It was never intended as such. However, since games are more violent than ever, any effect they have on promoting (or suppressing) violent crime must be relatively small compared to other factors. And in the light of a compelling public safety interest, first amendment rights to free expression (even concern subjects that are violent or offensive) should take precedence.
I would *mind *it. But I wouldn’t worry that playing such a game would turn my kid into a racist.
Of course … I also mind the subtle racism contained in the suggestion that “urban kids” might be more susceptible to the siren song of violent games than those nice “suburban kids” … .
Oh, well, if some crime goes unreported, I guess that means that you’re free to fabricate whatever you damned well please. Violence is skyrocketing, people, and video games are to blame! They’ve also apparently desensitized so many people to violence so much that the victims see it as no big deal and don’t bother to report it. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
As long as you’re going to break down (reported) crime rates by city, you may as well dig up some stats on (reported) video game sales in those cities.
Anecdotes ain’t worth much, but I’ve never seen much link. Most of the aggressive guys I’ve met are into highly competitive games, like online shooters or sports games. Violence doesn’t seem to be important here, it’s all about dominating others.
The gleeful violence games seem more to the tastes of cynical, nerdy types.
You sure? You literally blow enemies apart (popularized the word ‘gib’), mow down hundreds of enemies with machine guns, and it’s covered in Satanic imagery. Although I don’t know why the fundies always got in such an uproar over these sorts of games. You’re trying to stop the invasion from Hell, after all. So grab a BFG and help the cause! But the only other more violent game from that period I can think of is Mortal Kombat.
Doom 1 and 2 are still awesome too, holds up very well. I’d rather play them then some generic army shooter.
What with cartoons, movies, video games, rock and roll + rap music, porn, and the sexualization of all media in general it’s a surprise we haven’t broken down into a state of complete anarchy, to have the moral guardians tell it.
That’s my point. They were bullied, yes. But the bigger part of their problem is that they were so mentally ill that they believed the entire world thought they were trash. Which wasn’t true.
Doom is like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre of video games. It’s violent, but a lot of it is hidden by the 1993-era graphics (those “gibs” are just red splotches really) and the enemies you kill are almost all demons.
I would suggest that exposure to violence desensitizes people and increases the risk of them being violent. But, that has nothing to do with video games really. A movie, a book, the news, violence is everywhere in our society. Singling out video games doesn’t make sense to me.
There is no actual ‘violence’ in video games. That is to say, no one gets injured in video games.
There are ‘depictions of violence’ in video games, yes, just like there are ‘depictions of violence’ in cave paintings, letters, sketches, books, graffiti, tapestries, comics, photos, radio, movies, games, our imaginations and all other forms of media, and have been throughout our history.
On the other hand, there is actual ‘violence’ in killing something you want to eat, squishing ants, fishing, hunting, the law of the jungle, force against aggressors, animal farming, physical contact sports, assault, battery, domestic violence, corporal punishment, capital punishment, street fights, riots, policing actions, and war, just for starters.
Heh. Not in my experience. I have been playing video games since high school at least. (20 years or so.) Mostly RPGs (kill the monsters, save the world). Maybe I might be tempted to carry the violence into the real world if there were actual monsters here?
Sweden has them too. And the USA, and Canada. Fortunately, they aren’t too big of a danger, thanks to the invention of a weapon to combat them, the BanHammer.
I have been saying I believe it’s part of a larger package, but since I’m tarnishing the image of everyone’s gamer lifestyle, it’s not being heard. Good luck with that conservative and nuanced viewpoint.
You don’t think violent video games aren’t the least bit harmful? That having your kid kill, fight, maim, steal, and ______ is having a positive effect on his growth and development?
Again, violence (and apathy to it) is part of a culture. It’s a package. I personally find such things distasteful, but I’m an old (young) square, I guess.
I don’t have children, unfortunately. But I support restricting games with adult content from young children who might not be able to contextualize the content.
It’s pretend. You know, like playing cops and robbers. Bang, bang, you’re dead. No one is actually being killed or hurt. No one is being stolen from. It’s imaginary.
Oh, I’m very much NOT apathetic about actual violence. I’m just able to recognize that there’s a world of difference between actually hurting someone and playing a game where you pretend to. And as a parent, I’m much more concerned about how my kids treat real people than how they treat pixels.
This is now a different argument than suggesting that video games are causal factors for violence. However, where is the evidence that they have a negative effect? My children have grown up in the current console period. They have suffered no negative consequences from the content of the games. The amount of time they would prefer to spend playing them is a different matter.
So, please do tell us of this time you recall when there was no violence.
There certainly are indicators of cultural values that I find distasteful, but some sort of change in regards to a cultural attitude towards violence isn’t particularly one of them.
One thing’s for sure: when one guy is the source behind every study that reaches a particular finding, you can stop worrying about whether the finding is true.
Did reading Catch-22 have a negative impact on your growth and development? Rape, theft, battery, murder and ennui all wrapped up in one convenient psycho-making package, was it?
[QUOTE=Justin Bailey]
This already happens. It just doesn’t have the force of law behind it. Which you shouldn’t support, as then it would be unconstitutional.
[/QUOTE]
Whatever gave you that idea? Is barring minors from watching movies with graphic sex acts an affront to liberty? :dubious:
