Gaming The Bad and Good of Videogames...

[Gohan Egret]

[i]From the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue #170, Sept. 2003[/i]

[b]Videogames are bad for you...[/b]

[u]Games make you dumb[/u]

Leave it to Japan, the mothership of videogames, to come with a study finding that games damage the brain. At Sendai's Tokohu University, Professor Ryuta Kawashima discovered that Nintendo games arouse parts of the brain associated with sound and vision but do not stimulate other areas. "We will have a problem with the new generation of children who play games," Kawashima concludes. "The implications are serious for an increasingly violent society, and these students will do more and more bad things if they just play games and do not do other things like read aloud or learn math."

[u]Games isolate you[/u]

Consider the tragic death of Shawn Wooley, a young fan of Everquest who took his life after an online lover allegedly spurned him. Wooley's mother now run web-based support group On-Line Gamers Anonymous for people who have become isolated and outcast as a result of chronic game playing. It boasts 650 members and counting.

[u]Games addict you[/u]

Parents, spouses, and an increasing number of scientists are exploring the phenomenon of so-called "videogame addiction," most common among fans of massively multiplayer online RPG's such as Everquest. Addicts forgo work, relationships, and even food for the sake of their online play. Three recent cases in Asia involved young men at computer cafés who passed out at their PC's after marathon gaming sessions. Now, psychologists are getting in on the action: At McLean Hospital, a Harvard-affiliated psychiatric teaching facility, Maressa Orzack oversees the country's first computer-addiction services, a clinic offering counseling to compulsive gamers.

[u]Games screw up your body[/u]

Lately, game critics have set their sites on the damage done by game controllers: the buzzing, rattling devices that, they say, inflict pain on your paws. Last year, the British Medical Journal published an account of a 15-year-old kid who suffered burning sensations and inflammation in his digits as the result of spending seven hours a day on his PlayStation. Doctors determined that he was experiencing "hand-arm vibration syndrome" brought on by one too many nights at the controller.

[u]Games cause violence[/u]

Of all the problems critics have with videogames, none gets more lip service that this one. The controversy broke back in 1993 when Senator John Lieberman led a campaign against Mortal Kombat for its spine-ripping gore. He even dragged children television's host Captain Kangaroo in front of reporters to warn of "the lessons learned by a child as an active participant in violence-related videogames...lessons the thinking parent would shun like a plague. Indeed, it could become a plague upon their house." Since then, everyone from the Surgeon General to the American Psychological Association has attempted to link video violence with the real thing, but a conclusive, universally accepted study has yet to surface.

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[b]Videogames are good for you...[/b]

[u]Games make you smart[/u]

Studies released by both Manchester University and the University of Central Lancashire concluded that gamers who played for 18 hours per week exhibited the kind of hand-eye coordination displayed by professional athletes. Dr. Jo Bryce, who led the research, discovered that hardcore gamers went into a concentrated state of "flow" (you know, "the zone"), which allowed them to accomplish multifaceted tasks. She is not the only true believer. A recent study at the University of Rochester found that
kids who play action games on a regular basis are far better at processing fast-moving visuals than youngsters who do not get busy with the joypad. And NASA has developed a biofeedback system using PlayStation games such as Spyro the Dragon and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater to help build concentration skills in fighter pilots. A company called Attention Builders is marketing a home version of NASA's videogame wares ([url]www.attention.com[/url]) - just the
thing to power your brain before those midterms.

[u]Games improve literacy[/u]

Videogames were not meant to replace books. Nevertheless, critics like to complain about how all this game playing has whittled away the literacy rate. But games have been proven to do just the opposite. Psychologists at Finland's University of Helsinki found that specially designed videogames could help dyslexic children improve their reading abilities. And you do not have to be dyslexic to benefit. As any well-read gamer who has trekked through a modern console RPG will tell you, these games come with a novel's
worth of dialogue to digest.

