Dangerous games

[ThinkerThinker]

How much of a potential danger lies in playing games? If you play a game containing violence and some seriously questionable values and morals that goes against the basic values of Christianity does it have an influence on you way of thinking or can we simply separate the game from real life?

 

[seebs]

A very good question. I don't know that the answer is entirely obvious. It probably varies from person to person.

 

[Onesiphorus]

I'm sure it does vary from person to person. However, I saw a very interesting speaker on television one time. I didn't see the whole program, so I don't know how it all started. This speaker went on to tell a story of human strength and proximity to "negative objects." The object used was an extremely vulgar rap disc (he did not say what "artist"). When the disc was held close to a person, the person could not perform a strength test that they had easily passed just a moment ago. His point was that even OBJECTS in the universe have positive and negative energy associated with them (good and evil, if you will). He said God's "energy" was not in the "evil" objects (my words, not his).

Now, I'm not into that type of thought process but I must say it intrigued me. I have since used music as an experiment in my training regiment. Let me tell you, it made a difference. So......... I suppose playing "bad" games could have the same impact. Is it really so far fetched to think God is all around us and His energy could better penetrate us without the "evil" distractions? If one was in the presence of God, would playing a video game where you kill people/things really be such a "fun" event?

I guess what I'm saying is: Surround yourself with negative and that's what you'll get.

(BTW, I have a system and have many FPS games)

-- I seek the truth and nothing more.

 

[DJ_Ghost]

How much of a potential danger lies in playing games? If you play a game containing violence and some seriously questionable values and morals that goes against the basic values of Christianity does it have an influence on you way of thinking or can we simply separate the game from real life?

There are a number of factors to be considered here, your age at the time for example, and your mental stability. Generally speaking people can separate the game from the reality. For years now people have made bogus claims that rock music, violent films or violent games will result in violent behaviour and moral degeneration, quite often quoting Bandura Ross and Ross in support of this hypothesis.

For those that do not know Bandura et al attempted to see if violent images would result in violent actions among children. They split a sample of children into 4 groups and tested them by monitoring the level of violence shown to a bobo doll after witnessing either violent images on a TV or by watching an adult commit violent acts on the Bobo doll. The control group of course saw no such violent images. The results appeared to show an upswing in aggressive acts in the groups exposed to violent images.

I say appeared because Bandura et al has been criticised in a number of ways. Firstly a bobo doll is very evidently not a real person, and sure enough the children did not show marked increase in violent action towards one another, only towards the evidently inanimate toy. Secondly people have extrapolated from Bandura Ross and Ross the notion that if levels of aggression increase in children as a result of such exposure, that the same is true of adults. Clearly this is a dubious position since adults and children show very obvious differences in their susceptibility to operant conditioning of all kinds. Adults are very tricky to condition whilst children are far more susceptible to it.

Other studies have been conducted in which psychologists have looked into the possibility of links between violent games and violent behaviour. Again many studies report that violent offenders tend to prefer violent films and games, they confirm that people with no history of violence and only normal levels of aggression can also show a high degree of interest in violent films and games. Generally these studies show a much higher percentage of people in the offenders group that play violent games and watch violent films, whilst in the second group there is a greater mix of people who so use them and people who do not. However, whilst this is often used by layman as an argument that violent games promote violence in people, Criminologists such as myself are not so convinced that these people have the cause and effect the right way around. In fact it makes considerable more sense that people who have a predisposition towards violence will prefer violent films and games, rather than the idea that people who play such games will develop a preference for violent behaviour.

This also fits well with the evidence that a great many people who play violent games and watch violent films see to show no increase in violent activity or aggression levels. In fact in the cases of well-adjusted adults violent games seem to help diffuse tension and act as a release for aggression.

As mentioned earlier however, children (and here I mean pre-pubescent children) are more impressionable than adults and adolescents to operant conditioning. Even so exposure to a single form of violent media is unlikely to cause violent behaviour in the long term (although films and non-participative media may increase aggression levels temporarily). Exposure to real life violence is the most likely to lead to an increase in violent behaviour, followed by exposure to multiple media violent imagery (games and films for example) coupled with a low level of affection displays from the parents, or ineffectual discipline from parents.

Note that I have concentrated on visual media games in this missive because games such as traditional (pen and paper) role playing games which take place entirely as a dialogue between players seem to be a different case. They appear to actually reduce violent tendencies amongst players. Despite the much vaunted cases of “My son killed himself because of Dungeons and Dragons”, all indications are that suicide rates amongst adolescent D+D players are significantly lower than the mean suicide rates of adolescents as a whole in the same culture. Similarly the rate of violent offences committed by players of such games is statistically smaller than it should be compared to samples of none players that are comparable in all other ways.

Ghost

 

[Nietzsche]

If your incapable of seperating the game from reality you have problems far beyond the game

 

[TwinCrier]

'Games" is a broad term, but for the Christian, anything, game or not, that exposes you to pornography, violence and vulgarity is worth staying away from. Of course if you're not a Christian, you may or may not be bothered by a woman in a bikini being blown into a million bloody bits.

