There are many things that have a larger effect on children, and the theory is that the more time a child spends doing something the larger the effect if has on the child his or herself. The most sizable and still growing examples of this is video games, especially as they become more participatory, violent, and graphic images. Since the start of video games, with pong, there have been many advancements to gaming. Now there is not one but dozens of options on game systems, and thousands of games to choose from. The newest of these video games sport a new type of violence, on that is realistic, as well as graphic. There are three things that parents are concerned about. The first is that their children are learning to act in aggressive manners, this is followed by the desensitization factor, and the final concern is that the children are becoming fearful of society.
As to the first concern, the fact that children demonstrate an aggressive demeanor does is not a reflection on video games, but rather on the society in which they live. The video games are rated, and similarly to movies, parents allow their children to play them, disregarding the label. The united states is a society of fear (refer to My Position: Societies Pacemaker) and as such the children reflect the aggression that makes them feel like they are following the parameters of what they are supposed to be in society. When a child is of steady mind, and is in the proper environment, than the games should not matter. Simply because they are violent doesn't mean that they corrupt; as so many lobbyists would have you believe. An example people like to use as an effect of video games on aggression is the attack on Columbine High School. The two shooters who committed this crime did in fact play the first person shooter, DOOM. While this is a poignant observation, I would like to counter that both of these children were mentally unstable, which their parents knew. And owned weapons, which their parents bought them. And both had histories with violent acts. The fact that they played DOOM does not mean that they learned violence from the games. I would rather suggest that DOOM may have been a coping mechanism. Regardless, it is important to remember the role that parents have on the minds and morals of their children. Self-control, patience, and talking through problems are all things that children learn from parents, fail to teach them, and forfeit your role as other aspects of their life teach them in your stead.
Desensitization happens to all people as age occurs, video games are just helping to build those walls sooner, building a buffer against the real pain that will, one day, attempt to inflict on the child. The amount of desensitization is negligible. While video games are getting to be more realistic, they are not quite to the point where they are so completely realistic that even children cannot tell the difference. And therefore this should not be a problem at all.
As I have already said in this blog posting once already, it is not video games that are responsible for the fear installed in our children. Rather it is the people, and places, around them. In a society where horrors, and thrillers, where Halloween is one of the largest (most participatory per capita,) celebrations all year it is hard to understand how they shouldn't be afraid. The media, government, and society all tell us to be fearful, that is a fact of life and that is what is creating fear in you and your children. The propaganda that suggests that it is video games are pure nonsense.
This has been my position on Video Games. Your Opinions do count, so answer the pole at the bottom of the page.
