What is everyone's opinion on the impact of computer/video games? Do you believe they can be harmful? To whom? And if so, what regulations would you like to see implemented? (Where do you draw the line?)
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I think this is an exceptionally important conversation what with the shift towards virtual and augmented reality. A developing child's brain may be affected by a dramatic in game experience which is perceived as real enough to the senses. An older kid leaving his headset lying around could cause PTSD in a 10 year old brother who sees the graphic death of multiple people up close after a shooting spree. It could even (possibly, I'm no expert!) trigger an inactive psychopathy gene if the child is young enough. From my understanding, carriers of such genes generally grow up ok if a little emotionally detached assuming they enjoyed a loving childhood, but subject them to, or let them witness extreme violence close up, and then you flick the switch. The genetics loads the gun, the environment pulls the trigger.
hariseldon
Level 5
Mar 25, 2019
1
Interesting, i think we are beginning to understand how standard video games work on people. However VR and AR is a whole new world. The deeper immersion in these technologies is an important aspect that must not be ignored. Thanks for the comment!
@theNecromancer And it is a near certainty that with every new tech that arrives, we dive in for the profit before evaluating real world outcomes. Such as regular video porn - also now going next level into VR/AR - a couple of decades of that and we have an increase in the number of single people, those with erectile dysfuntion from their adolescent brains and sex drive being wired to be aroused to 2D screens instead of real world people, depression etc.... Some extent of that will no doubt be causal. Throughout our evolution men have been motivated to pursue the unmatchable dopamine release of sex. This would always have taken months or years of effort in self improvement and courtship to appeal to a woman. Now our subconscious brains know we can just click click click, and with dopamine released with each new "partner" - whether real or onscreen, the hit you would get with 30 tabs of different women is stronger and as easy as opening your laptop to obtain, than pursuing sex with someone who might in the end turn you down anyway. What drove men to better themselves now has little or no meaning, the way our evolutionary wiring is, it is easily susceptible to short cuts to that dopamine. Cue a disproportionate amount of young men becoming pathetic and useless as they fap fap away. Interestingly, I can't remember which political figure said it, it might have had something to do with the nazis, that if you want to dominate a people, flood them with porn - and that was back in the days of black and white photos!
@hariseldon thats a great and powerful example. Modern internet pornography is a scary thing, that no one seems to be talking much about. It is extremely damaging (borderline de-humanizing) once over-induldged. I hope there is a cultural shift about the perception of it over the next decade. Great example!
@theNecromancer and I for one am happy to admit to having overindulged, blissfully unaware until recently of the havoc it played with my brain. I am just fortunate that I didn't even have the internet until I was 21, as it is a much more difficult problem to overcome for younger men who made this mistake while in puberty - the baseline is likely set at arousal to porn, not to actual humans, making a period of abstinence more necessarily lengthy in order to reset to natural norms than someone who only went down that rabbit hole as a fully developed adult. Apparently men in their late 30s and upwards might need 2 - 4 weeks of not masturbating, climaxing or viewing porn to hit their sexuality reset button, whereas millennials might need 6 months!
If Video Games are harmful, so is music and art. Not because they drive people to do things, but because they are nothing but a creatively told story geared toward one audience or another. If little jimmy/jane is too immature to play a game and not go shoot someone rather than go out and play guns like we used to have to, with nerf guns, sticks and rocks for grenades in the woods... fine. Regulate the market with a rating system so no kids are playing games designed for adults.
As with most non-enforceable legislation, it's going to do nothing but give the government a way to double-tax video games since they're starting to implement entertainment taxes in major cities.
Start addressing the real underlying issues or forever chase our tails trying to solve the fallout of our neglect.
SpaceWillie2000
Level 6
Mar 23, 2019
1
I distinctly make a point to not draw any lines at all with video games, as I feel they are an important outlet for rage that people have inside them, that would otherwise be expressed in some way more real. I loved violent video games when I was younger, and would actively seek out ones that were banned in other countries just for the “badness” of it. Despite doing so, my friends and I never so much as sought out a fight. Ergo I think the idea that people will do violence in real life because they did so in a videogame is ridiculous.
StrykerWolfe
Level 5
Mar 22, 2019
1
Yes i completely agree. Kids don't play shooter gamess becasue they want to shoot people in real life, you know (Of course there are an extremely small amount of exceptions).
I read a sad story a long time ago about a young boy who shot a girl off the back of a snowmobile as her dad & Her rode by
The boy's dad had taken the time to teach him how to shoot the scoped hunting rifle, but had neglected to lock the rifle securely enough. Perhaps he trusted his son
The story wasn't clear about if the father taught the kid it wasn't right to shoot anyone. Perhaps he did but the son never got it
The long way to my point.
Young people have been known to get real guns and play their favorite violent games out in RL (Real Life).
Much has been said about the first big school shooting at Columbine High school.
Much was discussed about the socially isolated video game goth dressed students
That their parents were strangers to. The parents were surprised by the two boys and the shooting. Had no clue
But kids are what? Inexperienced and even though they don't want the hassle, good parents need to guide them, keep an eye on them. Maybe even invade the kid's life
And if the parents don't care, what good will restrictions on the age to buy violent video games do?
Kids will just get restricted games the same way they get beer.
Phrankhs
Level 7
Mar 22, 2019
1
Yeah thats horrible. Not as much game-gun connections here in Australia (or maybe the media just doesnt push it), so its interesting to get that angle. Thanks!
Isn’t habitual abuse of anything, potentially harmful? In this case, it’s physically damaging, as eyes can only handle so much exposure to HEV light before it disrupts circadian rhythm. I think older computers even emit low frequency EMF, if I’m not mistaken.
Psychologically, chronic isolation from physical social interaction has been proven to cause depression and anxiety disorders. So it’s not so much the content of what’s being played, but the fact repetitive, lengthy exposure to electronic stimulus is basically creating a potentially addictive situation, and all the nasties that go along with it.
thewaywayback79
Level 5
Mar 22, 2019
2
Yes i agree. Once the addictive sense starts to kick in, thats when i think the immediate danger arises. Many games have voice chats and text chats, so if a group of freinds play together, i don't see too many social issues. But once the digital overtakes the physical, then i think it gets messy. Thanks for the comment!
The main impact I see if someone were to spend many hours every day playing them, might lower the IQ considerably. No regulations, we already have enough of them.
SpikeTalon
Level 10
Mar 22, 2019
0
Actually gaming has been shown to increase cognitive function
Games with war strategies or puzzles do exercise the mind. Don't really know if that affects the IQ
But I wouldn't be surprised.
@Phrankhs Physical reaction and mental reaction are two different things. In my day I've played quite a few first-person shooters and all that can be entertaining, and while doing so may have helped with my physical responses to things can't exactly say the same mentally speaking. I suppose that much could vary though from person to person. As for me now, I rarely play video games anymore.
@SpikeTalon I find there is a vast difference in how I fare when fighting the big opponents (Bosses)(in video games, not harassing the local cop)
Being tired really hampers me. I make bad moves and choices. Then I die (virtually, not in RL)
@SpikeTalon yes, excessive play is damaging (like many other things in excess). But i find the strategic aspect quite intriguing. I see it as people experimenting with systems, finding strategies that work, those that don't. Games are mostly problem solving, so i think it is actually a healthy outlet (in moderation, of course).
Thanks guys!
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