I know we talked about this a while ago but I am going to discuss my thoughts on war in video games. Personally, I am not a “gamer” but I have seen these games in action when watching my brothers and my boyfriend play them on a regular basis. The game that I have seen the most footage of would be Call of Duty. I think that the affects caused from how war is seen in video games are usually negative on its players. I believe that video games involving war can have a negative effect on a person’s behavior. From personal experience I have seen both my brothers and my boyfriend go from calm to wanting to kill someone when playing these games. I have also experienced how they behave after playing the video game. The boys all appeared to be angrier and in a grouchier mood than before playing the video game. It is definitely clear to me that they become more aggressive after playing Call of Duty. I believe that it is possible for gamers to become too involved in the game and that it can affect their personal life. One reason I think this is because the games are becoming more and more lifelike every time a new one comes out. The fact that the military and the technology of the games have become almost interchangeable, as mentioned in the Have You Played the War on Terror article, is crazy to me. Although I do not believe they think that they are “at war” I think after the game is over they continue to think about the game and it could piss them off. One of my brothers is 14 years old and I sometimes think that he is too young to be playing a war game that men in the military are using. I think that it’s dangerous and could cause issues in the future for young children that are around these “war games” and such lifelike violence. The article at the bottom of this post is just something I found interesting!
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html
War, War, War...
ReplyDeleteWars have been around since before people started recording them. They were fought over land, love, ideas, and even disrespect. But they were never the focus of entertainment. Until now.
Now there are games that boast their realistic graphics and plots as selling points, and they sell big. They provide the players with the opportunity to get the experience of war, without actually being involved with it. The idea that some of the games the military actually uses to train, like Apache, Desert Tank, and Joint Force Employment, which have passed down through their ranks, and ended up with the consumers. J.C. Hertz calls it the “military-entertainment complex” and I completely agree.
This occurrence is really unfortunate, because, like the article by Stahl explains, it also to helps create a since of knowledge and understanding among the civilians, when, in reality, they don’t really know anything about what’s going on. They also can end up becoming immune to all of the trials and horribleness that is war.
Some of my family members were in the army during Desert Storm, and because I was too young, and they refuse to broach the subject, I can’t really remember much about them and their experiences during that time. All I know is that, when I even brought up the idea of joining any branch in order to pay for college, they pounced in me like I was insane, and told me I’d better get good grades and find scholarships to pay for college instead. From their reactions, I can only assume that war isn’t the same as the videogames that have attacked the markets through the years. It’s much worse.