 

[transientlife]

How much of a potential danger lies in playing games? If you play a game containing violence and some seriously questionable values and morals that goes against the basic values of Christianity does it have an influence on you way of thinking or can we simply separate the game from real life?

I agree with the previous posters who think it's an individual thing. Most people of "sound mind" can differeniate between games and real life. I wouldn't doubt maybe there is some subconscious influence, but that influence can probably be over-ridden and nothing ill will come of it.
I would think that if you are strong in your faith, anything that is an affront medium-wise would not be a great threat.

 

[Nietzsche]

hmm sub conscious influence? dont you think thats taking it a little to far? why would they go out of their way to do somthing like that

 

[transientlife]

Hey it's just a guess I didn't mean it as intended influence, I meant more along the lines of things affecting someone, though maybe not directly or noticably.

 

[Nietzsche]

Ah well you dont pretend to have all the awsers sorry about that

COOL i just figured out how to give blessings! all shall have the blessing of the mighty Nietzsche uber man

 

[transientlife]

haha don't worry about it Nietzsche. I coulda clarified it more anyhow.

 

[ThinkerThinker]

Well, it seems the general view is that seriously bad games can have a negative influence on your way of thinking. I think this is especially true in games that fully submerge the player in another world supported by real time graphics, realistic action and high impact music where belief is suspended for a while and the game captures the full attention of all the senses.



But would the opposite be true as well? That if we play games based on high moral values and principles that they will help us strengthen our way of thinking in a positive way?



When you look at some of the games that is out there I cannot help but think there is a massive industry focused on developing games that has the potential to degrade people’s attitudes with no opposition standing in its way and very little alternatives for those who love to play them.

 

[Caylin]

I have been playing video games since I can rememeber. I have never killed anyone.

 

[ThinkerThinker]

Ha, but it is not about playing a game and then going out to kill someone. It is about the no-so-obvious effects. It's about giving your agression an outlet (which is good) but at the same time not helping you to deal with it so you do not have that much agression. And not dealing with something allows it to grow. And again, I am not saying eventually you become a murderer but you will just not be as happy and content as you could have been, you will not be quite as effective, not quite in the right frame of mind to help someone properly etc.

 

[Cerridwen]

Hey~

I, too, think it depends on the person. For example, my younger brother was (and still is) very wrapped up in violent video games, from the very first Mortal Kombat on up to the really creepy type games that are available now. While he is very smart, (seriously...serial killer smart) he has a HUGE anger management problem, & has the capacity to become extremely violent when angry. I have played violent & scary video games as well for about the same number of years that he has (although not near as frequently) but they have not had any noticable effect on me.
I do think that video games & the like can affect people, but I think the extent of the effects depend on the mentality of the person in question. I don't believe that rock and roll should be blamed for violence in teenagers (if any music should be blamed, it's country ), & I believe that parents should be responsible enough to teach their children the difference between fantasy & reality. Obviously, little kids don't need to see bloody horror movies or listen to ugly words in music, but I don't think that anyone but parents should have the right to censor that type of material. If a person has a problem with lyrics in a song or violence or sex or gore on television, then said person needs to learn how to buy different CDs & change TV channels.
As far as challenging one's religious beliefs, I agree with the poster who said that if one is strongly grounded in his or her faith to begin with, then those factors shouldn't affect his or her faith in any negative way.

Love & Blessings, Cerridwen*

 

[armed2010]

I have played violent video games all my life and have managed to resist the urge to hijack a car

 

[ElliotMadHatter]

Many people know, that I am not a particularly violent person. But the main reason for this, I think... is because I play quite a few 'violent' pc games.
The types of games I am talking of, is 'First Person Shooter' games, where you play as the person doing the shooting.
For example, I have just installed 'Hitman Contracts', a game where you play the role of a hitman, instructed to kill certain people.
I never take the game seriously, and only ever play them as a way of releasing anger in a non-dangerous way.

 

[Caylin]

Many people know, that I am not a particularly violent person. But the main reason for this, I think... is because I play quite a few 'violent' pc games.
The types of games I am talking of, is 'First Person Shooter' games, where you play as the person doing the shooting.
For example, I have just installed 'Hitman Contracts', a game where you play the role of a hitman, instructed to kill certain people.
I never take the game seriously, and only ever play them as a way of releasing anger in a non-dangerous way.

Do you play it sneaky like? The way it is supposed to be played? Or do you make like me and just waste everything in sight?

 

[repentandbelieve]

The danger I see with "games" is that essentially they are a form of amusment and can be very addictive, opening the door to passion and temptation to enter into our lives. Games tend to devert the mind away from God. The mind can become so preoccupied that it is too busy to see its need to seek God. They also waste a great deal of time that could be better used glorifying God.

 

[Caylin]

So... we should ONLY do things that glorify GOD? WHat about eating? Should we have fun? Or would that take time away from GOD too? What about sleeping? That takes time away from GOD.