[u]Games are social[/u]

Professors at Loyola University in Chicago recently conducted a study of the community surrounding Counter-Strike, the popular PC first-person shooter that is on its way to the XBox. Their findings: Such online games cultivate complex social interactions that defy the stereotype of the isolated gamer. For some reason, critics - particularly people who have never played games - cannot grasp the concept of socializing in a virtual space. But that is precisely what happened in shooters, in online RPG's like Everquest and Phantasy Star Online, and even in so-called Net parlor games like backgammon and chess. Games provide a means for social
interaction for teenage boys and blue-haired old ladies alike.

[u]Games relieve stress[/u]

While politicians and parents bemoan videogame violence, they fail to acknowledge one simple point: Games are a harmless way to blow off stress. After all, the fighting is virtual, the guns are fake, and the blood is pixelated. Even the most violent first-person shooters are little more than digital paintball. If people are so up in arms about videogame violence, why are they not decrying real paintball, which leaves player with golf-ball size welts? Meanwhile, researchers at Indiana University found that game playing causes the brain to release dopamine, a pleasure-inducing chemical. See, games are scientifically proven to make you feel good.

[u]Games heal the body[/u]

Hip physical therapists have found a surefire way to improve their
patients' rehabilitation process: Let them play games. Dr. Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at the U.K.-based Nottingham Trent University, conducted a study of how games are being used for physical therapy. "Much has been written about how boring and repetitive exercises are if someone is attempting to recover from an [injury], " he says. "The introduction of games into this context can be of huge benefit." His therapies range from using games to build muscles to training diabetic children to better self-administer their medication.

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I personally attribute to being able to type more efficiently and correctly due to PC games (MW4 series). I do agree with the violence in videogames is a little much, but 13 year old's should not be playing GTA3 anyways.

Other than that, I leave it up to you guys (and gals)! What do you think?

[Mist]

[color=crimson][size=1] That was very interesting. I can't say that I'm a hardcore gamer; I'm a mild one, really, but I'd say that both points have reasonable evidence. I still wouldn't stop playing games if they isolated me though.[/color][/size]

[eleanor]

[size=1]

[b]Games make you Dumb[/b]: Not necessarily. I play tons of video games and I can safely say I am not stupid academically. But yes, if kids get too addicted, they don't study and they don't do their homework. They can get you stupid.

[b]Games isolate you[/b]: Unless you meet a group of video game-addicts as youeself. But mostly, yes, I agree. Video game addicts can get so abosrbed into video games that all they can talk about it "Oh, did you beat that level?" or "Yeah, those monsters are so easy!" and everything else bore you to tears. But like I said, if you can control yourself and have control over your video game playing, it doesn't isolate you. There are some video games that you play online with other people you meet and work together with, but not as much as single players.

[b]Games addict you[/b]: Yes, yes they can. I cannot stress this enough. [i] SELF CONTROL HELPS YOU.[/i]

[b]Games mess up your body[/b]: I have no idea, really. I have no opinion on it, either, since I know nothing of it.

[b]Games cause violence[/b]: I'm a huge follower of this saying. Video games do cause violence. I admit that I've become much more violent ever since I've started playing video games, and it makes little kiddies violent, too. I'm not sure about this, but I guess if you start playing video games when you're mature, it might not effect you as much.




[b]Games make you smart[/b] Uh...being able to do several tasks at once and being able to play sports and fly planes well does not really mean you're smart. Not academically, anyway.

[b]Games improve your litercay[/b]: Yeah, two paragraphs of old english and legends will DEFINATELY make your literature grades soar! Ok, maybe for these 'specially designed' games, but not a lot of other. What novel? What great dialogue? From what I can tell, regular ole' video games don't have extremely well-written dialogue.

[b] Games are social[/b] Only the ones that you can do online. I don't know the ratio of home players agianst online players or both, so I'm not going to say anothing.

[b]Games relieve stress[/b] Only for stressed-out high schoolers and adults. I don't think a lot of kids have so much stress that they must blow things up in order to releive it. Sure, I guess it could work for older people, though.

[b] Games heal the body[/b] Games are fun, nevertheless, I like them. :P Though if you get addicted, the consequences are never good. Unless you speak fluent Japanese, can draw extremely well, is a computer freak, and lives right next to the Enix building. (do they have a Enix building?)[/size]

[Harry]

Gee how about just simply saying games are fun?

