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| Yes | 44% | 1784 votes | Total: 4022 votes | |
| No | 56% | 2238 votes |
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Add to FavoritesVideo games are played by almost every child. Many of these games are of an aggressive and violent nature
involving martial arts, military combat and space wars as their themes. Role play is often used and the games can be addictive. They may seem like harmless fun or even an outlet for aggressive feelings for children and young adults but are they really so innocuous?
The minds of young humans are sensitive and impressionable. This is why they are able to learn new things quickly and absorb information. They are free minds, uncluttered with responsibilities and the hard realities of life. They are hungry minds seeking adventure and stimulation and they rely,to some extent for the adults in the world to provide the mind fodder they need. Computers are an easily accessible source of this nourishment and games are particularly appealing.
It is no coincidence that computer games are also used for training purposes by sportsmen, the police force, the military, airlines and other organisations. They are recognised to be a useful tool for programming minds to think strategically, develop leadership skills and make decisions. The link between
video games and mind training is established and is used in a controlled, supervised manner as a part of
carefully planned education and development programmes by responsible and experienced adult teachers.
The majority of young people currently using video games, however, are doing so unsupervised, often to excess and in a way which is completely separate from any other context. It is mind training out of control.
There is now a generation of young adults who have played these games since childhood. They have been desensitised to violence by exposure to graphic images on film and television and filled their leisure hours with endless shooting, bombing, karate chopping, stabbing and striking on combat type games.
If we think that the brain food consumed by our kids is no less influential on the adults they become
than the food we put into their bodies then we are making a big mistake.
So many young people of this generation are killing each other, by reckless driving, stabbing and shooting. Can we really say this has nothing whatsoever to do with the racing games and the killing games they have played everyday throughout their formative years? it is well known that play is all a preparation for adult life. The previous generation played doctors and nurses, cowboys and Indians,
cops and robbers. The difference is that they acted our these games physically, so the energy generated by the fantasy was used up in the game. Using computer games stimulates the fantasy but leaves the physical responses unexpressed. A charge builds up within the body. It may not be until there is a little alcohol added to the equation to remove the natural inhibitions but eventually, when the right buttons are pushed these stored responses will demand expression.
It would be wrong to say that because a person plays on a tennis game they will become a pro tennis player as an adult. But it might not be wrong to suggest that if that individual found themselves on a tennis court playing a match that they may not have learned some useful moves from their game playing.
We live in a society that is under great pressure. Circumstances arise on the roads, in the school playground, within the family and social groups where frustrations surface with force. This is when the
player remembers the moves he has absorbed in his fantasy game playing.
If the world of video games were more balanced with a healthy selection of games concerned with the
promotion of peace , healing and the creation of harmony and beauty it would be more acceptable. As hing are it is world filled with violence and aggression which is distorting the sensitive developing mindsets of young people the world over. The society of the future depends on these young minds. The society of the future will show us if the diet we have allowed the potentially beautiful minds to consume
has been a healthy one and whether video games have been an outlet for aggression or trained a whole generation to "Finish Him!"
Learn more about this author, margaret hillcroft.
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No
Do violent video games cause an individual to become violent in real life? I, for one, certainly believe that the answer is no. I first started playing video games when I was 5 years old, and also happened to start off by playing one of the most controversial games of all time, Wolfenstein 3D. Since then, I've hardly stopped. I've spent a good portion of my childhood stealing cars and mowing down civilians in GTA, and continue to play games such as Counter-Strike on a regular basis. By now, I've committed murder in the most horrifying ways and situations imaginable in these games, and I'm certainly not a very violent person at all.
To further back myself up, I have many friends that have done the same, and the worst that any of them has developed is perhaps a slightly magnified sense of black humor. Of course, this doesn't mean that because I haven't seen an individual become a violent lunatic, none do, but I strongly believe that. Playing many of these games can greatly reduce stress, help you relax, and stimulate your mind, all at the same time. Studies have shown that people playing violent video games can develop higher-blood pressure, but at the same time improved coordination and brain activity. From experience, I can only agree, but I've also never felt this increase for more than several minutes at a time. I believe most normal, healthy people are like that.
That being said, I think it is important to understand the difference between causing something and triggering it. If someone is mentally unstable, there is nothing to say that an extremely violent video game would not trigger them to fantasize about doing something violent. However, it is also important to remember that before someone goes out and does something like this, their perception of reality must be skewered. Games certainly cannot cause this, it is simply not possible. People with mental problems that cause them to confuse reality however, could be affected by violent video games.
The difference that must be realized is that playing these games will not cause somebody to become a heartless killer, but can trigger fantasies, dreams, and desires for someone with mental problems. There are many examples of this, but it is simply not fair to blame harmless video games for the actions of people who already had problems. It is also important to note that since such a huge number of people indulge in these games, there is no way clear way to discern whether a crime was related or inspired by any sort of game. The problem is that video games are oftentimes scapegoated, simply because it is easy to do so. Many portray acts of extreme violence, for some people, this means that they caused the person to do whatever it is they did. That, in every way possible, is simply absurd, and this kind of scapegoating needs to be stopped, and real psychiatric problems need to be examined. It is also essential for people to realize that there is a huge difference in triggering something, and in developing something.
Learn more about this author, Patrick B..
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