Do violent video games have aggressive effects on whoever plays them? Is it worse than watching a gory movie?
Halo, Call of Duty, and Mortal Combat are some of the most popular games out right now. All of the people in my group own or have played at least one of them sometime during our life. There has been a lot of research on this topic: laboratory experiments, field experiments, cross-sectional correlation studies, and longitudinal studies. Yet, people still can’t agree on the answer. What do you think?
Zack: I think that violent video games may have an effect on kids, to an extent. It depends on how long you play them and how many hours they play them a week. It also depends on the child's age. There has been some cases in which children tend to be more aggressive and anti-social. Some develop warped perceptions on life and others become psychologically numb to violence, sex, rape, and death, due to crude movies and video games.
I personally think that kids should not start playing or watching this type of material until they are at a mature age. Kids are not psychologically stable enough to handle this sort of content and cannot distinguish fantasy from reality. Parents should pay more attention to their children and what they see on TV, and they should monitor what they do on the Internet until a certain age. I believe that the parents are at fault for what their kids see and hear because usually they are the only ones who can control that factor. But that is another arguement...
Kristen: I don’t think video games are responsible for the aggressive behaviors in whoever plays them. My little brother owns all 3 of those games and he’s perfectly normal. I play them every now and then with my friends and have never just had the urge to shoot somebody or hurt them in anyway just for fun. I think it’s mostly pscyhological when people have violent behaviors. I’m undecided on whether or not it’s worse than watching a gory movie. In a way, you're participating in the violent stuff instead of just being exposed to it during a movie. However, it comes down to the person's pscyhological state of mind when it comes to harming a person or even taking a life.
Rony Arnold: Psychological research shows us that people learn by habits and experiences. Today, video games are some of the most common leisure toys for children, even for some adults. Over the past couple of decades, this issue has become particularly problematic. Some commentators think that video games even stimulate today’s violence. I do agree that they have negative effects on today’s lifestyles -- as well as television, the internet and others. I believe the problem is not about playing video games; it is about the individual who plays and how accessible he or she is to the influence of violence? Especially for children, I think parents should attentively control their children’s behavior after playing. Once again, I want to mention that everyone has a different character, which is important when determining a player’s behavior.
So, parents, let’s go to work!
Michael Flores: I think playing violent video games affects kids more than watching gory movies. When kids play video games, they are involved in it. They are the ones making the decisions to kill or steal in a game and follow through with it. Some kids may get so consumed with the games that they may not draw the line between real world and virtual world. I do think gory movies pose a negative effect, just not as considerable as the games.
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ReplyDeleteI think the imagery (and language) has certainly become more gratuitous and nasty in video games. Perhaps the fault is one of the media and game creators, feeding us all the imagery?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, video games have pretty much always been violent or had an underlying violent concept involved. Acts of heroism involving battle are prevalent in some of the older games (I've Super Mario's theme music running through my head as I type this).
A lot of imaginary kid play is violent as well. The idea of being the hero and duking it out with swords, pistols, lightsabers, whatever is fantasy play. The play is purely imagined.
I believe that video games can affect a childs behavior and should be monitored by parents as well as internet and television access. Children are exposed to so much violence at such an early age and I agree that it can affect them if their parents dont teach them to distinguish fantasy from reality.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Maritza Mirand.I think playing violent video games or watching gory movies does not make some one to change their behavior.It depend on the individual to act such a-way,to be hostile against others.I think is shychological problems that make them to be aggressive to others.I like to watch gory movies that do not change the way I think what is real and what is not factual.
ReplyDeleteI think that many video games are very violent and should be toned down. Most of them the goal is to kill people. What kind of message is that sending to little kids? I don't think that violence in the world is all because of video games but I think a lot of it is. I think they should be toned down or parents should pay better attention to their children and make them understand that it is not right to kill people.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that video games are worse then gory movies, I do think that both do play a factor in violence in our youth. Even more then just causing violence it decreases our image of self worth and numbs us to the violence that happens around us everyday. If we were not so emotionally numb to hearing about these offenses then maybe less of them would happen because the knowledge of right vs wrong or good vs evil has been blurred due to media.