[Semjaza]

I'm moving this to Nintendo, as it's the most busy games section. I'm sure someone else will move it if I don't...

I don't think you've played many complex games if you think that they are all that moronic lol.

[b]Games make you Dumb[/b]: They do, mostly because people avoid stuff that actually matters such as school work. Also, visit a game-centric board and tell me it's not moronic most of the time.

[b]Games isolate you[/b]: I'd say so. I know people who tell me they can't go out because they want to finish a game. I suppose this is no different than wanting to see a show or read a book though.

[b]Games addict you[/b]: Same as anything else.

[b]Games mess up your body[/b]: This is mostly in relation to lack of physical activity and horrible sleep patterns. Games can be a major factor.

[b]Games cause violence[/b]: Long thing to talk about, they don't [i]cause[/i] anything. I've been playing games since I was like 4 years old and I'm not shooting people or hurting others.

[b]Games make you smart/l[/b] Games can be directly attributed to better hand and eye control, not that that makes you smart. They obviously can help your problem solving skills, as well as your reading comprehension. Depends on what you play.

[b]Games improve your litercay[/b]: It's literacy. And yes, I strongly agree with this. I've been playing RPGs since the mid-80s. I really do think that Dragon Warrior, among other games, can be directly attributed to my reading and writing skills. I would be nowhere near my current level without those things.

I also should add that there isn't simply "two pages". They don't all have moronic storylines. Many are more complex than some books I've read. Some games actually have well over a thousand pages of pure text for you to read.

[b] Games are social[/b]: Saying that only online games are social seems really mis-informed to me.

There are so many games right now that allow four people to get together and have a good time. I can't tell you how many people have parties and such where games are factored in because of their competition and fun aspects.

[b]Games relieve stress[/b]: EVERYONE has stress. It doesn't matter how old you are. Doing something to get your mind off those things relieves stress. Just like reading or writing or drawing or going to the beach or anything else.

[b] Games heal the body[/b]: This is directly tied into the stress thing, and I think it's rather useless as a point.

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No, there isn't currently an Enix building. They closed their US HQ up, and I'm not sure what part they'll have... I'd assume the local Square chapter will just take care of it all.

[Shinmaru]

Thought I'd throw my two cents into this...

[b]Games Make You Dumb:[/b] They do, if that's all people do with their lives and neglect school. Otherwise, I don't think that there's any real proof that games alone will make you dumb.

[b]Games Isolate You:[/b] Oh yeah. Trust me, if you're near the end of a really good game, you're not gonna want to go out for a while. It's happened to me several times in my life.

[b]Games Addict You:[/b] Well, of course they addict you. People can get addicted to pretty much anything nowadays.

[b]Games Mess Up Your Body:[/b] If you play them over long periods of time, of course they're going to mess up your body. Your thumbs won't be feeling too nice after a long gaming session, I can tell you that. And sitting on the floor for a long time playing video games isn't a smart move, unless you sit up straight (which I don't).

[b]Games Cause Violence:[/b] Bleh, this is just a long and sticky issue. I've been playing games for years and I have yet to commit a violent act because of them. But some of the harder games tend to ignite my vicious temper. Thankfully, even that's never led to violence.

[b]Games Make You Smart:[/b] Depends on what sort of game you're playing. Games can improve your hand/eye coordination, but that doesn't make you smart. Solving some difficult puzzles can help your problem solving skills pretty well, though.

[b]Games Improve Your Literacy:[/b] If you're like me and you play lots of RPGs, then you're literacy will skyrocket. Trust me when I say that even simple RPGs have loads of text to read through. You'll be a much better reader after you beat some RPGs.

[b]Games Are Social:[/b] Games can be very social if you let them and not just online. When my family visits my house, we play games all the time and have fun with each other. When my friends visit my house, we play games. Games are very social.

[b]Games Relieve Stress:[/b] Heh, not if you play a near-impossible game. That'll just add to the stress. But a lot of games are very fun to play and fun relieves stress. Simple as that.

