Online gaming?
What’s so important about this?
First off, I’m not talking about those little games you find on yahoo, shockwave, etc.
I’m talking about what can be called Massively Multiplayer Online, MMO, games.
Do you know?
I do.
These games are important to the upcoming generation of kids and to people of almost any age.
Why?
They allow interactivity.
People can get that from chatrooms and such?
No they can’t.
We will take Halo for instance(any of the three will work).
During online play, you can take place in team matches.
This is the most fun in any game.
You’re wondering why killing each other is important to my kid, right?
Yes it’s very important. Only at a certain age. That age is what can be called the age of accountability, the age when right can be deciphered from wrong.
Violent video games relieve stress.
Now, the team matches promote team work. People learn how to communicate with each other. They also learn the cultures of people from around their country and the world.
MMORPGs are the best at this. They let people to develop more emotions due to the fact they are playing someone besides themselves. In an MMORPG a person creates another life for him or herself. It allows them to be anything they want to be.
Plus it’s just fun.
But Cody, there have been tests done that prove violence in video games at a young life influence violent behaviors, do you not agree with this?
No, government statistics show that violent has decreased in the youth instead of increasing.
This article is pretty interesting. Long, but interesting.
Here are a few excerpts:
“Psychologists define violence and aggression as “the intentional injury of another person.” However, there is neither intent to injure nor a living victim in a video game.”
“…If violent videogame play indeed depicts victims as deserving attacks, and if these video games tend to portray other humans as ‘targets,’ then reduced empathy is likely to be a consequence of violent videogame play, thus putting the player at risk for becoming a more violent individual.”
“What is called “video game violence” is simulated aggression, different from the real thing in countless ways (Goldstein, 1999). Video games cannot “reinforce” aggressive behavior since players do not engage in any aggressive behavior in the first place.”
“there was no significant difference between those who played Mortal Kombat or NBA Jam in whether they regarded the other’s behavior as intentional or accidental.”
“In a study of elementary school children, Graybill, Strawniak, Hunter and O’Leary (1987) found no effects of video games on aggressive behavior, which was measured by pushing buttons that could reward or punish another child.”