Violence and Videogames
by Shischkabob on Comments
Violence in video games has been a hot topic for parents and legislators for a long time. A lot of questions arise to what type of restrictions should be placed on video games and all of that. I feel that to a degree all of this hoopla is blown way out of proportion. I do not feel that video game violence leads to people committing acts that are violent. If some person decides to go shoot a cop or run over people on the street because they saw it in Grand Theft Auto they are just plain stupid. The video games should not be at fault for this but mostly for the person who did it and their parents for not teaching them what is right and what is wrong and also the difference between fiction and reality. I play a lot of the video games that have received most of the attention when it comes to video game violence; Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to name two. I can say that after playing these games I will not be going into a building and killing everyone inside or driving over some random person on the street. By saying that video games make you kill or injure others is basically saying i cannot control my own actions and i need them to be decided by a video game. Now do I think there should be more restrictions on video games? Nope not at all I think the current rating system is perfect. I have never played a game and felt afterward that the game should have a lower rating. I think the people at MPAA do a good job at rating games appropriately. If anything the things that should be restricted is to keep the stupid parents from buying violent games for their kids then claiming they didn't know what it was when the kid goes and does something stupid because they cant distinguish what is fiction and what is reality. I think that is the biggest problem when it comes to video game violence in the hands of children. For a recap: 1) Violence in video games does NOT cause children to commit acts of violence.2) If a child commits a violent act and blames it on video games it is a piss poor excuse for not being able to control their own actions. You did it you take the blame. A coach of mine once said no TOB or no Transfer Of Blame - take responsibility for your actions. 3) Kids that act out and commit acts of violence and then saying it was caused by the game they were playing is a result of poor parenting. It is the parent's responsibility to watch over their kids and to know what their kids are involved in, this includes video games. I hate hearing about parents that say they have no idea about what their kids are playing even though the parent bought the game for the child.