LonelyNinja

ok, first off, i got permission from DarkAztek to post this updated thread of the old one, which was last posted in 2005. i thought i should post this for some intelligent conversation on the subject.

recently, government officials/concerned parents have been laying blame on violent video games for child/teen violence. they claim that these games have caused their children to commit horrific acts of violence, for example the Columbine shooting. after the Columbine shooting, parents have been linking it to them playing DOOM and possibly other games as well.

i believe that there is no DIRECT connection between video games and kid/teen violence. i have a hard time believing that games such as DOOM, where the player is killing demons/hell spawn, could influence anyone to go and kill people. many school shootings could have been from pressure at school, such as one kid being harassed to the point where he would bring a firearm and shoot the people who harassed him.

i now leave this discussion to the members of Naruto Lounge. i will be waiting anxiously for your views on the subject.

(if i have made anything unclear or otherwise confusing, i apologize and will correct the mistake as soon as possible.)

Izanagi_Takeshiro

I wrote something on this...I guess I'll post it.

How much does anyone remember about the 60s and 70s? There’s a saying for the 70s, if you remember it, you weren't there. That in itself shows a great amount of violence wouldn't you say? To even forget an entire decade you'd have to have an entire world intoxicated by the multiple drugs that were available at the time, such as dope, acid and what ever poison someone who was desperate enough to get out of some paint fumes and let us not forget the Vietnam war which spread from the 60s right into the 70s, a reminder that this was a war the united states wasn't even supposed to be involved in. It goes to show that the world is full of violence since mans beginning, whether its to become a martyr to protect the sanctity of ones god or the claim of ones own individual rights. Many have succumbed to violence and it exists even today, we're faced with people in fear, people who don't want their children to see and experience what they did, as if a nightmare was haunting them and tormenting their everyday. In the early days parents feared their kids becoming wild because of an attraction to the opposite sex then the day came when the opposite sex was available not only through the ear but through their very television and young women became infatuated with someone like Elvis Presley or The Beatles which drove girls mad with passion because these people touched them somehow and got through to them which made their lives that much more liveable. Teens became so infatuated with their idols that they would make them cookies, give them stuffed animals and even offer sexual orientation but it also led to these fans becoming downright crazy and obsessive about these people they praised as if they were angels from heaven and that obsession led to stalking, abuse and even murder. It didn't stop there though because even though people could see a face on the screen and knew word for word what it was saying most found themselves in awe about just having a box with a picture on it but it still captivated the mass of youth that a message through audio was more revealing and the teens truly understood the message where as the adults never quite got the underlining message these artists were getting across to their fans and so they rebelled and said such things as "turn that racket off" or "you hoodlums and your rock'n'roll" and so the youth rebelled and soon the youth took control and became the next generation, Generation X. Society has taken a new path and these adults who have kicked out the old and made the new have created a world that they thought would be a utopia and it was or at least on the surface it was, but not all things work out for the best and steadily things like sexual adventuring became rather common, even more so then in the 60s and 70s, and things such as drugs became extremely heavyweight the world round with not only teens but adults abusing all manners of substances that ruined the body but even worse they destroyed the mind, alcohol became a much more common thing to abuse though that's not to say it's one of the oldest substance abuses in the world. Parents today fear that their children or more or less their "Future" is kept out of harms way so that one day they may be able to avoid a calamity with themselves like it was 376 A.D. or something, but parents have grown rather lazy over the years and have become sloth's to even teaching a child the difference between wrong and right but a parent should never teach their child wrong from right, they should teach them what makes a good person with a good control on them not just pointing your finger at your child wagging it back and forth and saying "it's wrong to kill people and you shouldn't do it" but that only starts one thing 'Rebellion' and all parents know the sting to their child rebelling at one point or another. The only way to have a good relation with your kid is by showing your concern and letting them know you're worried but by commanding them with no given reason, it always ends it a hard time. Parents these days fear the TV because they're afraid their child will be watching and see nudity or hear someone swearing but its just as easy to see this kind of thing when your at the beach, how is a parent to sensor that? But parents have become smarter and have come up with TV channel blockers, but then you have the dreaded Internet with its excessive amounts of pornography that a young boy at the age of 12 would go nuts to see but you feel its inappropriate for him but does he know this? No! You have to let him know why you don't want him looking at it, your reasons are your own and noone can argue that but at least let them know. A popular media spectrum today are Video Games and parents love to take it out on these entertainments for their child's behaviour but it's safe to blame a parents stupidity and ignorance for not seeing the warning signs and just plain forgetfulness to inform there children of things like murder or bullying and so forth, a child has an innocent manner and can easily become what they play unless they learn beforehand the do's and don'ts and if and when the child understands these video games can become a great learning experience and teach them some pretty neat skills and they're just plain fun and entertaining.

