Opinions Needed..Should Violent Video Games Be Banned?

[rawfuls]

Doing a speech about this topic..
Need some opinions as well as sources if anyone happened to "stumble" upon them.... *If you want...*

I think they shouldn't...

Although some people play violent video games and become more "aggressive", games are a common way of relieving stress, especially if they are violent. They also improve hand-eye coordination (ever seen a kid who has never played games play tennis?), and if they're strategic games (like CoD..or something), they can work the mind. Even though more PG13 games do the same, the violent aspect can add some realism as to the possibilities of the real world. Violent video games have been prone to being the main "cause" of violent crimes, such as school shootings. However violent video games is simply a scapegoat, I mean, how many kids do you know (teenagers) play violent games? Now how many shootings have there been, maybe 10 or so? Out of what, a zillion kids?

These are just some rough opinions I have, I still have yet to do hard research, but most results lead to a general idea of this..

Just wondering what everybody else thinks..

I feel like banning video games just because they are violent is a little ridiculous. I think that people are violent because something in their life is missing or they are having their own issues in life. Sure, a kid might play CoD and get a knowledge about guns and how to use them, and see the images of people dying and the like, but it doesn't mean he/she is going to go shoot somebody. The problem here isn't the video games, it's the parents. They buy their 8-12 year old M rated games with guns, gore, and the like and forget about them. I feel like some parents in this day and age don't really care about their children, they just buy them a video game and then they don't have to deal with them.

People just tend to blame their problems on everything else around them, and I see this everywhere. Their kids are snotty brats and they blame it on violent video games while in reality it is their poor parenting that caused them to be like that. People that kill other people have much deeper issues than something they have seen in a video game.

However, there is one aspect of Video Games that I see as a very bad influence, especially on younger kids, and that's online play. Many times when I used to play CoD there would be a little kid on voice chat, probably 10 or so, they cuss and cuss and cuss because they think they sound cool and want to impress all the big boys playing the game. They also get teased because of their whining, high voices, annoying-ness etc, and that sort of online bullying can be pretty detrimental to a kid. My future kids will not be playing any online games (especially shooters) until they show they are mature enough in that sort of environment. They are rated "mature" for a reason.

I don't have any sources, it's just my own opinion, I personally think it's just stupid and people just find something else to blame for their problems.

[BrianG]

Banning anything based on some arbitrary criteria sounds too much like "Big Brother" to me. People should have the choice to do what they want provided they are educated on the type of content. And if the ban is aimed at kids, I think it's the parent's responsibility to control what they are allowed to play. Period. Same thing with TV programming.

Yeah, some people are gonna go off the deep end (or use these games as justification for irrational behavior), but Darwin will handle those as needed.

[E-Revonut]

They are only games. If someone builds a trap that cuts someone's leg off are they going to ban the childrens game mouse trap ( if it's even around anymore) or if a kid cuts someone open to pull out there heart are they gonna ban Operation? Violent video games are just a scape goat. As you already said, look at the millions of copys of these type games that have been sold and then look at the number of kids that play them that have committed violent crimes. Personally I don't care for these games but thats just my taste. I like driving games, but does that mean that when I get a speeding ticket I can blame the video game, no, the game didn't commit the offense. Parents need to start being parents again and punishing there kids when they misbehave. Todays society makes parents afraid to do so though for fear of losing their kids. A good spanking never hurt me, for more than a couple minutes, when I did something wrong and it made me think before I did something like it again. But nowadays parents put their kids in timeout for 5 minutes because they think that spanking is cruel or fear being charged with child abuse....Screw that, spank the kid when they do something wrong and teach them a lesson, maybe that'll stop them from going out and shooting up a school if they know that there is punishment for their actions

[pinkpanda3310]

Originally Posted by BrianG

And if the ban is aimed at kids, I think it's the parent's responsibility to control what they are allowed to play. Period. Same thing with TV programming.

+1

My youngun's occassionally play games (not violent ones, of course, they're too young) and they get frustrated as it is. So it is no matter if they are rated MA (mature adult), PG (parental guidence) or G (general) it is a choice one self (or ones parents) should be allowed to make.

[What's_nitro?]

Not this again.

Well, here's my $0.02.....

Only irresponsible women would ever vote in favor of this ban.

If they have kids, the kids probably have the games already and like them, but their Mother is afraid that they'll grow up thinking violence is OK. So naturally, instead of teaching her children what is right and wrong, she would rather just simply ban the offensive media.

Hence the irresponsible part...

The man in the relationship most likely plays the violent games with the children and enjoys it just as much as they do!

Hence only the women...

[JERRY2KONE]

Personally I do not play video games of any kind, and I do think that some games are just too violent for kids of younger age groups. I see video games as a huge waist of time being none productive in nature. Being used as a time filler while traveling or waiting on other apointments is not so bad, but kids end up playing these games for hours on end accomplishing absolutely nothing. yes our kids do play video games, but we limit them to some extent. Still this should be up to the parents who have the responsibility of raising them. Banning any kind of video games will only make them more valuable and create a black market for them. Besides whether or not they ban these types of games there will still be nuts, kooks, weirdos, and freaks who will commit horrible crimes no matter what our society does. Thats just the nature of the human mind and its free will.

