I agree that it depends on the kid. Generally, I'd say video games' influence on children's violent nature is minimal, but there are always exceptions.
There are a lot of different factors which I think determine whether playing video games will make a kid more violent but I believe it's something that absolutely can happen. Why do you think they put age ratings on violent games?
I don't know about violence but I can see hyperactivity and shortening of attention spans. I'm sure it's the same for kids who grow up with unmonitored access to youtube.
No, Video games don't, but being unable to separate reality from not-reality is what makes children violent. And being exposed to violent media, any type of violent media at a young age deteriorates your grasp on reality. Only in your late teens do you fully devolop the part of the brain that lets you partition your world correctly.
You could show a peaceful, loving, child violent videogames it wouldn't make a difference, but you don't have to show a violent thugs violent videogames for him to be violent.
Videogames have nothing to do with whether someone will be violent or not.
Not necessarily, but children are more easily affected by what they see and often does not have a full grasp on what is right or wrong. This of course differs from schild to child, but I would not let my little brothers (they are both under ten) play violent games as for example God of War III. There is a lot of stupidity and ignorance in the process of rating the violence and profanity/obscenity in games, but it is right in not allowing young children to play ultra violent games. They may not become violent themselves, but I don't wan't them exposed to such violence until they have a firmer grasp on reality and the world around them.
Children's behaviour is entirely dependant on their parents and environment. If they have shitty parents and live in a shit hole, theyre gna be shitty people when they get older.
Lots of factors go into violent tendencies. Too many to single out how video games affect such tendencies. Speculation one way or the other probably says more about the person speculating than anything else.
As others have said, it depends on the child. I was playing M-rated games before I was a teenager and I never acted out of line or showed any undesirable behavior. But I've seen other kids mimic the content either vocally or suggestively both during and for awhile after playing violent games. I imagine lasting effects would only occur if the child's guardian doesn't correct the behavior. It probably all depends on how developed the child's brain is and what they have been socially exposed to for them to determine reality and culturally acceptable behavior. I don't have any advanced sociological or psychological knowledge, so I can't say for sure.
I don't think it makes Kids prone to violence per se, but I do think Kids don't approach and react virtual violence in a mature way. As in gushing about how THAT GUYS HEAD EXPLODED AND I SHOT THIS GUY ON THE STREET WITH A SHOTGUN LIKE CHICK-CHICK-POW.
Virtual violence can make a strong impression, most children won't know how to properly handle it.
This. Some kids will imitate what they see in video games/TV, although most won't. I remember a few years back some 10-year-old killed his toddler sister by imitating the wrestling moves he'd seen on TV.
Seriously, it's up to the parents to control their children. If your kid imitates what he sees on television then it's the parents responsibility to both monitor what the child is exposed to on TV/video games (which they should be doing anyway) and to make sure they understand the difference between the fiction that has no consequences and real life which does.
Children's behaviour is entirely dependant on their parents and environment. If they have shitty parents and live in a shit hole, theyre gna be shitty people when they get older.
Not necessarily. I know some people who grew up in very abusive environments who turned out to be both successful and fantastic parents. No two people react to the same stimuli in exactly the same manner.
No. A children's the way he or she is because of parents and the environment. If, however, children are shown video games and are taught or shown nothing else but that, then there's a high probability that the child will be violent.
No, Video games don't, but being unable to separate reality from not-reality is what makes children violent. And being exposed to violent media, any type of violent media at a young age deteriorates your grasp on reality. Only in your late teens do you fully devolop the part of the brain that lets you partition your world correctly.
Why do people always exclude video games? It's not like when somebody asks this question they're trying to say video games are the only thing that can make a kid have violent tendencies. And I'm not trying to say every kid under the age of 17 who plays Call of Duty is going to murder somebody, but a portion of them will probably take the violence portrayed in the game to the schoolyard and harass other kids (murder isn't the only form of violence, people). Further, I'm not trying to say video games are the only reason that shit happens. I know a bunch of the kids I hung out with who watched Power Rangers love to go around and pretend fight - sometimes less pretend than others.
All I'm trying to say is that parents should probably keep an eye on this shit. Maybe if your kid really wants to play the newest FPS, instead of denying them outright - we all know the kid will find a way to play it regardless - maybe sit down and play the game with them, or at least watch. It's the fucking 'do whatever you want' attitude these lazy fucking parents have that cause this sort of shit. I watched all sorts of violent action films as a kid and I never took that shit to my friends' houses. Not because there was no desire to, there was, but because my dad would watch the movies with me so that I would understand that they were just films and that behavior is unacceptable outside of 'make believe' films and video games.
If you listen to fast music in the car, you TEND to speed. If you listen to a lot of comedy, you TEND to tell more jokes and laugh at things more easily. If you enjoy a lot of violence, you will tend to be more violent.
This does not mean that exposure to violent games once in awhile will make you a violent person, but it creates tendencies.
Kids are impretionable and don't always know right from wrong.
I agree with this, but I still think no, because parents or guardians are there to guide them. If they can't do a good job of it, then it's silly to blame it on videogames, because there is plenty of horrible media accessible to kids.
No, no ,no, and FUCK no. That is such bullshit. I actually just wrote a fairly long and in-depth essay on this very subject for college. Because it's such bullshit is deserved all that work.
It depends on the kid, but if violence does at least one thing, it can change them emotionally. Exposing them to such graphic content can really scar them or make them less innocent in a certain sense.
I don't like either option. I think any over-exposure to violence can make ANYONE, not just children, more violent. This isn't a phenomenon that is strictly tied to video games.
Log in to comment