Miburo

Oh, god! Izanagi, why? *crushed by wall O'text* ; )

Really though, what are they basing this off of? Pure correlation?

Seriously, what kind of extremely flawed logic would lead someone to this line of thinking?: Kid is violent=> Kid happens to play violent games=> Video games MADE him violent!???

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that violent people are more likely to enjoy violent games? That violent people were most likely violent to begin with before picking up the dualshock? Doesn't that make much more sense than saying video games make people violent because one of the millions of kids who play grandtheftauto shot someone?

Hell, if I couldn't rough up my buddies in GuiltyGear when they annoy me I'd have probably dislocated half their jaws/elbows/shoulders by now. If anything, videogames make me less violent. ^^;;;

LonelyNinja

@Miburo- EXACTLY! i'm a violent person, and i love violent video games. when i get pissed at someone/something, i pick up Xbox controller and PWN anything in Halo 2 sorry enough to get in my way! violent games can be a great way to vent.

i play violent games, oh maybe 99% of the time. i have never once beat up someone in any shape or form that i saw from a video game. i have never once thought about bringing a rocket launcher/chainsaw/monkey wrench to school or any public place and kill/harm people. but when parents/politicians say that just because some kid shot up his school, oh it was the video games! the evil, nasty video games!

Izanagi_Takeshiro

Sorry bout that, Miburo...just something I wrote a couple of years ago...thought I might share it.

My brother is extremely violent so I understand why he plays videogames. I on the other hand am not violent...I play for stimulation, entertainment and to just plain excape from reality...I know it's not real, but not a day goes by when I didn't wish that it was. Just because I'm a misanthropist and I play violent video games doesn't mean I'm going to go kill people(if I could get away with it...maybe) I'm not an evil person...I have no pre-conceived thoughts of murder when I go out...I own weapons, but I'd never use them on another person...I'm just not like that.

UzumakiIchigo

I feel that anybody who would go to a school and start shooting up the classmates were propably going to that sooner or later, with or without the video game.
Parents are just trying to look for an easy way to ignore their responsibilities, The content of a childs video game should be monitored by the parents not the government

LightDreamer

umm actually the fact is, kids today are influenced a lot by video games and the media etc.

There was a story 13 years back in England that these 2 10 year old boys killed a 2 year old boy in the exact same manner than Chucky was killed in Chucky 3. They went to a mall, and stole the boy from his mother. In the movie chucky he got sprayed in the face with blue pain. The boys through a balloon with blue paint at the boy. In the movie Chucky was mutilated with weaponry of some sort [i can't remember exactly what]. The boys wacked the 2 year old with large sticks repeatedly and threw rocks at him till he could hardly move anymore, he kept trying to get up, so they kicked him down, etc. Finally, chucky was ripped to shreds by a roller coaster. The boys dragged the 2 year old onto train tracks as a train came, and he was ripped apart. A 2 year old killed by 2 10 year olds. Those boys are looking at life.

The saddest part is that 2 year old wo uld have been my age by now.

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The adulation of strangers.

UzumakiIchigo

Yes but why were 2 ten year olds watching chucky 3?
also if the parents let their kids watch those movies they should have at least had a talk with them to never do the things they saw.

LonelyNinja

good point, LightDreamer, but those kids first of all were unattended (who lets 10 year olds out and about without supervision?) second, the Chucky movies are rated R (here in the states, don't know how it works in England). R means "restricted" and no one under 16 can watch without adult surpervision. so really, the 10 year olds parents are to somewhat blame for allowing their kids to watch those movies in the first place.

yes, some individuals are affected by video game/television violence, but those people sometimes can't tell between reality and make-believe (not 100% of the time), so they don't distinguish the difference between things they see on the TV or the things they see outside. and some kids are affected very differently than violent outbursts. i know a kid who plays non-violent vid games, but he gets all worked up about them (he usually play Spongebob). when he's done playing, he's covered in sweat from all the jumping around he's done. so, yes vid games and media CAN affect individuals, but those are only a small number.

Miburo

Lightdreamer, the same exact thing can be said for pretty much any form of media. Kids could read the Iliad then go around killing people and defile the bodies. Kids with extremely poor parents or mental problems, of course, not your adverage kid. Same with any other type of media.

