Video Games are Evil

[amandadun]

I feel like video games, mainly the violent and shooting ones, are evil. Why are they teaching kids so much violence? From supposed christian gaming companies even.

 

[abysmul]

If you feel they are evil, then be sure to avoid them. If you are a parent, don't buy them for your children.

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

You have a right to your opinion, and I have a right to believe you're incorrect, which I do.

There are reasons video games have ratings. You can't even buy many games without proof of age, however, I grew up playing violent video games and I'm a pretty peaceful person by nature.

 

[Cute Tink]

If you feel they are evil, then be sure to avoid them. If you are a parent, don't buy them for your children.

^ this.

I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600 when I was about 5. I have played everything from puzzle games to the violent shooters. I have never been a really violent person.

I restrict the types of games that my kids get to play based upon their ages and maturity levels (and they don't get to play my new ones right away ). There is no reason why you should ever buy your kids a game that you don't think is appropriate.

 

[jeffallen]

Yup!!! I think if you feel that they are evil you should avoid them. You should not purchase for your child.

 

[tannicv2]

Been playing since PAC Man... I don't see them as evil.

 

[TheProject]

I've been slaying zombies, monsters, and criminals, as well as a few Bond villains (thank you Goldeneye) since I was about six years old. I've fired a real gun twice and have never been in physical fight. If they affect you or strike you that way, then you should certainly avoid them, but I do think that your generalization that video games are evil and will teach youngsters violence is very flawed (and there are studies that shoot down widely held belief of games teaching kids/teenagers violence).

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Children have been playing variations of cops vs. criminals since the dawn of man, pretending to stab, club, dismember, or shoot each other.

It may not be a part of our heritage that's particularly welcome, and it certainly is related to the "games" young predatory animals play in order to train for the perfect kill, but I do not think it is necessarily evil.

Now, what I do object to (and not just in video games) is letting minors witness gory violence, even if it's simulated. The infantile mind can filter this stuff out if it's told to them in a story (as in: most classic fairy tales), but being directly faced with it leaves them no way out.
It won't turn them into murderous sociopaths, admittedly, but it's nevertheless a desensitization that dulls them to human misery. That's why video games should only be made available to appropriate age groups, based on content.

(And personally, I feel that violence deserves a LOT more attention in this regard than swear words, nudity or even sexuality.)

 

[Cabal]

Can this board get a sticky thread for those who aren't able to tell the difference between art and real life so they can avoid clogging up the rest of the board with their neurosis?

Gets really tiresome after the 30th variant of the same darn thread.

 

[Incariol]

Can this board get a sticky thread for those who aren't able to tell the difference between art and real life so they can avoid clogging up the rest of the board with their neurosis?

Gets really tiresome after the 30th variant of the same darn thread.

^^This please.

 

[The-Doctor]

I disagree that video games are evil I've been a life long gamer played every varioation of GTA from the first one to the current one and have no desire to go out and do some car jacking, killing, drugs or fly a helicopter badly.

 

[mentalkitty789]

Meh, you can think what you want, but as far as I'm aware no study has shown a link between real and video game violence any more than violent movies or anything else.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Meh, you can think what you want, but as far as I'm aware no study has shown a link between real and video game violence any more than violent movies or anything else.

Video games have been a convenient scapegoat for populist politics in my country. When a teenager snapped and ran amuck at his school a couple of years ago, politicians were quick to seize upon the fact that he had played "Counterstrike", and focus on that because they hoped to show that "things are getting done" without actually alienating their voter base.

They did not succeed, though.

 

[derek W L]

,

 

[Breetai]

I feel like video games, mainly the violent and shooting ones, are evil. Why are they teaching kids so much violence? From supposed christian gaming companies even.

There are already multiple threads on this same topic. You should add to one of those. Please search the forum before starting redundant topics.

Here is a similar thread: http://www.christianforums.com/t6546185/
Here is another: http://www.christianforums.com/t7635368/

There are more if you look back far enough.

 

[gaming guy]

dear anti-game person

 

[I Eat Pie]

I've been playing games since I was 4 or 5, and I'm not violent. Though I mostly play adventure kinda games like kingdom hearts and jack and daxter where it teaches that the good guys always win xD.

You can learn a lot from games. I agree with above posters to avoid violent ones and keep your kids away from them. But you have to see how we live in a society where a company presents their product or service, and you choose yourself whether you want it or not. No one is forcing you and your kids to play bloody and gory kinda games.

 

[printingray]

Video games are played at every corner of the world and a great fun not only for kids but the people of every age enjoy them. Video game trend hiked in last two decades and the industry grown much more than film industry. These are source of refreshment for mind but excess of every thing is bad. Games are not the part of our daily life and just an imagination. It doesn't create positive effects on our lives or health and just a source of entertainment.

 

[Girder of Loins]

I read a study that analyzed the brain's reactions to different forms of "violence". Participants were shown real violence, played violent video games, watched simulated violence with real people, and watched animated violence. During this, the researchers scanned the brain to see which areas lit up. Surprisingly enough, the brain can distinguish between real and fake. The video games and fake violence lit up different areas in the brain than the areas that lit up when real violence was shown. So, there is no correlation between violent shows or video games and true violence.

 

[bsd31]

I feel like video games, mainly the violent and shooting ones, are evil. Why are they teaching kids so much violence? From supposed christian gaming companies even.

Whenever a statement starts out with "I feel" and then follows it with an empirical statement, such as "video games,..., are evil" I pay it no heed.