Everyone has an opinion about things like this and our Gov already gets involved in way more than it was ever meant to be in control of. The basis of our nations freedoms is that we as adults get to choose our own paths in life and that of our children. Sure there may be some moral reasoning that makes sense to a lot of people in these areas, but because of our human rights and the original constitution we have the right to make those choices for ourselves and for our kids. We have to believe that a ban will never happen, nor will it stop any violence. Otherwise our freedoms mean absolutely nothing.

There is nothing that any of us can really do in order to stop the horror from happening, but we can set examples that will deter them from happening, like stop the abuse of the apeals process for murderers, rapists, and violent criminals, and speed up the sentencing for death row inmates. Once convitcted as a violent criminal why should we bare the expense of caring for these degenerate. Pay for the bullet and give them the right for a speedy trial, and quick sentencing. Take them out back of the courthouse immediately after hearings, and trials and get-er-done. Make it known to everyone that the system finally works and people may think twice about getting involved in a life of crime in the first place. Crimnals laugh at our system the way it works today, because it doesn't work. We are weak and way to worried about being politically correct in stead of taking care of business. Enough said.

[pinkpanda3310]

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

There is nothing that any of us can really do in order to stop the horror from happening, but we can set examples that will deter them from happening, like stop the abuse of the apeals process for murderers, rapists, and violent criminals, and speed up the sentencing for death row inmates. Once convitcted as a violent criminal why should we bare the expense of caring for these degenerate. Pay for the bullet and give them the right for a speedy trial, and quick sentencing. Take them out back of the courthouse immediately after hearings, and trials and get-er-done. Make it known to everyone that the system finally works and people may think twice about getting involved in a life of crime in the first place. Crimnals laugh at our system the way it works today, because it doesn't work. We are weak and way to worried about being politically correct in stead of taking care of business. Enough said.

Your my favourite author! but I know this is fiction for two reasons 1- It's too simple 2- lawyers would be twiddling there thumbs or out of work. Don't you know there on hourly rate? When people are given a few more months or years they can afford to go back to court. Lawyers thrive on crackpots that blame video games for their actions.
















Sorry if there is a lawyer in here.

[Bondonutz]

Nothing needs to be banned, just increase the level of parenting ?

Good luck with your write up young man.

[reno911]

I believe it is the parental concerns that are the true issue.

However I do blame some attributes to the video games. Especially online violent versions. Kids, and well everyone, get a sense of confidence that they do not have in the real world playing these games. It can become a serious problem when mixed back into the real world. They only know how to function in society through their online persona created by playing these video games. They grow cocky and rude, thinking they are truly great at something and that their life has a sense of meaning. The sad part of this is that none of it exists outside of that created world, they become detached from society and know not how to act around people. I have seen this first hand through my younger brother, now 17, he is weird around people. He never learned how to function outside of his room, so outside functions with lots of people make him uneasy and he panics creating either an uneasy situation or a hasty rude environment. It is sad, I wish the world for him, but he insists on sitting in front of the TV where he can be a master at something and be filled with a false confidence that will not get him anywhere. Not to say that he isn't getting anywhere, he just has no clue to what life is and can be. At 15 I was working, playing ball, and keeping a high gpa while being as involved in school and outside community events as I could. Same for my older brother. My parents grew soft with him, they are not firm. They blame it on his generation, saying that they are all like this. That if they were to stop him than he would become the weird one is his group of friends. He has a generation of softies, I understand this, that doesn't mean he needs to hide form things behind his false sense of confidence. Sure online when he has a kill streak of godly proportions he feels the inclination to let the other players know of his awesomeness. Since these players are not sitting in the same room and can do nothing but take it in and try to retaliate via the video game they become outraged soon cursing at the tv then their parents the who knows is next. Sure the video game is in graphic nature and gore, but it is the detachment from people and normal way of communication, and self sense of value that I feel is the true problem with video games.

That is why I enjoy the Nintendo Wii so much. It doesn't create an isolation from humanity. It brings people together to play silly games that everyone can enjoy. Then again it is not perfect because of coarse Nintendo wants to be apart oft the online revolution as well and they do take part in contributing to the problem as well.

I guess you could always try to promote board games instead!

I think all online content should have a E.S.R.B rating on mature.

[JERRY2KONE]

Ratings on video games won't do squat unless the parents actually care enough to consider them in the first place. I have seen parents purchasing video games with their kids that are just horrific and the parents have no idea what they are buying, nor do they seem to care as long as their child is quiet and not bothering them. Having the word GAME attached to some of these products kind of hides what they really are. This is a parenting issue plain and simple.

Some parents try their very best to teach their kids to be good people with limits, curfews, counseling, and using a watchful eye, and they still turn out to be idiots, morons, and freakshow candidates. The bottom line is that we have to try our best to instil whatever qualities we hope to see in them as adults, and then pray like hell that something sticks. We all have free will and will turn out the way we want no matter how hard our parents try to protect us.

