Violence (again) in videogames: The points that the cautious raise

In Tosheena Robinson-Blair’s column, over at The Daily News Journal, Robinson-Blair dishes out several reasons why those who fear violence in videogames do so.

The author says that games like GTA and Killzone allow players to use weapons to shoot and kill people and provide them experiences wherein they can drive recklessly and shoot up the place.

The author says that all this is similar to training methods used by the military. The author takes time to note that in “Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence,” Grossman & DeGaetana wrote that these training methods include brutalization (the training that makes one accept that violence is the norm), classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and role modeling.

The author goes on to mention that a lot of other studies which shows that long-term childhood exposure to violence in media is a key factor in half the nation’s 20,000 annual homicides. The author notes the studies made in 1992 by the Journal of the American Medical Association where it was shown that since TV made it’s debut in some cities in the 1950s, there was an immediate explosion of violence on the playground, and within 15 years (the time it took for those 1950s kids to grow up) the murder rate doubled.

The author’s bottomline:

I have argued and still do that violent video games take off from where violent television stops. Violent television desensitizes children to criminal acts. Video games provide enough shooting practice on how to get it right.

The author warns that while wrestling games on the Xbox and the PS2 may be popular, it was just five years ago when Lionel Tate, 12, claimed he accidentally killed his 6-year-old neighbor when he tried out a wrestling move on her. The author also asks readers to recall Columbine.

The author raises very pertinent points. However, it just makes one wonder, if video games provide young kids shooting practice, and it teaches them kiddies to be violent and mean and oppressive to each other, what does playing cowboys and Indians teach us?

If video games consoles are the next generation of toy-guns that desensitize your youths to violence, what did wooden toy-swords do back then? Moreover, wasn’t it supposedly the dream of every “good” parent back then (you know during the days prior to media) to raise good strong children so that they can be excel at being excellent soldiers? Perhaps just having to go through growing up and adolescence now-a-days is enough ‘brutalization’ for anyone?

Anyway, the author raises several noteworthy points, that are obviously worth arguing (for and against), but we’ll let you guys do it. For more details on the author’s argument, check out the read link below.

In Tosheena Robinson-Blair’s column, over at The Daily News Journal, Robinson-Blair dishes out several reasons why those who fear violence in videogames do so.

The author says that games like GTA and Killzone allow players to use weapons to shoot and kill people and provide them experiences wherein they can drive recklessly and shoot up the place.

The author says that all this is similar to training methods used by the military. The author takes time to note that in “Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence,” Grossman & DeGaetana wrote that these training methods include brutalization (the training that makes one accept that violence is the norm), classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and role modeling.

The author goes on to mention that a lot of other studies which shows that long-term childhood exposure to violence in media is a key factor in half the nation’s 20,000 annual homicides. The author notes the studies made in 1992 by the Journal of the American Medical Association where it was shown that since TV made it’s debut in some cities in the 1950s, there was an immediate explosion of violence on the playground, and within 15 years (the time it took for those 1950s kids to grow up) the murder rate doubled.

The author’s bottomline:

I have argued and still do that violent video games take off from where violent television stops. Violent television desensitizes children to criminal acts. Video games provide enough shooting practice on how to get it right.

The author warns that while wrestling games on the Xbox and the PS2 may be popular, it was just five years ago when Lionel Tate, 12, claimed he accidentally killed his 6-year-old neighbor when he tried out a wrestling move on her. The author also asks readers to recall Columbine.

The author raises very pertinent points. However, it just makes one wonder, if video games provide young kids shooting practice, and it teaches them kiddies to be violent and mean and oppressive to each other, what does playing cowboys and Indians teach us?

If video games consoles are the next generation of toy-guns that desensitize your youths to violence, what did wooden toy-swords do back then? Moreover, wasn’t it supposedly the dream of every “good” parent back then (you know during the days prior to media) to raise good strong children so that they can be excel at being excellent soldiers? Perhaps just having to go through growing up and adolescence now-a-days is enough ‘brutalization’ for anyone?

Anyway, the author raises several noteworthy points, that are obviously worth arguing (for and against), but we’ll let you guys do it. For more details on the author’s argument, check out the read link below.