Due to the nature of mainstream media demonizing video games (In the US.(They're getting better though!)), it makes it very hard to speak for anyone except for yourself.
Originally Posted by
protonitron
Whether it makes kids insensitive/violent/fat/satanist.
It is very easy to say that the violent nature of most video games desensitize kids to violence, gore, sex, etc. when you look at games such as The Evil Within, Resident Evil, Dead Space, and Amnesia. And I totally agree with this sentiment when all you see is these sorts of games. In my head, I believe that I could handle seeing someone with their guts out in real life, or watch someone get their arm chopped off and hardly flinch. But when I think about it more, I don't think I really could. Seeing fake blood and overly showy gore don't prepare you for the real thing. Hell, cops who have been on the force for years and years say that they still have a hard time seeing gore, regardless of how many times they've seen it before.
As for making kids more violent, some of the arguments can be recycled here. Increased exposure to these things would make it seem like they would be more prone to violence. However, in my own experience with playing games, I do not feel urges to
shoot up schools and the like. Nor do I think that I feel like I want to hurt someone personally any more than the next guy.
Fatness is one of the contestable points though. While video games themselves do not make people fat, excessive play coupled with lack of exercise and bad diet definitely contribute to the subject becoming fatter. In the last year alone, I've gained ~40lbs(19kg)(went from ~120lbs to ~160 as of right now), and I am well past my growing years. I rarely go outside and I eat fast food and fatty snacks nearly every day. The only reason I don't look like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers is that my metabolism is way too fast for my own good, and really helps in keeping me thin.
As for making kids Satanist...I'm not really going to address this one, since that
question is
silly.
Originally Posted by
protonitron
Addictive games can be pretty devastating for some people.
This goes right back to my statements about fatness. The only reason that kids get addicted to certain games is because they play them without breaks in between or without exercise. I am also a culprit of this, in which I have had TF2 downloaded on my computer for over a year, and I have >700 hours clocked on the game. By my count, I've averaged two hours a day since I've downloaded it JUST playing TF2. I've played other games as well, but none so extensively as that. So potentially three or four hours a day playing games on average. I'm not sure if there is a chart for healthy game playing, but I'm positive I'm over the limit.
Originally Posted by
protonitron
Whether they distract people from doing more productive things with their time.
Again, this goes back to playing games too much. While some games can insert tidbits of science and history, most games aren't a good source of education, and they certainly don't help you get a 'traditional' job.
Originally Posted by
protonitron
Whether they condition people to be lazy or impatient.
Games are fun. People want to do things that are fun. So people who play games are likely to return to playing games. Since most games involve you sitting on a couch and moving your thumbs around, this promotes a sedentary lifestyle. A few people that I know have circumvented this by placing a treadmill in front of their TV, so they can walk and play games at the same time. The good thing about the introduction of wireless controllers and controllers with longer wires is that they allow this sort of thing to happen, and people can exercise and play games at the same time. My SO does the same thing while watching Netflix.
As for impatience, I would agree with this point wholeheartedly, though it's not games that is the culprit here. It's the introduction of the internet and allowing technology to become so personalized. We can access tons of information so quickly, that we become entitled to it and expect everything to work perfectly the first time. When it doesn't, we get upset. Even my older relatives get miffed when the wifi blips and their Google search turns up a "this page could not be displayed".
Last edited by Zelda; Feb 20, 2015 at 03:20 AM.
Reason: Small ocd terminology changes.