Do violent video games really affect children...?

Question

or do you think that is just an outlet excuse that lazy parents use.

Really think about it before you answer.

Answer 1

I grew up with 5 brothers playing bloody murder games, and i would join in (trying to be like them).

I am not a violent person at all, i graduated HS with honors, i am in college to become a nurse and i am on the Dean's list, i am a wonderful mother to my 20 month old son....

Doesn't look like it did any harm to me.

Honestly parents should be doing the parenting, teaching children what is right and wrong, not the media, video games, movies, celebs, etc.

Answer 2

IMO, anything in moderation is o.k. I do think parents play a HUGE role in getting kids to understand that games do not provide a foundation for lifetime decision-making skills

I can relate a story about a friend and I getting into a fight one night after playing a fighting simulator for several hours prior to going out. I had never been in a fight in my life. Thank God I was 6'5" tall and at the time 250.

I do not think 5-year olds need to be playing Halo. However, a fighting game or two along the way doesn't mean a kid is going to engineer the next Columbine as long as their parents are involved.

Answer 3

I DO NOT think that violent video games make children into rage infected monsters.

I do think, however, they shouldn't be too young when playing them. A lot of the time games are inappropriate (not just violence) but language, sex, etc etc

To parents who say violent video games make violent children....do you have your children enrolled in karate? What about gymnastics? Self-defense? Doesn't *that* also promote violence?

It's a matter of the child understanding *what's going on*. They must know that they're not actually killing someone, that it's not ok to pull a rifle on someone, and that it's a *game*.

Also, violent video games can also be personalized. You can turn off the blood, turn off the special effects (gun shots, etc) and PG the language. It's a matter of how involved a parent actually wants to be.

Good question

Answer 4

YEs I think violent video games really affect children.

Answer 5

I think it depends on the child. I played some violent games as a kid with my brother and neither one of us are violent. We've never been arrested or in trouble with the law for anything.
Some kids it might effect especially if they have a violent environment at home or a chemical imbalance and can't tell the difference between a game and real life.

Answer 6

it depends alot on the age and the mindset of the child, and how mature they are.i dont personally think really young children need to be playing the really violent games, but i also dont think when an older child or adult commits a crime it ought to be blamed on a video game alone because there was something in that individual that made them act as they did to begin with.

Answer 7

Hey, alright I don't think that playing Violent games inspires kids to go murder someone, it's just not like that. However, it does desensitize them. After seeing so much blood and gore and violence, it doesn't seem like a big deal. Think of it like this, if all you listen to are songs full of swearing or you contantly hear swearing from parents or something, who is more likely to cuss, the one who always hears it, or a child who is never exposed to it. Now there are boundaries to be taken into account, a little violence such as fighting monsters or people with little gore isn't going to dement your kid. However, if that is all they play and they are very violent games, it most likely will desensitize a child. I still do not think they will be serial killers or anything, just be less sensitive to murder. And again as I said, there are different levels of violence, Teen games usually do not have bad violence and some Mature games are okay (halo, and things like that) but things that are filled with so much, are not good.

Answer 8

Yes games can affect kids and yes it's an excuse.

In small doses, at appropriate levels and appropriate ages, games and movies and the like won't turn anyone bad.

What does affect kids is absentee parents who offer no guidance or suspervision to their kids and leave whatever drivel to babysit and raise their children for them. When they cannot interact normally or fail at school work they want to blame it on games, tv, the teachers, or whatever 'behavioral disorder' is in vogue---anything but themselves.

A 16 yr old who plays a video game for an hour when the homework is done is much different from a kid who has done nothing but watch Mtv and play Grand Theft Auto from the time he was 5, to the exclusion of normal human interaction, or school work. He has dwelt in a fantasy world of violence and superficiality and will suffer from it.

Answer 9

When entering the story in the video game, they are agreeing to kill someone for pretend in the story. If someone acted this way outside of a video game, i.e. kids playing with one another pretended to kill with realistic fake blood and other effects, we'd think that was unacceptably violent roleplay. I see no difference.

Play prepares for life. Video games can be powerful tools to build skill. Let our skill be in words, strategy, reaction times, dodging objects, and other things that are beneficial and can be put to good use.

Answer 10

I played lots of violent video games and still do, and I'm going to be a doctor soon. Make of that information what you will. Ultimately I think it comes down to parenting.