Kids and Violent Video Games

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I saw something today that really bothered me. My father and I were at Buffalo Wild Wings and near our table they had a couple of arcade games, inlcuding one where you shoot deer and other wildlife. I'm not a fan of kids and guns, or any video game where you shoot a gun, but it seemed harmless enough. A bright green, obviously fake gun, something for kids to have fun on.

What really bothered me was the 11 or so year old boy playing it. We were there maybe 30-45 minutes and he was there the entire time, no family in sight. It was the way he was playing it that was so disturbing. Soemtimes he would just casually pick up the gun (which was the size of small rifle) and shoot it one handed like it was the most natural thing in the world, sometimes he would use two hands. But the entire time his face was very detached and cold. Something about his demeanor was just plain spooky. It really reminded me of some vidoes I saw of some school shooters when I was younger (I can't remember which ones, it was during that spate in the mid 90's and showed them acting that way with guns.)

I don't think it would have bothered me if there had been someone with him or if he had smiled or acted like one would expect an eleven year old to, but there was absolutely no emotion on his face other than maybe a little irritation. (He was right in my line of sight.)

Are you ever bothered by some of these video games they have for kids? I do wonder just how appropriate they can be sometimes. It seems like something like that could potentially desensitize a kid to violence, particularly if that child is left to their own devices.

 

[kirbsam]

those things never bother me a bit. i loved shooting games as a kid. and would pretend shoot every time i walked past one.

 

[AristocatFan]

Yes, these types of games bother me. And unfortunately DH, and both our sons(17&15) play the war fighting type games. The language is also totally unnecessary! Most the games they play do have a setting so you can turn off the blood/gore. And I made them get headsets so I don't have to hear it.

I do want to add that they just started playing these games within the last couple years. No way would they have played them when they were younger.

 

[MM27]

The sad thing is, there are many parents that don't even realize how violent some of these games are. I remember one year a student (4th grade) telling me all about the game Grand Theft Auto. I'm not really a video game player so I didn't know about all the details of this game, but he told it all. I asked him if his parents allowed him to play it and he said nobody ever plays with him so they didn't know about the game. Other than the fact that they bought it and it has a rating on it, but why look at that right?

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Although I'm not a fan of guns OR hunting, this game never bothered me.

That said, if I would have seen a child with that 'blank expression' and not doing it in fun, it probably would have bothered me witnessing what you did....

 

[luvmy3]

Boys love playing with toy guns and pretending to shoot them. They always have, long before video games were around. In fact before my one ds was allowed to have toy guns, he made his own with things as innocent as a snorkel tube or paper towel rolls. Today we went to the Intrepid museum and my 2 dses wanted nothing more than to play with the anti aircraft guns on the deck, and there was a long line of other boys waiting for their turn. Its just what boys like.

 

[Scurvy]

In your example, I think that the child's blank stare is more because of the child's personality than the game. I grew up playing games like "Duck Hunt" and I hate real hunting - I hate to kill anything. I think most kids don't make much of a connection between a game like that and violence against real living things - although if the animals were very realistic then I probably wouldn't have let my son play it when he was little.

It does bother me when children play very violent video games. But I think part of the problem is that many people think that all video games are for children, and they aren't. There are games for kids, and there are games for adults. I allow my son to play somewhat violent games now that he is a young teen, but I think that games that show graphic violence against humans or animals (as opposed to monsters or aliens) are really not appropriate for young people.

I do not think that violent games will cause an otherwise good person to do something horrible, but I do think that growing up with violent games might make a child think violence is appropriate. Basically, I don't think parents should allow their children to play violent games while they are still learning what is appropriate behavior in real life. But once the child has a firm grasp of right and wrong, and can tell the difference between real life and a game, then I think they can start to play more violent games without it adversely affecting them. The really "hard core" games (like Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War, and Bully) aren't for kids, and I don't think they should be playing those at all.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

those things never bother me a bit. i loved shooting games as a kid. and would pretend shoot every time i walked past one.

It wasn't the game itself, I don't like them but hey, not my kid. It was the entire demeanor of the child.

I grew up around boys, so I know what boys are like with anything with weapons. When I think back on my friends who used to play games like Mortal Kombat or shooting games, they were always joking around and having fun. Smiling. What bothered me is that this kid did not even look like he was having fun at all. It was just how detached he was and how at ease he was. It's hard to describe, but something about it was just spooky. I do wonder where the parents were. It was an awfully long time to be at the game without any adult supervision.