[b]Games Heal the Body:[/b] Not really sure about this, so I don't really have a comment on it.

[eleanor]

[size=1][i]Games relieve stress: EVERYONE has stress. It doesn't matter how old you are. Doing something to get your mind off those things relieves stress. Just like reading or writing or drawing or going to the beach or anything else.[/i]

Yes, everyone does have stress, but I'd say a lot of little kids don't have [i]so much stress[/i] that they have to blow things up and kill people in a virtual world. Ergh, I don't know. Just my two cents.

[i]Games improve your litercay: It's literacy. And yes, I strongly agree with this. I've been playing RPGs since the mid-80s. I really do think that Dragon Warrior, among other games, can be directly attributed to my reading and writing skills. I would be nowhere near my current level without those things.

I also should add that there isn't simply "two pages". They don't all have moronic storylines. Many are more complex than some books I've read. Some games actually have well over a thousand pages of pure text for you to read. [/i]

Heh, I guess I was wrong. >_>I was thinking more of the recent games about breaking out of jail and killing terrorists.

But to back up my "Video Games cause Violence" thing, I wasn't saying that people who play video games will go outside and try to maim people. I'm trying to say that if someone plays enough video games, it does tend to make them think of more violent things and talk about violence, but not really make them kill someone or anything. But then again, if someone does think about violence enough, they probably would.

So in my opinion, I'd say video games are more bad than good. You can releive stress by doing anything you enjoy, like playing a sport or drawing. You don't exactly [i]need[/i] video games to help your litercay, I did it with plain workbooks at home. Video games could be social via the internet, but sometimes you have to get off the computer and do something that does NOT include video games. [/size]

[Semjaza]

See, there are many games that have nothing to do with killing anything. There are tons of puzzle games... Mr. Driller, Tetris, Panel De Pon, Bombastic, Columns, Puyo Puyo, Bomberman... Then lots of music games like DDR, Frequency, Mad Maestro, Gitaroo Man and Samba de Amigo. That's not even including most of the other genres that are totally non-violent.

As for the violence, I don't know. My brothers were just as interested in such things before they cared about games. Human beings are just interested in violence and the macabre in general.

I remember watching some thing on America's Most Wanted. They were playing Goldeneye to prove that videogame violence isn't anything like real violence or something. Whenever someone would get killed, blood would roll down their part of the screen. There was always this kid that would get so excited over seeing the blood, it was weird.

I don't know [i]anyone[/i] like that. Violence is just part of some games and I admit it is enjoyable. It's enjoyable because I personally seperate fantasy from reality and know I can't normally do such things. I can't race cars, I can't fly planes, I can't massacre aliens.

I guess it just depends. It's this same excuse with everything though. Before games it was recorded music. Before that it was books. Same story each time. I think there is an influence, but I think parents actually getting involved and figuring out what their kids are doing would solve almost all of it.

Oh well. I know my family and I know the difference, I can't speak for other kids who act oddly because of videogames lol.

Besides, just because you play games doesn't mean that's [i]all[/i] you do. I already explained the in-person social component, versus the online one. I don't consider online social or personal whatsoever, honestly.

[EchoMew2PKMorph]

Meh, my view:

[b]Games make you dumb:[/b] I do not agree. I also have been playing Vid Games sence I was four, too. I know too much, I some times confuse my class amtes when I say stuff, like, were were reading the Diary of Anne Frank, I said they wished to be liberated, everyone had no idea what I was talking about.

[b]Games isolate you:[/b] Ok, this is kinda true, but slightly untrue. What about games like Mario Party? That game does involve you with other people, but good one player games are hard to put down to hang with your firends.

[b]Games addict you:[/b] I do notdissaggree with this one. I am addicted to games, and I go crazy without them. Example: Me and my brother rented [u]The Legend of Dragoon[/u] for PS1 once, and I loved it so much I bought it. Snece my brother moved out and got his PS1 stolen, I have been wanting to lay that game so much....

[b]Games screw up your body:[/b] The only thing screwed up on me is my right arm is slightly smaller than my left, but that is because I broke my right arm.

