Unit 6 Assignment 3 opinionated blog post

A lot of video games have been linked to negative behaviour, for example there is a scene in Grand Theft Auto 5 where the players are made to torture someone. It's quite an in-depth torture scene and you get to chose from a range of options on how to torture this person. This cause an outrage in the eyes of the public. People saw it as really really inappropriate and thought that it could spark an idea in peoples heads on how to torture someone for real.

In an Article discussing this topic (X) Alison Sherratt, president of the Lecturers and Teachers Association, insists such extreme violence should not be included in video games.

She said: "Up until now we’ve been warning of the dangers of children seeing these games but saying it’s the parents responsibility to keep children away from these video games. But this scene takes things a step too far and the games makers need to consider what they are producing. Children in our playgrounds are displaying more violence and we have conducted polls and found they are viewing games like GTA. My concern is that little brother or sister walk in to the room and start watching something like this because an older brother is playing it. They don’t understand the difference between reality and fiction because it’s so awfully graphic and real. and they do copy it. They imitate what they see and this scene is taking it way too far"

Another video game that has been linked to real life negative behaviour is Call of Duty. A man called Anders Breivik massacred a lot of people. When put on trial he said that he trained for shooting attacks by playing Call of Duty. Obviously this quote blew up in the Media industry because it back up the statement that playing video games makes people violent. Here is the article (X) This man was already mentally unstable before playing Call of Duty so it is not 100% true that it was Call of Duty that caused this man to go on a rampage. But some people are saying it aided him or pushed him in that direction.

In this article a woman called Laura St. John says that Violent video games are bad for your kids. (X) She makes eight points which can mainly be summed up in that she thinks that it de-sensetizes you to violence so that you start to think that it's okay. It rewards you for killing people, gives you a feeling of success. One of her points are that swearing is also seen mainly in a violent game, she says: "The first time one of my sons was exposed to a violent game, I learned quickly that he was guilty after he said, "Oh, sh@#!" Enough said."

Another point is that they usually resolve conflict through violence: "Violent video games show kids how to express themselves physically, in a violent way. It's already way easier for a child to push another child when they're angry than to express their emotions and resolve a conflict through words. My boys have their fair share of quarrels, but I don't want them to learn they should resolve conflicts by hurting each other."

In another article (X) a guy talks about how he thinks video games CAN be bad for you. So not just violent video games but video games as whole. One the points he makes is that they can hurt relationships. 

He says: "There's often a direct correlation with the amount of time spent playing video games, and the amount of time spent engaging in a quality relationship. In the most extreme example I could find, there was a couple that was so consumed with playing video games that they ended up neglecting their 3 children — to the point that they were malnourished, naked, and covered in their own feces. Although that's an extreme case, I still think there's something to be said about people who spend the majority of their free time playing video games. My guess is that they're probably not dating or pursuing a meaningful relationship in their free time."

There are a lot of video games out there that can have a positive effect on people for example, educational games. There are a lot of education games out there on the market that are designed for kids and adults. Basically all ages.

Big Brain Academy is one these. This is an educational game that helps children (and adults?) with lots of things. It's a puzzle type game that asks you different questions. Some questions relate to Maths. Which is a good thing. People have had a very positive response to this game.

Another video game platform type thing that people have had a preferred reading to is Wii Fit. Wii Fit is a board that you have to stand on and perform a wide variety of moments at different degrees of difficulty. A lot of people like this game because it gets them moving and it's had a lot of good press because it's affordable and gets people to exercise in the house without having to go to a gym. It gets them motivated because they know that they don't have to leave the house. Some people may be self conscious going to a gym so they take comfort in knowing that they can get the same level of fitness in without having to leave the house and pay for a gym.

My opinion is that some video games are totally fine.

I personally think that Grand Theft Auto is fine. Some scenes should be toned down a bit (like the torture scene) but really the whole car chase and gunning people down thing is totally fine with me. You would have to be an absolute idiot to see that on a screen and then go and think that it's okay do to it in real life. When you shoot someone randomly on GTA it's not like there are no repercussions the police do come after you. So people should see that and just know (if they didn't already before) that doing something that's against the law will mean that you have to deal with the police.