ReplyDeleteI think that video games are worse because in movies you are just watching the actions happen you have no control of what happens next. In a video game, most are first person so you are the one doing the action. Some that are even worse are ones like counter strike because event he veiw is first person. This puts the person right there in the action as if they were there. No one can sit there and "stare death in the face" repeatly and say that it does not have any effect on you.
Violent video games can have a great effect on kids and teens.More so on the ones who sit there for hours and do nothing but play these violent games.Parents should restrict how much their children play these games and only allow them to play games that are suitable for their age and mind capability.The imagery and the violent actions on these games sicken me.It makes these kids and teens feel as if they are in the game and really committing these actions and honestly it really concerns me.These games being played by people who are not on the right mind set, could be easily set off by these games. (Britt McBryde)
ReplyDeleteI have to believe vioelnt video games have a more negative impact than the movies. The reason being is that the person playing the game is making the decision to be violent. Yeah we choose to watch violent movies but are we making the decisions for the actors? This has to account for something.
ReplyDelete“Saw”, “Hostel”, and other gory movies have very graphic, detailed scenes of torture and murder. Some video games (ie: “Gears of War”, “Silent Hill: Homecoming”, and “Far Cry 2”) have M ratings for blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, and even sexual themes and drug references.
ReplyDeleteGory movies and violent video games are ideally the same thing, with the same rating(M or R) both of which are designed to prevent younger viewers from playing or viewing them.
Adults should have a more stable mind and being and are expected to be able to sort reality from unreality, right and wrong. The violent and gory movies and video games are supposed to just be used for recreation and as an outlet to get away from day-to-day stress. Therefore, any sane adult should not become more aggressive from the video game or movie’s influence.
i have played Mortal Combat as a child and didn't and still don't think it has a negative effect on people...Watching violent movies doesn't have a negative effect on people either. I feel it has to do with Psychology
ReplyDeleteI think these video games have "M" ratings for a reason. I don't agree with children playing these games at all, they are introduced to enough violence in many other areas. Why make it worse? As for if its worse than a gory movie.. movies tend to be very graphic and they are made by real characters. Seeing a real person die would affect me more than seeing a character on a video game die. I just think the players of these games need to be aware of what they are creating in their minds and to be careful.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of games that are a little too violent for kids but that's why those are usually labeled M for Mature. It also depends on the person playing the game and how they respond to seeing these type of games or movies. I don't believe that it's the videogame or movie influencing them. It just depends on their lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is not worth much as I do not indulge in video games often enough to have formed a respectable response to this topis...but here goes anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think there is nothing wrong with violent video games so long as parents are teaching their children the difference between virtual and real world choices. Though they may cause a negative reaction in the brain (possibly causing certain outward actions) they are not the sole reason for any violent/illegal behavior.
The biggest problem is parents want to blame anything and everything, except the real issue behind their "bad" children - themselves. In most cases, delinquent youths become that way based on the inadequate training and rearing of their parents, though there are some exception to that.
I would still say that, overall, violence in video games and media in general is not bad, so long as there is proper instruction being implemented into the lives of the children playing them.
This is a good topic!
ReplyDeleteI did a research paper for this topic in 1101 last term. There have been so many studies on weather it affects the actions of teens and kids mentally. It can infact create violence. When kids or teens or whoever, play video games, there is a part of the brain that they are only using which teaches cruel and inumane behavior that most video games portray these days. In video games, the perpetrator or the "bad guy" kills with no harm to him or herself and without any consequneces.This teaches kids that if you hurt someone or do something bad that they can get away with it--and that's not reality.
I play a lot of violent games and watch violent movies and anime. But I am not a violent person, parents are just looking for a scapegoat and for now it is violence in media I would ask those parents who think that how much time do they spend with their kids.
ReplyDeleteshinji
Unfortunatly it is hard to predict what one child will do compared to the next because every individual is different and has different ways of handling situations. I personally would not let me five year old play such violent games and introduce them to this at such a young age.Thats just my opinion though?