[b]Games cause violence:[/b] Yes, I do enjoy killing things in games, but I don't cause violence elsewhere.

I will add more about the 'good' stuff later, I currently have to go.

[Desbreko]

[color=indigo]I read this just the other day when I got the latest EGM. It was a pretty interesting article.

[size=3][b][i]The Bad[/i][/b][/size]

[b]Games make you dumb[/b]
It really depends on the person. If you do nothing but play games and ignore school and stuff like that, then yeah. For me, though, videogames actually helped me. When I was really young, I'd watch my brothers play games, and it would help me with reading and spelling. I would always try to finish reading what was said before my brothers would move onto the next part of text, so it helped my reading speed a little too, I think. (They were pretty fast readers, so it was a challenge for me to keep up when I was little).

Videogames also got me more interested in books, ironically enough, heh. I really liked the stories of games, and then I found there were tons of other good stories in books, too. So I started reading, and now reading is up there along with games as my two favorite things to do.

[b]Games isolate you[/b]
Yes, this has happened to me to some extent, but I'm not exactly a social person to begin with and I never have been. Quite frankly, I enjoy being by myself and just doing things on my own, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy getting together with my friends and doing things. (Things other than play multiplayer games, too, heh). Really, I think I actually spend more time on OB or talking to people over AIM than I do playing videogames, in addition to doing things with people I know in-person.

[b]Games addict you[/b]
Okay, no argument there. I wouldn't go insane without games or anything like that, but they are highly enjoyable, and I would miss them a dang lot. At the same time, though, I'd miss reading books just as much if they were to disappear. So it's not just games.

[b]Games screw up your body[/b]
True, if you just sit around playing games all the time you're not going to be in very good shape. I'm kind of like this, but I think that's more a dislike of sports and whatnot than playing too many games. Hiking is about the only outdoors sort of thing I like to do, but it's kind of boring if you don't have someone to go with you, and I don't get to go with my friends very often. So I would like to do that more often, but it's hard to get people together.

[b]Games cause violence[/b]
I have one main thing to say on this point. That is, if you don't have enough common sense to tell between the reality of the world and the fantasy of games and you end up shooting someone because of it, that's a problem with the person, not the games. It's just like the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" thing, and it's true.

Personally, I've played some pretty violent games (Quake II, anyone?), yet I'm one of the kindest people I know. Again, I think it depends completely on the person.

[size=3][b][i]The Good[/i][/b][/size]

[b]Games make you smart[/b]
Like I said, they helped me with reading, reading speed, and spelling. I think they've helped me with hand-eye coordination and reflexes, also. I've noticed I'm a lot better at dodging and blocking stuff than I used to be, but I'm not really any faster at actually moving.

[b]Games improve literacy[/b]
*points to the one above this, and the first one* Again, like I said, helped me with reading and writing, and they actually helped to get me into reading. And you can't deny that a lot of RPGs have tons of text to read. Heck, even a game like Zelda: Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker has a decent amount of text.

[b]Games are social[/b]
Like Semjaza said, not just online games can be social. Me and my friends have had tons of fun together playing multiplayer games on the N64, GBA, and GCN. Games also led me to this very message board, which has led to quite a few good friendships.

[b]Games relieve stress[/b]
Heck yeah! You have no idea how many times I've been pissed off or whatever, and used Super Smash Bros. or Super Smash Bros. Melee to totally kick the crap out of some CPU players. Very few things can calm me down faster or better than that. And if you play a really hard game when you're stressed out, you're just asking for trouble, lol.

[b]Games heal the body[/b]
I don't know about physical healing, but the stress thing does help.[/color]

[Chimera]

That poll was from one of those game magazines i think.

[Semjaza]

Um, yeah. It's already been stated like four times that it's from EGM.

[James]

[color=#707875]Interesting poll.

