At 12/20/05 08:09 PM, SoldAsFreedom wrote:
In the past few years many lawyers like Mike Thompson and U.S. Senators like Hilary Clinton have had the proverbial sand in there vaginas over the video game debate. Many people feel that video games make people (mostly children) do bad things and hurt people. What are your opinions on this?
On, for once and all, here has been no conclusive evidence that shows any direct relation to video game usage and supposed acts of violence. The thing is, everyone gets caught in the perpetual "chicken vs. the egg" cycle. Are violent people attracted to violent media or does violent media create violence in people?
There have been some tests that certainly have shown some slight increases in aggression seen in children who have been exposed to violent video games, but the problems with this studies stem from the aggression exhibited. Children where exposed to the games and then shown to attack a clown doll that in no way resembled a human being. So it is a bit of a stretch to say that children will then directly hurt people after exposure. And the problem with tests of this nature, is scientists generally have a mindset about what to expect and therefore tend to read a bit too much in the wrong direction when it comes to their results, but this is a systematic problem that doesn't just apply to this particular set of tests.
And the question has to be raised about other violent media outlets. When Columbine happened, everyone started screaming that the kids played Doom. And while people seemed to get really upset at the music industry as well (let us not forget Tipper Gore and her witch hunt in the late eighties and early nineties against punk and heavy metal) the focus stayed on the games. But my question becomes, what about the rest of the media? Are violent film not just as bad, if not worse, due to the realistic nature of the violence, in comparison to games? This is changing mind you, with the ever increase in technology that is making games more and more real, however this still stands. If you wish to attack games, you must look at the long history of violent film, and then later, violent television programs.
Police have also been asked what they feel about violent games, especially in relation to the
Grand Theft Auto series, which usually involves the virtual murder of policemen. The general consensus on this is that the police would much rather have people committing acts of violence there then in the real world.
If you have children, it is up to you to decide what games they should be allowed at what age to play. I remember my parents censoring the Mortal Kombat series for me when I was younger (as well as other violent media such as films and television). As a result, I am a very non-violent person. It is also important for people to talk to their children and make sure they can understand the difference between real life violence and pretend violence. If they have trouble with that, see that they come to an understanding you are ok with, or else don't expose them to such violent media. In addition, there is a rating system for a reason, and (to a certain extent) I think it should be enforced. I remember my younger brother (who was about 14 or 15 at the time) having trouble getting a copy of GTA: Vice City. But since he was mature enough to handle it, it was taken care of. He is another very non-violent person despite his ingestion of violent games.
Another element people fail to recognize is the level of realistic violent games vs. non-violent or cartoonish violent games. I cannot remember the exact statistic off the top of my head, but it was something like 25:75 in favor for non violent games. This may have changed, but I am not too sure to be truthful. However, it is the violent games that the media sensationalizes and thus get the attention. Do people get worked up because kids start shooting garbage out of a vacuum at monsters that look like M&Ms with eyes? No, because that is different.
People like Jack Thompson and Senator Leiberman are simply sensationalists who do not look at the facts or the rest of the media structure as a whole and simply scapegoat to promote their politics and gain support from the masses. Video games happen to be their choice for punishment. Were some extensive studies done by people with no political agenda or desire to flame video games and a form of easy scrutiny, then perhaps the issues would become clearer.