Like UzumakiIchigo said, how in god's name were two ten year old boys able to go to a mall, abduct a child, bring it to the train tracks, then toss the sucker infront of a train in the first place? Why were these kids watching movies like this that, and why weren't they taught that things in movies are fictional and that doing some things shown in movies is wrong? It's painfully obvious that no movie was to blame at all for what happened there, that's for sure. In a just world, those parents should be looking at some jail time too. >.>;

Video games are made with the enjoyment and entertainment of customers in mind. They're not training scenarios for mass murderers or anything stupid like that. If you get the idea to mess someone up from a video game then you're probably mentally unstable, it's got nothing to do with the game itself. Games certainly don't CAUSE people to become crazy douches, that's for damn sure.

Narutobaka8623

This is one of my biggest gripes with parents today! Video games, movies, computers, what have you, are meant for entertainment and nothing else! It's up to the parents to keep in touch with their kids! Like Miburo said, how were those kids allowed to get anywhere beyond a few steps, much less a couple of blocks to the local mall without anyone noticing that they were gone!? Not only the parents of the 10 year olds, but the mother of the 2 year old, and maybe even anybody at the mall who saw a 2 year old being taken against his will by kids he doesn't know!
In today's society it's too much about the instant gratification or guilty conscience that plays into how kids are today. If mom or dad can't be with them, they make up for it by buying things for them. Same could be said about kids who are just spoiled to began with, who want something and just wear the parents down till they get what they want. Parents like to complain about their kid playing too much on games, watching too much tv, or worrying about what their kid are doing or who they're talking to on the net. Get involved then damn it!
I got razzed the other day by DA, who thought that "no respecting 30 something would choose the name I did and write the way I do."
I am this way because I've always been involved in what my children do. I was afforded the chance to be a stay-at-home mom to the oldest until he reached school age, and then I myself have gone back to school. I like to pride myself on the fact that I'm a very open individual and in my home no subject is taboo and that my children can come talk to me about anything.
I don't have that many friends who say they can do the same. It's always both parents work, kids are put in daycares, and when everybody is at home finally, it's not long before the kids have to go to bed.
It's the same debate with what music kids are allowed to listen to. Parents were getting upset about stuff with Columbine and accusing Marilyn Manson of having something to do with it. Why must there always be a scapegoat? Again, has been said already, but, if the kids are that way it's either from them having something wrong physiologically, or that they've been emotionally beaten down to the point of doing something about it, because noone else has noticed enough to provide the kid with help!
If the parents don't want the kids watching tv, turn it off. Not play certain video games, ban them from your house and ask the parents of their friends to abide by their wishes and not let them play certain ones while they're there. And for the internet, if younger ones, only let them go onto certain sites and not into the forums or chat rooms. If older, than you have to be a bit more sneaky about it, but find a way to be able to access their desktop, or give them a limited account.
But the point is, that it really is up to the parents to stop blaming complete strangers who use their imaginations to provide entertainment, so that way they'll feel better about themselves, instead of taking a little responsibility of their own!
And yeah, while the hubby thinks it's cool to play EQII for the raids and groups and such, I really use it as my form of getting out my anger or whatever. Feeling bad or pissed at something? Sign on for a little while and beat the crap outta the different mobs! Pretend the mobs are the perosn or reason that you're in a bad mood. I normally sign off feeling much better!

kluang

How bout the sex game in GTA San Andreas.... It cause some havoc....

But kids easily pick up things expecially from cartoons and games... They learn from it..


And in Japan, I think lastyear some guy killed his mom influence by that anime Evalaonggion (spelling is wrong)

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LonelyNinja

well, they don't necessarily pick up those kinds of things from tv/video games. most people who do learn those kinds of things may have psychological problems, in that they can't distinguish the difference from what they see on or can do in video games and what they see or can do in real life. but, it is irresponsible parents' faults for letting their children play/watch those sort of things! a 13/14 year old can't go to EB games and legally buy a copy of GTA or even Halo 2 because of the ESRB rating it has (rated M for mature). now, i'm not saying that it never happens, but it isn't legal to sell M-rated games to minors.

kluang

But still they sell it. Profits first, kids go pscyho second..

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LonelyNinja

now do you have any evidence that children go psycho after immediately buying those kinds of games?

seriously, most of those stores don't sell to minors, much like convenience stores don't sell pr0n and liquor to minors, but only because it's against the law. most vid stores would rather lose 50 dollars than get the 50 but pay a several hundred dollar fine.