Education games I think are great. I think that if you have someone who is struggling with their school work (if they are quite young) then they should definitely play a game like Big Brain Academy. It can 100% help people learn better and in a fun way. Even puzzle games like Professor Layton and the Curious Village that aren't specifically linked to maths or something are good because they challenge the brain and get it working and use to thinking deeply.

Fitness games like the Wii Fit are great because if you're a really self conscious person and don't have the confidence to join a gym then you can just get a Wii Fit (which is relatively inexpensive) and exercise from home. It's also fun and you can make games out it. You can also track your body weight and measurements and stuff on it. So it just makes it a lot easier than going to a gym that could be like an hour away form your house. You can just stay inside where there is no one there and feel comfortable working out.

Now some games I have no idea why they are made, for example there is a game called KZ Manager which is where you are a Nazi and you and basically manage a concentration camp. By this I mean you decide when Jewish people get gassed amongst other things. Games like this anger me. There was this awful time in History that we don't really want to remember and then games like this are made. It's disgusting and disrespectful to the people who had to suffer through that period of time. Their offspring (if they had any and if they are alive today) would see something like this and it could emotionally destroy them. It's just awful and I really don't think that games like this should even be allowed to be released and if they are released illegally then they should immediately be taken down.

Basically I think that the effects model CAN be applied to Video Games but it shouldn't because it's a stupid theory and it basically insults the audience. It's saying that people are so dumb and passive when watching TV/Films/Playing video games, that they see things and automatically go and do them. They have a 'see it - do it' mentality.

Now for some people this may be the case, but those people are stupid. For example the people that see something on a video game, whether it be shooting a passerby or stealing a car, then think "Hey I can do that" just shouldn't even be considered when talking about video games because if they are that dumb and mentally messed up, then they shouldn't be allowed to play violent video games in the first place.

Most of us, most meaning, every single normal person out there that has ever played a video game, hasn't seen something violent and thought "wow I should totally do that" and if you have then you need to go seek professional help. When people are playing a video game they do it purely for entertainment. You may be slightly passive when playing a game mainly because of how much you immerse yourself in the game and forget about the outside world, but this doesn't mean that you suck up every single opinion or action that the game is showing/giving off. People are much smarter than Scientists or theory people(?) give credit for. There has been no evidence of a video game directly linking to violence. People in the media may twist it and say that the video game caused this, which would back up the effects model. But I can say with certainty that it's not ever been proved.

People could be influenced by the video games but the video games wouldn't ever be a DIRECT cause for this. In most cases (or all) the person who committed a real life violent act had something wrong with them before even beginning to play said violent video game.

LINKS TO ARTICLES REFERENCED IN THE POST:

1) http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/video-games/gta-5-torture-row-teachers-2278689
2) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/anders-breivik-call-of-duty
3) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-st-john/8-ways-violent-games_b_3875846.html
4) http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/mental-environment/top-5-reasons-video-games-are-bad-for-you
5) http://www.scotsman.com/news/couple-let-childen-starve-to-play-computer-games-1-1092586


IMPROVEMENTS

I do agree with the uses and gratifications model. I think that it is a lot less insulting to the audience than the effects model and that it is more updated and makes more sense. There have been more successful reliable studies done on the uses and gratifications model.

No I don't think that the articles prove that the effects model is fact because all of the articles don't specifically say that the video game was the direct cause. They all make it sound like that but if you actually read closer/do a bit of research then you will see this is not the case. Thus disproving the effects model.


For the violent games I have picked I think that people respond in violent way for lots of other reasons. The violent video games may of helped but they weren't a 100% cause of their violent behaviour. For example the guy that killed many people after playing Call of Duty only did this due to a brain injury. Like I said there has been no studies where violent behaviour

I think that the audience would definitely respond positively to the games I mentioned before (Wii fit, Brain training academy). They would use these games for fitness and education. Younger kids would play the education games rather than adults. But they can be played by anyone. I doubt there will be anyone out there with a negative response to the games.

I think that we should put warnings before all violent video games. We already warn people by putting a rating on it, it's not the sellers fault if parents buy the games for their kids anyway regardless of the rating. We shouldn't ban them all because there are lots of people out there that get enjoyment from playing these types of games and don't do anything awful after playing it. They play it purely for entertainment. There would be a lot of people put out of a job.