ReplyDeleteYes, some video games are violent and bloody. But, it’s not the video games that are the problem, it’s the parents that let the children buy the games or the ones that have no idea what their children are doing is the problem. I work at Best Buy and we do not sell any M rated video game to minors, and that policy is pretty much everywhere now. So the only way to really obtain the games is to have the parents buy the game for their children. If the parents of the children who play these types of games don’t like it, then they should have more control over their children and what they’re doing.
ReplyDeleteThere will always continue to be violent video games and most of these games are designed for mature adults, not children. If the parents of these children don’t want their kids to be exposed to this type of violence, then they should watch over what their children are doing a little more.
to add to my statement earlier... even though I feel that video games have a negative effect, well I feel all violent media can have a negative effect; I still believe that parents are to blame. It is not the medias responsibility to control what our kids watch. it is the reponsitbility of the parent to monitor the entertainment your child partakes in. If you feel there is no effect of violence in the media then that parent will allow their kids to do and watch whatever. A parent that is more concerned about this matter, as myself, I only allow my son to watch Disney or Noggin. Parents have no one to blame but themself if their child does something wrong and blames it on a video game... YOU allowed them to play it.
ReplyDeleteI do have to agree with everyone except for Kristen, sorry. I think a lot of what children are exposed to while they are young has to do with their parents. Even though some parents can act just as immature as their children, for the most part it is their resonsibility what they allow their children to play with and view. I think that if more parents realized that there is a certain age and maturity level for everything then the youth today would have a better turnout. Everything these days are influential from the hairstyles you see in magazines to birthing options in "parenting" magazines so video games should be thought of the same way. I'm pretty sure most parents control whether or not their sons are to play with dolls so they should control whether or not a video game is acceptable also.
ReplyDeleteI think video games or other violent media exposed to kids are not the main reason why the kids are getting more agressive nowadays. The kids who were raised in a good family, even though they play video games are still growing up perfectly fine. The outcome of agressive behaviors resulted from psychological background. The kids who endured a bad childhood, who weren't raised right, especially who envoled in bad influences of alcohol and drugs might put up alot more than the normal kids. Family is important in how to shape a kid's personality. I think under parental supervisor, playing a proper amount of video games would be fine to their kids.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristen. I do not believe that video games have an effect on children, positive or negative. I believe that children need an outlet for their violent feeling. I do believe, however, children under a cretin age should not be permitted to play games with a rating higher than "teen". I am very much against parents shielding their kids from too much of the real world.
ReplyDeleteVideo games have basically destroyed generations of male children. Children who play video games tend not to get enough exercise, and generally lack sufficient well rounded life experiences. What could these children learn, or experience if they did not have their face stuck in a video game four to eight hours a day? Violent video games have desensitized the vast majority of children that play them. Where are the parents in this equation, and how can they condone the content of many of the video games their children play. Do any of these lazy, complacent parents even take the responsibility to examine the video game's content, and decide if it is a healthy activity? As in most cases the parents are primarily responsible for the fact that they don't have the time or the inclination to properly raise their children. We are creating generations of disconnected, ill educated, unbalanced, violent, mindless children that will not grow up to be productive members of society, and will probably have problems starting or maintaining intimate relationships due to the lack of communication skills (David B.)
ReplyDeleteI think that violent video games can desensitize people who are not mature enough to handle it, and understand the consequences to their actions. but i hardly think that if someone kills their parents over a video game, the game can be blamed just because it is violent.
ReplyDeleteMichael Brown, Tues/Thurs 11 AM
There is always a new excuse to explain murder. Movies, music, video games, religion, bad parents, bad neighborhoods, bullies, the list goes on. If you murder someone it's because you have a screw loose, there is nothing we can do about it. Josh Pitek
ReplyDeleteI don't think they are responsible for all the aggressive actions. But they certainly could be in some cases. It all comes back to our depraved minds.
ReplyDelete