[b]Games Make You Dumb:[/b] This is a very sweeping statement. It depends exactly what you mean by "dumb". I don't consider intelligence to be the same as education. If you're missing out on schooling or homework because of games, then yes, you're missing your education. But if you're not an intelligent person in the beginning...there isn't much hope for you anyway. lol

[b]Games Isolate You:[/b] Well, for people who are playing them obsessively by themselves...maybe that's the case. I play video games, but they are not something that isolate me from the rest of the world. In fact, I often like to play four player games where everyone is using the one TV. I would say that I prefer these games to Internet games, because I like the social aspect.

[b]Games Addict You:[/b] Yes, I guess that's true for some. I play games a lot less now than I used to, though. So, they haven't addicted me. Although I guess a really great game does addict me to an extent, for a certain period of time.

[b]Games Screw Up Your Body:[/b] Well, the example mentioned in the first post is obviously very extreme. The only way I can see gaming affecting my body is if I do nothing but play games...and if games actually cause me to be less physically active.

[b]Games Cause Violence:[/b] No. There isn't a single research document that conclusively proves this point. It is a point largely whipped up into a frenzy by mainstream media, who themselves are quite happy to scapegoat without any real information or evidence.

If a game influences you to be violent, then you must have in-set mental problems in the first place. If a game doesn't influence you, a violent book, movie or music track will. The whole idea that games cause someone to be violent is ridiculous. If you have violent tendencies in the beginning, almost anything will influence your behavior. You'll go looking for something to feed that; games won't suddenly push you over the edge. I'm mentally healthy and while I have played many violent games, I've always hated real life violence. There is a massive difference for me, even on a subconscious level.

[b]Games Make You Smart:[/b] Once again, "smart" is a word that is too general. Yes, games can improve certain aspects of your education. Your literacy, or your world knowledge as examples. I know that I've learned some historical facts from games...and I've even learned specific terms and so on. So yes, games can help your education in some respects.

[b]Games Improve Literacy:[/b] As has been said, it depends on the game. A text heavy game can definitely improve your literacy.

[b]Games Are Social:[/b] Depending on the game, yes. Four player party games are a great example of a social game.

[b]Games Relieve Stress:[/b] Absolutely. My dad plays racing games after a hard day at work. And I know that they relax him. A game like Mario never fails to relax me, too. So yeah, games can definitely be relaxing.

[b]Games Heal the Body:[/b] Well, there are recent reports that do suggest this. There are reports that talk about eye movement and image processing being much quicker in a person who regularly plays games. This can translate to better reaction times when driving a car and so on. People who play very fast, high-action games, are also more likely to have quicker reflects and responses to real-world situations. And if you really want to get technical, you could say that Dance Dance Revolution helps to keep you fit. But I guess you'd have to play it a lot. lol[/color]

[eleanor]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#707875]Interesting poll.


[b]Games Cause Violence:[/b] No. There isn't a single research document that conclusively proves this point. It is a point largely whipped up into a frenzy by mainstream media, who themselves are quite happy to scapegoat without any real information or evidence.

If a game influences you to be violent, then you must have in-set mental problems in the first place. If a game doesn't influence you, a violent book, movie or music track will. The whole idea that games cause someone to be violent is ridiculous. If you have violent tendencies in the beginning, almost anything will influence your behavior. You'll go looking for something to feed that; games won't suddenly push you over the edge. I'm mentally healthy and while I have played many violent games, I've always hated real life violence. There is a massive difference for me, even on a subconscious level.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

[size=1]All humans have violent tendancies to begin with. I think I heard that somewhere in this thread, anyway. Well...I [i]still[/i] beleive that video games can cause people to be more prone to these 'violent tendancies', I actually don't care if there isn't a report on it. I can say for myself that ever since I played video games, I've been more interested in violent movies/anime and other things. And jeez, the only game I play regularly at home is the Zelda games for the N64.

I see little kids playing Teen/Mature rated video games, and their eyes are pratically [i]glued[/i] to the screen when someone gets impaled.[/size]

[Shinmaru]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i]
[B][size=1]I see little kids playing Teen/Mature rated video games, and their eyes are pratically [i]glued[/i] to the screen when someone gets impaled.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

Well, they're little kids. What do you expect? Most little kids practically become entranced by every act of violence they see because they're too young to really comprehend violence. They just think it looks cool.

