Violent crimes have been increasing over the years. Many of these crimes have been commited by teenagers and angered adults have been looking for why. Their conlusion? Violence in games is the cause. What do you think?
My take is that, yes, video-games have become more violent. However, it is also the PARENTS', not the game makers', to look at the age rating on games.
I also think that videogames may have contributed, but certainly no more than TV and Movies. I believe that these groups of people just find videogames an easier target, as the majority of IT's audiences are minors to begin with.
This and the fact that the videogame industry being smaller than the movie and television industry make it so much easier to challenge.
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Actually, I think the video game community is an easier target than movies and TV is because most videogames are played by minors, not adults. Adults don't want to take any blame, so they shrug it off onto the videogaming community. Also, videogames are considered more realistic because they put you into the action, leading adults who don't play video games to believe that they are more realistic than they really are, or just more violent than the TV shows and movies that they watch.
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i belive it to be a mix of all the reasons(parents, video games, and teens) video games in my opinion can be a bad influence to teens who are not ready to accep fiction and get carried away, it is partially the parents fault because some of them are not watching thier kids and not teaching thier kids how to be functional human beings, and last it is the kids fault because they let themselvs get carried away. however that makes me post this question i have played many games with excessive amounts of violence (grand theft auto) and yet i feel no need for violence? so there has to be more factiors involved in this debate that we are not seeing
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I blame the parents. They should know how much thier kid can handle and keep an eye on what they watch and play. I use video games as an escape, and while at times it may seem like I blur reality to fit them, I can keep reality and fantasy seperate. Some kids can't do that and parents should know.
It's the same thing with Harry Potter- if you don't think your kid can keep reality seperate from the Latin spell-casting fantasy Ms. Rowling has laid out, then for God's sakes, don't let your kid read it and do what you can to get them to that point.
Anyway, yes. This is all true, but it seems to me that the main reason these groups of people keep protesting because video-games have become more violent instead of less like they have demanded. They don't get what they want, they scream.
Who need supervision? Really I ask you.
Anyway, they say things like, 'I don't want my child to play this game!' Then don't let him/her!!!!!!
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I completely agree with Stephanie. It is mostly the parents' fault. My parents understand that I know the difference between real life and fantasy, so I get to play the games. I mean, I play Halo 2 and other violent games ALL THE TIME. Do you see me running around killing people? NO.
However, some of these other kids that play violent games start playing them at the age of 6 or 7. For example, there are some children in our neighborhood of Bent Creek Plantation that play GTA games, which my parents prevent me from buying because I have a 12 year old brother who is not allowed to play them. But kids such as Noah, Justin, and others in our neighborhood (Eric knows who I'm talking about) are only about half my brother's age and still play these games. I'm not saying that they kill people, but they talk casually about killing people all the time. They obviously don't have the money to buy the games, so who buys the games for them? Their parents. They are not just corrupting their kids; they are ENCOURAGING violence. It is mostly the parents' fault.
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Now the point of issue is government setting legal age limits on games.
This is blasphemy, corrupting all ideals (if not neccessarilly realities) of free enterprise and capitalism.
They believe that there is *evidence* of the effects of violent videogames. Like what???? No one has ever killed 6 people with a sniper rifle and testified in court that they did it because they did it in Halo and wanted to see what it is like.
Plus, what about when there was grand amounts of violence and NO video games? Did Hitler cause the Holocaust because he played Killzone? No. Did Ghengis Khan ever play Halo, Doom, or GTA? No.
There is NO logic to any arguements that these people (and the government) are saying!
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@ BabbleFish - There is some logic. Take a three or four year old and surround them with nothing but violence for most/all of their life. I can say almost completely certain that that kid will deal with his or her problems with the only thing he knows- violence.
If all a kid does in his spare time is wreak havoc in a virtual world like GTA, and they are either too young to or unable to seperate reality from fanatsy, then they may see the game as an accurate picture of reality and may try and emulate the characters in the game.
I'm not saying that video games are the only cause of violene in the world, but still, the parent's argument does have some logic to it.
As to the government placing the limits- I don't agree with it, but it may be necessary. Parents should take the initiative, but if they don't someone else needs to step in.
I would like to point out that during times of gross, massive violence (the Holocaust, Civil War,.....there were more wars back before this day and age****), video games weren't even a FACTOR!
Again, I will also say that no one has EVER commited a crime and made any reference to video-game influence. It is total generalization. In fact, as society progresses through time, it is given that the youth grow more and more intelligent, as the world around them may or may not want (usually not). Not the school smart; the detecting lies, more common sense, sarcastic, point out flaws, corruption, not easily tricked, etc. smart. During this progression, video games have become more realistic, and hand-in-hand, more violent.
Yet we keep getting smarter.
It seems to me that the groups that protest and such are simply in utter desperation.
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.....No. I would like to point out that during times of gross, massive violence (the Holocaust, Civil War,.....there were more wars back before this day and age****), video games weren't even a FACTOR!
Reiterated, because I'm fairly certain you didn't see this or misread it- I'm not saying that video games are the only cause of violence in the world, but still, the parent's argument does have some logic to it.
I'm not even saying that video games cause most violence, only that it makes some logical sense that a kid who plays violent video games constantly would see violence as a way to deal with problems. Violence is more accessible to a much younger audience now.
And yes, video games were not a factor in the Civil War and such, but that violence was not little school children bringing guns to school and blowing their teachers brains out. The violence that I thought we were disputing was that of the sort seen in Columbine.
I dont think violense has been growing over the years i think we see a lot more violence because there are many more ways to comunicate there was as much violense as before but now if some one gets killed or kidnaped its all over TV and we see it
And to say said violence was causede by video games is completely assumed.
There has never been an instance in which violence in video games has been considered a factor of influence in crimes, and if it was GOING to happen, then it WOULD HAVE by now.
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I joined an assassins guild called the Morag Tong and mercilessly slaughtered 4 people in public.
I then cited my source of inspiration as the game Morrowind.
It was cool too, because -- Wait a second, that wasn't real life.
Ok, nevermind then.
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The video games forced the kids to play them. This brainwashed the children. Then the video games equipped the children with sniper rifles, bullets, and suffficent training and incentive to go out and kill people. The video games made the children do all those things. The children couldn't resist, it's impossible for them.
I can't believe you people. "it's the parents fault, no it's the video games fault, no no the parents choose if the kids play the video games" The problem is the children. What we should do is burn the children. Well that's probably not possible (it takes a suprisinly high tempature to ignite human fat).
And another thing it is very important to note that it graphics don't matter in video game contorversy. Thus behold, the first controversial game.
This game raised a huge controversy because your job is to run over those little people on the bottom.
SO let us reiterate, It's the fault of the people who shoot other people (or their parents if their not old enough to be blamed) and graphics and realism don't matter to the alarmists.
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