Note- I'm no good with BBcodes, and I don't have photobucket or whatever it is, and I don't have emoji, so I'm gonna keep it simple. Disclaimer- I didn't come up with this. Devouring said I could. Now let's talk turkey- Do video games make kids violent? My opinion- It depends. I played a little COD and whatnot, and I never had many issues. (At least not murderous tendencies), and my brothers who played it never killed me. No. 1 was always aggressive, but he was only REALLY mad when he had some side effects with his meds. But, however, I always played more strategy games (Civ, business sims, etc.). But if someone had a psychological problem, or they had a bad circumstance, a game where you go around and shoot a bad guy to win the level or whatever might be a problem. I think I remember one video game with a level called "No Russians" that involves the "good guy" and I use that term lightly here, shoots up an airport full of unarmed civilians. If someone, let's call him Bob, had a bunch of anger issues, his father kept telling him how cool those guys are on COD or Halo or whatever, and he played that "No Russians" level, that might be dangerous. Now, one or two of those things may not be enough to cause that outburst, but a those might cause the next Columbine. No offense to the Columbine folks, btw. Just thinking off the top of my head for a big school shooting. Am I excusing the actions of Bob? Not at all. I'm saying we need to punish the criminal, and then we take a look at the causes so we can prevent another one. (I know that there are a few folks who want to bring gun control into this, but now is not the time nor the place. Right now, we're talking video games, ok folks? We can talk guns, germs, and steel another time, but right now, let's do video games). I think it should be up to the parents to decide what media their kids have access to. For example, there were two girls a while ago who killed some other girl to please Slenderman. (I think it was Slenderman, but I have a fuzzy memory). Is it all the parent's fault? Of course not. Should they have been more careful about their daughters? Of course. Am I saying that everyone who shoots up a school or something like that is a nutcase? No, but it's safe to assume, at least in my opinion, that they have something wrong in the cauliflower. Those girls were in the wrong when they tried to kill her. (Again, I don't know the specifics, all I know is that two middle-school girls killed another girl to appease a fictional character.). I know a few think I'm taking away the responsibility of the criminals. I'm not. It's still their mostly their fault, and they should be punished. But I'm off topic here. Here's what I want to say- people have been fighting and killing each other since someone Cain bashed Abel's head in with a rock. (For those who don't know, Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's two sons. Cain was a farmer. Abel was a herder. They both made a sacrifice to God. Cain gave some watermelons and whatnot and he burned them as a sacrifice. Abel, however, gave God a fat lamb. Abel gave a sacrifice that took away more of what he lived off of, because a farmer can reforge melons, but a herder can't rebreed a lamb, and that lamb he sacrificed couldn't give milk or meat, it couldn't have kids, etc., so God favored Abel's flock over Cain's farm. Cain was jealous. Cain killed Abel with a rock. God sent Cain away form Adam and Eve's land, but Cain got a mark on his forehead so no one would kill him, otherwise they would face punishment ten-gold what they give to Cain. Just added for those who aren't well-versed in Genesis and whatnot ) First they choked and smashed each other, then they cut each other, then they poked each other, then they shot at each other, and now they shoot them up. Would Ghengis (sorry if I murdered that spelling) Khan have killed all those people of he hadn't had video games? Yeah. Because he didn't have video games. Would Attila have been called The Scourge of God without COD? Yes. He didn't have that. Would H1tler have killed 12 million Jews, Gypsies, gays, and a few thousand or so Catholics without Halo? Yeah. He didn't have that. People need to blame people for murder, not video games. Because they still would be murderers without. I know, a little long winded, but give your opinions. Good arguments for- People were always violent. COD and co. don't change that. The parents should be more responsible for their kids media exposure, and the kids should know better than to go on mass shooting sprees. Good arguments against- The Vikings, Mongols, Huns etc. based an entire culture around war and conquest. The leaders were violent because they wre exposed to violence. Same with video games. When you get a nuke for killing 30 people in COD, you get a nuke. I'm not good at COD, so I'm just gonna have to take his word for it. Anywho, that reward is coming from a bad source, killing people, instead of a good source, like, idk, healing people who get shot? Not the best message.
Did the Vikings or Hitler play videogames? No, but they were more violent than anyone who has played videogames. People use it as an excuse to try and make society look perfect.
John Wayne Gacy Jefferey Dahlmer Ed Gein Ted Bundy Josef Mengele Jack the Ripper Slavery The Middle East Montreal University Slayings Charles Whitman Just a few off the top of my head Zero video game influence Video games do not make you violent Humans are violent Some can control it Some can't Some just choose to abuse Back in the day they blamed the radio for the downfall of the youth Sheesh
Vikings where around violence. That's why they devolpled a violent mental state. The same goes for violent video games, kids are around violence.
Very well written threadī€ˇ I think you summed up the points and came to a good conclusion. I mostly agree to everything. One thing about the CoD level "No Russians"... I'm not sure, I don't play video games often, but I remember you was an undercover terrorist in this level, so you had to do it? I'm not sure and even if the character was: it could really become problems for people being close to violence. And yes, it was to praise slenderman... Crazy.
Blaming video games is a cop-out for poor parenting. If a child is raised right with clear morals and values then it doesn't matter what video game he/she plays, they know it's fake and they know right from wrong.
I appreciate the feedback, guys. I just wanna see someone give a ream argument against my ideas. Wanna know all the opinions, y'know?
And if their wiring is messed up, there is no level of love, caring or therapy that's going to fix them
Exactly. I was thinking about the psychological aspect as well after I posted, but I figured someone would mention it.
Exactly. But I think it's more like this- Vertigo is a disease where your brain forgets to ignore the rotation and movement of the Earth. It's a terrible, devastating disease. I've never had it, but I've seen perfectly healthy adults be stuck in bed for days until their brains remember. You can't get rid of it, but you can train your brain and body to ignore it. It's the same with absolutely insane. You may not be able to get rid of it, but you can learn how to ignore or you can learn how to keep it under control.
Trust m violent video games has an affect on you. No matter how self aware you are. "Participants who played a violent video game for only 35 minutes exhibited less self-control, cheated more, and behaved more aggressively than did participants who played a nonviolent video game."
Measure Success through Killing is another example. You know that "I did it!" feeling you get from Getting a nuke on call of duty by killing 30 people? A feeling of success should come from positive, challenging achievements, not the accomplishment of killing someone else. What kind of message is that sending to our kids?
That's a good point Devouring. Here's the catch- M rated. If the parent decides that they will allow their kids to play M rated games, knowing they aren't for kids, then the parent should also pay the price of a more aggressive kid. And like I said, you can work around the aggressive tendencies if you have the right support. Otherwise, brilliant points. And also, where is that quote from?