I think the argument that gaming makes you a bit more violent might be plausible if there was more proof of it. Sure, games can get you going, but you have to be pretty nuts to actually act on those whims.

[eleanor]

[size=1] I am not saying that people who play lots of violent games go outside and go on a killing spree. I'm saying some people who play lots of video games tend to like watching violent movies or anything violent. Little kids are influenced by what they see and do when they're little.[/size]

[Shinmaru]

I thought that's what you were aiming at.

I think that the [i]only[/i] time that video games can seriously make you into a violent person is when you're a little kid growing up and your mind is just developing. If you see nothing but violence, chances are that you'll end up being a violent person.

[eleanor]

[size=1] Exactly my thoughts. It probably won't effect older people, but I think kids are prone to getting violent.[/size]

[Shinmaru]

That's exactly why I hate it when everyone starts blaming video games, music, movies, etc. for society's troubles. If kids are getting their morals and such from games, then that's a pretty big problem. The way I see the issue is that it's up to the parents to teach their kids right and wrong. I hate it when boneheaded parents decided to blame their troubles on the media, when they didn't have enough sense in their heads to actually sit down, talk with their children and set them straight when it comes to things like violence.

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i]
[B][size=1]All humans have violent tendancies to begin with. I think I heard that somewhere in this thread, anyway. Well...I [i]still[/i] beleive that video games can cause people to be more prone to these 'violent tendancies', I actually don't care if there isn't a report on it. I can say for myself that ever since I played video games, I've been more interested in violent movies/anime and other things. And jeez, the only game I play regularly at home is the Zelda games for the N64.

I see little kids playing Teen/Mature rated video games, and their eyes are pratically [i]glued[/i] to the screen when someone gets impaled.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=#707875]That's a complete misnoma. Not only is there no evidence of that, but there are actually reports that discuss the contrary.

A game is not going to make you a violent human being. You have to remember; kids copy [i]everything[/i] that they see. They mimmick the behavior of their parents, siblings, super heroes on TV and so on. Games are no different in this regard and they shouldn't be singled out as being the cause of violent behavior.

Secondly, and as I mentioned, I've been playing violent games for my entire life. Yet I am nonetheless appalled by real-life violence. Violent games have not -- and do not -- change my in-built behaviors and tendences.

People are confusing a kid copying something they saw on TV with something far deeper. It's like saying that watching two guys kiss on a TV show is going to make you homosexual. It's rubbish. Unless you have in-built behavioral tendences, you're [i]not[/i] going to be "pushed" into a behavior pattern by an outside medium. There are plenty of studies to support that point of view, on several fronts (including research into violent movies).

The reason that violent games are targetted is because they're an easy target. When some kid shoots another kid, it's easy to say "oh yeah, that kid grew up with Doom. No wonder he's violent". No. That's scapegoating and laziness. It's a question of parents (and society at large) taking some [i]real[/i] responsibility for child raising. It's also a question of people misunderstanding what video games are -- the people who make many of these claims are often the people who know the least about video games. It's no surprise that such claims are made, in that regard.[/color]

[eleanor]

[size=1] ::sighs:: :P Looks like James has told off yet another person on the boards.

It seems my idea was wrong in many areas, so I'll just drop the subject. >_<[/size]

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i]
[B][size=1] ::sighs:: :P Looks like James has told off yet another person on the boards.

It seems my idea was wrong in many areas, so I'll just drop the subject. >_<[/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=707875]I wasn't telling you off. I was just participating in the discussion. ^_^

It's not really fair to just say "I'll drop the subject" as though it's not worth talking about or something. If you're going to get involved in a discussion at the start, you have to be prepared for people to discuss/debate your views. ~_^[/color]

[AutoKill]

Anything today can be simply labeled [b]Bad[/b]:nono:. Am finding this to be rather annoying. Their has been a research done that proves, people that play alot of videogames, have a sense of awareness.(things going on around them). They can multi task better then the average person.:lecture: Any thing can be labeled bad. Salt its bad for you. but we put it in every food.