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I am dead bored here at work, so I thought I'd try starting another one.
There really is one thread rule:
Be respectful. If you disagree with someone's point of view, don't go into a tirade of 4-letter words that would make George Carlin blush. Present your thoughts in an intelligence, cool-headed manner.
Now, on to the topic.
One website I have bookmarked is called Computer Hope.com. I haven't visited lately, but today, in my boredom, I stopped by and saw they had a monthly poll.
Do you think games provoke violence?
I thought for a moment about how I felt. I'm not sure how I fit into their poll, and I didn't see any additional area to elaborate. So, I thought perhaps I could start the discussion here.
So, do you think video games provoke violence?
My views:
I'm not even 100% sure how I feel about this. I, myself, cannot recall ever having felt compelled to violence by a video game, so I don't know what goes through the minds of people as they play these games.
I think the trouble is a growing desensitization from generation-to-generation.
People want to push the envelope. Then someone decides to push it farther. Eventually, you get to the point where what was extreme 5 years ago is tame by todays standards.
(To use a completely unrelated example, look at clothing in the last 120 years. Watch Mary Poppins. For a woman to expose even her lower leg was not tolerated. Or, watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There's a scene where Dick van Dyke has on one of those classic full swimsuits. Where one of those to the beach nowadays and you'll probably get laughed at. But consider how things have progressed. Women now wear shorts that make men's boxers look long and we have the *shudder* speedo.)
I believe that some games, as they push farther to the extremes, are slowly desensitizing kids. As they become desensitized, the kids are able to do more things without fully understanding the consequences of their actions. They don't understand that shooting a person can kill them.
(Anyone seen commercials for that new demolision derby-type game? They actually have minigames where your goal is to throw a man out of a car. I would not be surprised if we see some poor dimwit get in an accident just to see how far he gets thrown, not understanding the dangers involved.)
Now, do I think we need to ban these kinds of games? No, we shouldn't.
I think the main trouble is a lack of parental supervision.
When I was young, I had to get permission for just about anything I did. My parents wanted to know where I was, where I was going, when I'd be home.
I have no doubt that 90% of parents would be absolutely appauled by the violence and other activities in thse games, but they are not even aware their kids are playing them, or they haven't paid enough attention to the games to see it.
(I believe the same is true with the lyrics in a lot of today's music, but that could be another topic for another day.)