I'm also not one for censoring books or stuff like that, but I do think you have to have conversations and make sure things are age appropriate. I remember one friend who played a lot of violent video games (the one who owned Mortal Kombat) and he used to want to re-enact what was in the game when we were playing. He had very little to no adult supervision and later in life both he and his two brothers ended up heavily into drugs (reasons why we drifted apart.) Thankfully he got his life together and was able to join the service, his brothers have not been as likely. I don't blame the games at all, but I did see first hand how they did make the violence seem less real, more cartoonish. They were a symptom of the problem. One of our other friends on the other hand threatened me with a fake gun that looked veyr real. I was not aware it was a toy and was terrified. His mom talked to him about why it was wrong and actually smashed it up for the incident. Nothing like that ever happened again. To me these examples illustrate how the game or toy itself is not the problem, but how the parents supervise and handle these types of things.

 

[Sparx]

i love video games, and i grew up on such classics as resident evil, silent hill, and mortal kombat. to date, i've never shot a zombie in the head, thought i teleported into a hell dimension, or brawled a ninja in broad daylight (the consecutive plots of all the games i mentioned, if you've never played them)

i really do not believe that video games incite violence. i think the violence is already there, and there is almost always more, bigger, underlying issues with the kids.

(i know that isn't the real topic of the thread, but thats my feelings on that subject, that i feel the thread will quickly turn to)

about the child, that may just be the way that child acts. do you think he would've been more loud/appearing to have fun if he had a friend with him, or his parents were near by? maybe he was quiet because he simply had no one to talk to. or maybe he was just very involved in the game, you said he played an arcade game for 30+ minutes, well he must have been very good. those games aren't built to let you get too far into it (they're there to make money after all) and about the way that he held the gun, holding a controller for 30+ minutes you would probably have to move your hands around a lot, to keep them from getting sore.

it was probably completely innocent, but i do see your cause for concern. but do you think that maybe it could be (for lack of a better term) a spooky looking kid?

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

It very well could have been that that is simply the child's demeanor, bu I don't think I have eve seen a child look so cold and detached like that. It was a combination of the dmeanor and actions that was so spooky. Have you ever just seen something that your instinct was screaming was wrong? This was one of those situations.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't play video games and even as a kid only played them when I couldn't go outside. I don't thing violent games are really that big of a deal. Kids, especially boys, have always played violent games of one sort or another, even a hundred years ago kids played war. The bigger issue is that kids are sitting around playing games instead of getting enough exercise. If the games are only a part of their free time activity, like it was mine, that is fine. It is an outlet for aggression that is much safer than many alternatives. It is when 8 hours every day are spent in front of a tv or computer monitor that there is an issue. Those kids playing war 100 years ago were running around doing it, not sitting in front of the tv exercising only their fingers.

 

[shortbun]

OP-do you have children of your own who play video games? Nearly every day this summer we've had several boys here(ages 12-14) playing either basketball, riding bikes or playing video games. They come in all rowdy and sweaty, pushing and laughing. In a short 10 minutes you could hear a pin drop around here because the gaming is on and everyone is 'in the zone' as we call it. They do yell if their character gets shot but the expression on their faces hardly changes, their stares fixed on the screen-hands locked on the controller. I have to walk in front of them to get their attention and sometimes all they do is stand up and move to look around me, lol! This is why we have a time limit on video games/screen time around here every day. The time limit may be the only reason some of them bounce a basket ball on our court or ride their bikes over here. "The zone' is pretty scary, I'll give you that but it happens in sports games(soccer, golf, NBA, football, hockey), racing games AND shooting games alike. The cold stare, the emotionless eyes(dead look) and the soulless play are all part of the intense focus some(most) kids apply to playing video games.

 

[Scurvy]

OP-do you have children of your own who play video games? Nearly every day this summer we've had several boys here(ages 12-14) playing either basketball, riding bikes or playing video games. They come in all rowdy and sweaty, pushing and laughing. In a short 10 minutes you could hear a pin drop around here because the gaming is on and everyone is 'in the zone' as we call it. They do yell if their character gets shot but the expression on their faces hardly changes, their stares fixed on the screen-hands locked on the controller. I have to walk in front of them to get their attention and sometimes all they do is stand up and move to look around me, lol! This is why we have a time limit on video games/screen time around here every day. The time limit may be the only reason some of them bounce a basket ball on our court or ride their bikes over here. "The zone' is pretty scary, I'll give you that but it happens in sports games(soccer, golf, NBA, football, hockey), racing games AND shooting games alike. The cold stare, the emotionless eyes(dead look) and the soulless play are all part of the intense focus some(most) kids apply to playing video games.

I hadn't even thought of that, but I agree totally with this post. My family is really into video games and if you wandered through our family room while we're playing a particularly engrossing one we'd probably all look like zombies. I often forget to blink when I'm really focused on a game. And it isn't the violent ones, since we don't play those as a family - it's things like Rock Band or the Lego games.