Case in point. I grew up in the projects outside of Philidelphia watching all of my so called friends falling into crime, drugs, and just some God awful stuff, with most of them ending up in jail, mental institutions, or dead. I made up my mind shortly after moving into the porjects (1969) that this was not the kind of life I wanted for myself. I overcame by joining the US Navy at 18 after living on the streets for about a year. Several of those friends tried following my example, but they just never reached that point mentally of wanting to change their lives for the better. Its all about the choices you make and your level of determination.

[DrKnow65]

I think video games are here to develop a portion of the youth into what the government will need for virtual soldiers in the next 10 or so years.


I.e. 25 years ago we were programming our own games on a TRS-80 (think development of higher power computers)

20 years ago we were on to boxed games like atari and nintendo that involved strategy on the fly (think tank unit/infintry coordination)

15 years ago it was all about flying/driving games (think UAV opperator)

10 years ago it's blood and guts street warfare games (wanna desensitize someone for urban warfare?)


It is definatley a cooky point of view, I know, but why not??? Remember the SR-71 was designed in the late 50's early 60's and we didn't even know about it till the late 80's. The government is so far ahead of the open market, things like the iphone 4 are a 20 year ago type of thing to them...
Random rambling, I'm not realy this out there

[rawfuls]

Some interesting viewpoints, definitely..

Definitely didn't think of some of the reasons that some people raised on this thread..

Anyone have a counter-argument on why they should be banned?
I could see it as, they desensitize peoples emotions towards death, and the other such (in some cases, I guess), and can also spark the interest in weaponry which could lead to mass killings, by deduction, or turn out to be massive gun nuts and game hunters, etc.

If a law does pass banning all "violent" video games, what will end up constituting "Violence", and how far will the game banning go... In addition to a game ban, people (Especially minors) will just find other ways to get them, as well as playing them. Look at how many potheads, crackheads and such are still on the street!

Wouldn't banning a game also violate some sort of law, amendment, or right of what we can do and what we can't? (Like what if the Gov't shut down all media... Doesn't that violate the right of speech... Given they don't make up a weird, "legitimate" excuse?)

Games could be considered time-wasters, in a good way; towards those "Crackheads/Potheads" or violent kids that shouldn't be roaming the streets, instead they're playing these games. I guess this could also have a negative influence...

[Metallover]

I've been thinking about this throughout the day.

It all comes down to the parents letting their kid play what games they think are acceptable for their children. Bad parenting is the cause of all the social problems which may be related to video games. It it up to the judgment of the parent to decide how much is too much time gaming. They need to decide if the games are hurting their grades or social lives. The parents need to push their kid to get a job and/or participate in extracurricular activities.

Legally, an age ban won't work. Kids will always be able to get games from older friends, siblings, and parents who play themselves or just don't care. Banning the games outright is one of the stupidest things I can think of doing. It would be like banning skateboarding everywhere because it is associated with drugs. And then if violent games are banned, you get the problem of enforcing it. Impossible. There will be a black market, like jerry said. There will be tax dollars going into enforcing the ban.

The economy would probably take a hit from the giant video game industry being crippled. A majority of gamers play first person shooters on major consoles, and I bet a majority of them would stop gaming.

About banning the games from adults,,, It's a pathetic idea. I'm liking the libertarian party's views more and more the more I learn about them. People should be able to do whatever the hell they want. If a 22 year old man would rather play video games than get a wife, so be it. There's a 4 year old boy smoking 4 packs a day in Idea and he's not hurting anyone but himself. My friend plays video games online with a drug dealer from New York who plays all day long in between sales. That is his choice.

[rant]
It pisses me off how the government and our politicians think they should control everything. They don't really care about the issue they just do what their supporters and party want. All they care about is satisfying their greed. How politicians can justify spending tax dollars on useless crap like bridges to nowhere and moth research museums dumbfounds me. National debt. What a ridiculous thing. "We don't have any money for our useless programs, lets lower taxes. While we're at it, lets start a long war and, instead of raising taxes, lets lower taxes even more! That's what we promised to get elected by the way.." Well before we get into high school, we learn somewhere along the line that you can only spend money if you have it and earn it. Our politicians, and the People in america, must have forgotten that somewhere along the lines. Darwin's theory isn't working fast enough, the dumb people have ruined the country.

An idiot could realized social security and medicare aren't going to work much longer and should be ended asap. Furthermore our government is corrupt with extreme partisanship. The republican party nominates the most conservative candidate and the democrats nominate the most liberal candidate. This has made our two parties polar opposites so they can't get anything done.
[/rant]

Back on the subject of games, I was playing Battlefield for a couple hours today after I cleaned all of the black Friday packaging out of my room. My dad said I should get out of the house, yet he didn't make me. I ended up taking an e-bike ride as snow will be on the ground soon. I think what he did is a good parenting strategy. He has expectations of me. If I would have spent the whole day on the computer, he would become more strict about how long I play. I have earned privileges through good behavior and video games is one of them.