I don't know to what extent video games/movies havr one anyone's behavior.
But, I do believe the younger the child is the more impact it may have. I base that simply off observing how little kids try to act out the actions portrayed in video games/movies.
Let's face it, we are all influenced in some way by everything around us. The more imersed we are with something the more impact it has on us. Doesn't matter if we are talking about people we hang out with, hobbies, work, teachers, movies/video games. It all has some impact on who we are and what we view as acceptable. As our interests change and we become imersed in something else our behaviors change.
As video games/movies go, I think there is some element of desensitizing. To what degree, I don't know.
I believe that the graphics have gotten too realistic. I think that the first time a person sees a real gun shot wound or dead body it triggers a reaction that gets a little weaker the more an individual is subjected to seeing it.
I ate and liked my spinach because of Popeye.When I was little, I was a big fan of Popeye. I was constantly leaving the dinner table after taking a bite of my "spinach" (which was usually just iceberg lettuce - I didn't like spinach)
When I was little, I was a big fan of Popeye. I was constantly leaving the dinner table after taking a bite of my "spinach" (which was usually just iceberg lettuce - I didn't like spinach) and going and grabbing a big teddy bear that I had and beating the tar out of him. I pretended he was Brutus (aka Bluto). Is that so much different than kids modeling what they see on tv/in video games today? Now granted, I did not go on to beat up other kids, but I definitely mimicked what I was seeing in the cartoon.
I would call what I was doing "pretending". There was no blurring of the lines between pretending and reality for me, but if a person had a mental illness and was predisposed to blurring those lines? Who knows?
And also don't raise your kid to be a murderous punk by age nine.
I don't know to what extent video games/movies havr one anyone's behavior.
But, I do believe the younger the child is the more impact it may have. I base that simply off observing how little kids try to act out the actions portrayed in video games/movies.
Let's face it, we are all influenced in some way by everything around us. The more imersed we are with something the more impact it has on us. Doesn't matter if we are talking about people we hang out with, hobbies, work, teachers, movies/video games. It all has some impact on who we are and what we view as acceptable. As our interests change and we become imersed in something else our behaviors change.
As video games/movies go, I think there is some element of desensitizing. To what degree, I don't know.
I believe that the graphics have gotten too realistic. I think that the first time a person sees a real gun shot wound or dead body it triggers a reaction that gets a little weaker the more an individual is subjected to seeing it.
I'm going to chime in here with facts about my son. He is 15 now. He has always been taught the danger of firearms. We didn't lock things up, but they were always out of reach. One time I came home from a very long day. I took my gun off and set it on the dinning room table. He saw it there, came and got me and told me to go put it away. He knew where it belonged and he knew NOT to touch it. He'd already been to the range and knew what a firearm could do. I think he was 4 or 5 at the time.
Video games... this boy is a video game junkie, just like his dad. They play Tanks, Call of Duty... whatever one is current now. Destiny, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Halo, Battlefield, etc. He knows these are games. He doesn't act out anything he plays. He actually will research history on some of the games, as in the tanks in the games, and can tell me anything I need/or don't need to know about them.
This isn't a "video games are bad" thing, this is parents need to parent their children. I can't be his best friend and his parent. I have to monitor, observe, punish, praise, whatever the situation calls for. If more parents would get this, the world might be different. And don't say anything about having both parents in the home. This boy has his dad on weekends and his mom during the week, yes we are still married, yes we live in the same house. But work doesn't allow us to be here all the time.
Me too. I would wear my dad's sailor hat and pretend to be Popeye.I ate and liked my spinach because of Popeye.
By nine my kids knew not to touch the guns even if it was laying out in the open.
The "video games cause violence!" crowd will lazily latch onto this story.
To be fair, no one wants the "player 2" controller.
By nine my kids knew not to touch the guns even if it was laying out in the open.
I keep my guns locked up because I don't want an accident, lawsuit, or an arrest.
My kids (26,32,&35) still know to ask me before taking one out- maybe I have a reason NOT to use one on a particular day.
I DO believe constant or overexposure to violence can desensitize a young mind.
Or an adult mind. I've seen some sick **** on my walks around the internet. I can say I'm absolutely desensitized to certain types of stuff... I don't think any of that came from games, though... I'm very much aware of the difference between real life and video games. I think most people are.
First couple times I saw a real person get shot and killed, the way they fall, the way they bleed... that was shocking. It felt uncomfortable.
I've never felt that way with video games, movies, tv shows... I understand what's real and what's fake.