But I have seen people before, boths kids and adults, who had a weirdly intense demeanor that made me very uncomfortable. At least a couple of them did turn out later to have pretty serious issues. Maybe the kid did have some kind of issues, but if that was the case I doubt that it had anything to do with video games.

 

[browneyes106]

I don't play video games and even as a kid only played them when I couldn't go outside. I don't thing violent games are really that bid of a deal. Kids, especially boys, have always played violent games of one sort or another, even a hundred years ago kids played war. The bigger issue is that kids are sitting around playing games instead of getting enough exercise. If the games are only a part of their free time activity, like it was mine, that is fine. It is an outlet for aggression that is much safer than many alternatives. It is when 8 hours every day are spent in front of a tv or computer monitor that there is an issue. Those kids playing war 100 years ago were running around doing it, not sitting in front of the tv exercising only their fingers.

I agree with your post. The only thing I would be concerned with is how much time they play video. My cousins are 14 and 15 and they play Call of Duty maybe 2-3 times a week and their parents are ok with that. They also play summer league baseball and other physical stuff. I remember growing up some of my closest friends were boys and we played war and swords all the time outside.

 

[Pakey]

My 3 sons grew up playing video games with guns; all 3 still play. The youngest, age 28, still looks like an intense zombie when he plays WoW.

I don't think any of the 3 have ever shot a real gun.

I worried more about drinking and driving than I ever worried about video games.

 

[AustinTink]

OP-do you have children of your own who play video games? Nearly every day this summer we've had several boys here(ages 12-14) playing either basketball, riding bikes or playing video games. They come in all rowdy and sweaty, pushing and laughing. In a short 10 minutes you could hear a pin drop around here because the gaming is on and everyone is 'in the zone' as we call it. They do yell if their character gets shot but the expression on their faces hardly changes, their stares fixed on the screen-hands locked on the controller. I have to walk in front of them to get their attention and sometimes all they do is stand up and move to look around me, lol! This is why we have a time limit on video games/screen time around here every day. The time limit may be the only reason some of them bounce a basket ball on our court or ride their bikes over here. "The zone' is pretty scary, I'll give you that but it happens in sports games(soccer, golf, NBA, football, hockey), racing games AND shooting games alike. The cold stare, the emotionless eyes(dead look) and the soulless play are all part of the intense focus some(most) kids apply to playing video games.

ITA Your house sounds a lot like mine.

 

[maelstrom]

I've been playing first person shooter games since I was 6. I'm 23 now and I just shot a real gun for the first time last week (at a tree!). I'm hoping to get an Xbox 360 soon, and I'll definitely be getting the new Wolfenstein, Call of Duty, Bioshock, etc. I still love first person shooters.

I actually wrote a paper about this very topic in college.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I don't really play video games (Super Mario 3 is my most modern game), but I remember playing them with friends. I guess we just never zoned out the way this kid was. I don't think it would have been as spooky if it was any other game. (Like DDR or Mario Brothers or something). It still bothers me that his parents were nowhere in sight. It was an 11 year old boy, in an extremely crwoded restaurant by the door. I have no clue if he was there on his own or if his family was eating there, but if his family was there it was not obvious. It would have been so easy for somebody to snatch him.

 

[LilyWDW]

Eh, I wouldn't have thought anything of it either. I can only guess the look on my face when I have gotten totally engrossed in playing a game (pulling NToV in EQ, fighting Luca Blight in Suikoden, guitar hero, ect ect).

As for some of the off topic discussions:

I have on more then one occasion made my feelings known on censorship and video games in general here on the Dis. It is not the games that cause the issues... there are other deep rooted problems. Can the game bring these things to a climax or give someone who is already deranged ideas? Yes, but they are never the root of the problem. I have NOTHING against game ratings so that parents can make appropriate choices, but saying a game shouldn't be released or is "bad" because of xyz... uh, no.

Take Grand Theft Auto as an example... it's not a game I want to play personally, but at the same time I would never ask to ban it. I remember the outrage when the "hot coffee" scene was found in GTA because some youngster might see it. UMMM, hello... the game was released with an M rating, meaning it wasn't suitable for those under the age of 17. If your 14 year old is playing it, then there is something else that is the problem, not the game itself.

Gamers as a whole are getting older and games are being marketed towards that audience. It is part of a parents job to research the games their kids want to play and make the decision if they will allow it. It is just like deciding if your kid should see a specific movie or not based off of it's rating. Just because it is a video game does not mean it is kid appropriate.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I've seen that look many times, in fact I thought it was just natural after all I think I get like that when I am engrossed in reading a book, all input with no output. Hmmm, this just made me wonder what we really look like when we read stuff on the computer? I think I have a recorder and might set it to record for a 1/2 hour or so. It's my guess we all get a weird look when intent on the computer. Interesting, is this the new Zen, the new peaceful state of harmony?