# Video Game Generation Take Over **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776 "2010-06-28T13:05:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/101 "2010-06-28T20:50:34Z")
Never once did I complain about violent video games. I complained about (it seems) like a few kids that could not tell reality from a game. Yes, I love the punisher, but not the comic, but what he stands for. And also, it was our unit signature in Iraq. The enemy was terrified to see that skull. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/102 "2010-06-28T20:59:36Z")
Kids, being young, have very little experience with real warfare. This is hardly a surprise, nor is it symptomatic of anything problematic. When/if they get recruited for warfare they will be taught. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/103 "2010-06-28T21:00:15Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > I complained about (it seems) like a few kids that could not tell reality from a game. The kids you talked to could absolutely tell reality from a game. They just thought a skill they’d learned in a game translated into reality … about which they were mistaken. Eventually they’ll grow up and learn that they don’t really know how to shoot. Or not. It’s not like target shooting is an essential skill for most people in everyday life. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/104 "2010-06-28T21:01:14Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > Never once did I complain about violent video games. I complained about (it seems) like a few kids that could not tell reality from a game. Yes, I love the punisher, but not the comic, but what he stands for. And also, it was our unit signature in Iraq. The enemy was terrified to see that skull. The Punisher doesn’t stand for anything. He’s a fictional character. Again, you’re accusing the kids of something you’re doing. The enemy was not terrified of your uniform patches. They were terrified by your _guns._ Probably also by your giant fucking armored personnel characters (I think you mentioned Strykers upthread). Have _you_ ever been afraid of a uniform patch? Anyway, if they were close enough to see your uniform patches… Regardless of whether kids _seem_ to be able to tell reality from a video game, they can. That’s why they don’t finish playing Grand Theft Auto and then decide to go mow down some pedestrians with Dad’s Suburban. Similarly, they don’t bounce on turtles when they see them. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/105 "2010-06-28T21:08:57Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > This worries me. Yeah and that rock and roll music is going to mean the end of civilization as we know it, these kids today… I’ll tell you. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/106 "2010-06-28T21:20:11Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > We had dial up and wireless internet for a while, the wireless let us have a little faster internet, but not DSL till 07. And for the record, it’s you people that make me angry. Okay… First of all, I was kidding. Second of all, did you not read my previous post? We’re fellow vets! I thought I was being friendly. Lastly, why on Earth would me playing an online war game (after being, like, in an \*actual \*war) make you angry? They are fun, and a good release for daily stressors. Would you prefer I kick my dog, beat my wife, yell at my kids? Jeez man. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/107 "2010-06-28T21:21:21Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > Never once did I complain about violent video games. I complained about (it seems) like a few kids that could not tell reality from a game. Yes, I love the punisher, but not the comic, but what he stands for. And also, it was our unit signature in Iraq. The enemy was terrified to see that skull. You did not complain about the games, you complained about kids who play the games. But that wasn’t the point. If in 20 years some 45 year old with a Liberty City tattoo starts complaining about how the new 3D virtuanet craze is ruining the kids these days, then I will point out the irony then as well. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/108 "2010-06-28T21:26:17Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > Yes, I love the punisher, but not the comic, but what he stands for. Violent, adolescent revenge fantasies? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/109 "2010-06-28T21:30:24Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Violent, adolescent revenge fantasies? Well, that and ripping off Mack Bolan. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/110 "2010-06-28T21:30:40Z")
And no sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/111 "2010-06-28T21:49:26Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I would just like to see any data that shows a corresponding shift in the amount of sports kids play or the amount of extracurricular activities kids do that proves that they don’t want to go outside An example from England [Child fitness levels ‘declining even in affluent areas’](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8425161.stm): [QUOTE=BBC] They found significant falls in fitness levels, concluding the average 10-year-old in 1998 could beat 95% of youngsters in 2008 in running tests. [/QUOTE] So, whether people think the above change is worrying or not, the fact is that there is a change, at least according to this study. We can’t keep saying “it’s always been like this, people have always complained about kids”. That may be so, but there does seem to be a shift in kids’ behavior that is unique to this generation and it’s not clear how all this will play out in the long term. One more data point, from my experience. Nowadays, if a couple of kids are at home, and they just finished playing on their PS3, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS, etc, they just sit there and ask the adults “what do we do now?”. It’s a bit weird, since I never remember asking adults what I should play with the couple of kids I was hanging out with. We just found stuff to do. Is anyone else seeing this today with kids in their social milieu, or is it just the kids in my environment? ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/112 "2010-06-28T22:13:42Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > The “Joint Strike Fighter” is the latest fighter jet the US has adopted and already has announced that it will be the last fighter jet EVER TO BE MANNED. The Air Force has not announced that. There has been public speculation, including support for this by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but given that the first batch of F-35s aren’t even going to be delivered until next year, it’s a bit too soon to definitively determine the future of manned flight. > [@](#): > > In 20 years when we start getting new Jets, they will all be UAV. Which I think is crap, because next they will be coming after my job as “Boots on the ground”. Your job is quite secure. The far bigger danger, at least before the scandals involving Blackwater/Xe, is that mercenaries (particularly ones not subject to the UCMJ or any host nation laws) would increasingly be used for military ground combat operations, not robots. ---
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/113 "2010-06-28T23:09:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The Punisher doesn’t stand for anything. He’s a fictional character. Again, you’re accusing the kids of something you’re doing. > > The enemy was not terrified of your uniform patches. They were terrified by your _guns._ Probably also by your giant fucking armored personnel characters (I think you mentioned Strykers upthread). Have _you_ ever been afraid of a uniform patch? > > Anyway, if they were close enough to see your uniform patches… > > Regardless of whether kids _seem_ to be able to tell reality from a video game, they can. That’s why they don’t finish playing Grand Theft Auto and then decide to go mow down some pedestrians with Dad’s Suburban. Similarly, they don’t bounce on turtles when they see them. No no, not really. When a pog unit would move into the area, they would not be afraid. But when they seen the punisher skull spray painted on a car that we shot the shit out of. They thought twice about trying to engage us. It wasn’t just my unit that used the skull. A lot of infantry units did. ---
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/114 "2010-06-28T23:10:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Okay… > > First of all, I was kidding. Second of all, did you not read my previous post? We’re fellow vets! I thought I was being friendly. > > Lastly, why on Earth would me playing an online war game (after being, like, in an \*actual \*war) make you angry? They are fun, and a good release for daily stressors. Would you prefer I kick my dog, beat my wife, yell at my kids? > > Jeez man. No, just really the guy that called me a terrorist earlier made me mad. ---
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/115 "2010-06-28T23:11:58Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > The Air Force has not announced that. There has been public speculation, including support for this by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but given that the first batch of F-35s aren’t even going to be delivered until next year, it’s a bit too soon to definitively determine the future of manned flight. > > Your job is quite secure. The far bigger danger, at least before the scandals involving Blackwater/Xe, is that mercenaries (particularly ones not subject to the UCMJ or any host nation laws) would increasingly be used for military ground combat operations, not robots. Yea, you really hit the nail on the head there with contractors. ---
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/116 "2010-06-28T23:12:59Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > You did not complain about the games, you complained about kids who play the games. But that wasn’t the point. If in 20 years some 45 year old with a Liberty City tattoo starts complaining about how the new 3D virtuanet craze is ruining the kids these days, then I will point out the irony then as well. Yea, your probably right. As I admitted earlier ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/117 "2010-06-28T23:23:09Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > The Air Force has not announced that. There has been public speculation, including support for this by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but given that the first batch of F-35s aren’t even going to be delivered until next year, it’s a bit too soon to definitively determine the future of manned flight. > > Your job is quite secure. The far bigger danger, at least before the scandals involving Blackwater/Xe, is that mercenaries (particularly ones not subject to the UCMJ or any host nation laws) would increasingly be used for military ground combat operations, not robots. If these mercenary types aren’t subject to any laws or oversight, then how come some Blackwater guys get arrested? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/118 "2010-06-28T23:25:09Z")
> [@Punisher\_11B](#): > > No, just really the guy that called me a terrorist earlier made me mad. OK, but you did say in response to my tongue-in-cheek post about how your lack of high speed internet until 2007 “deprived” you of playing an online wargame was that “people like me” made you angry. I just didn’t understand it. Perhaps you thought you were responding to someone else? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/119 "2010-06-29T02:01:45Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > OK, but you did say in response to my tongue-in-cheek post about how your lack of high speed internet until 2007 “deprived” you of playing an online wargame was that “people like me” made you angry. > > I just didn’t understand it. Perhaps you thought you were responding to someone else? By way of battlefield analogy, in this discussion tongues and cheeks are driving unarmored humvees. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776/120 "2010-06-29T02:28:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > By way of battlefield analogy, in this discussion tongues and cheeks are driving unarmored humvees. Well, FUCK YOU!!! I have a Stryker!! I piss on your Hummvee and raise you a turret-launched TOW missle! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-generation-take-over/544776.md?page=7)