than the effect of second hand tobacco smoke on lung cancer, the effect of lead exposure to I.Q. scores in children, and calcium intake on bone mass. Furthermore, the fact that so many youths are exposed to such high levels of video game violence further increases the societal costs of this risk factor.
I would like to add a little to this discussion if I may. For those of you who would be interested, There is a book out there written by Lt. Col. David Grossman. The name of the Book is "On Killing".
In this book, Ltc. Grossman did an extensive study on many different types of warriors engaged in different forms of combat and theaters of operation. During his study, he discovered that there were a great many soldiers that would not take another humans life even when faced with the very real possibility of they themselves dying. The book chronicles warfare from a soldiers perspective as he has several case studies and interviews with soldiers involved in combat operations. If memory serves me correctly (The brain Box isnt as sharp as it used to be), there is a section in the book that articulated technology very early on as a way of desensitizing our troops to this aversion to kill. This was done by war games, violent images and constant drilling.
According to Ltc. Grossman, there may be a direct link to violence in todays society and the video games that our children are being exposed to. I am not saying this is or isnt the case here, but some excellent points are made.
The most obvious fact is the amount of bloodshed and violence in the games specifically designated for mature audiences. These games openly promote conflict resolution with violence and reward the player with glory, fame, and bigger and better weapons. Understand that these games are geared for adults because of that very fact. A young impressionable mind with nothing to do, no outlet in which to vent his frustrations can easily become immersed in this type of activity. We have seen it time and time again.....dont believe me, just look at the news.
Ltc. Grossman also made the point that the "Run and Gun" video games not only desensitize the player to violence, but also teach hand eye coordination, trigger control, and leading the target. Skills most police officers on the street learn in basic academies and shooting schools and courses.
Are parents to blame? I'd have to say yes and no. Yes because they oftentimes seem so wrapped up in day to day things that the last thing they want to do is go and play catch or throw the football around for awhile. When this happens these games bcome the surrogate, keeping junior occupied and quiet.
Where I dont think they are at fault is that they mean well. Sometimes they feel like they are showing thier love for the child by conceding and giving in, letting the child have the video game. Nonetheless, the "M" for mature is on the package for a reason.
Are video games soley responsible for a childs behavior? No. In my humble opinion it is one of the main ingredients for violent behavior, but by itself is not the root cause. Would I have violent video games in my household? No I would not. I think the most violent game I have is Mario Brothers (My age is showing sorry).
Nonetheless, studies will have to be done, and lets face it. If you want violence and bloodshed, all you have to do is turn on the evening news.
Your previous point was to blame the parents, but they didn't kill either.
It's more complex than finding one thing to blame.
However, they possibly didn't educate their children right. You are correct, though. The situation is very complex, but videogames cannot be blamed until everyone who picked up or picks up DOOM murders someone.
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