HDC Weekly Debate #2 - Sociopathic violence : Do movies & videogames play a big role?
 

We did have Topic #1 a few weeks back. This time, I have chanced upon a related topic.

Teens becoming violent, Virginia Tech Massacre, teens running rampant in schools, domestic violence, enraged kids kill own parents...

...some of the burning issues today. We all know kids are easily influential, by their company and what they see or try to emulate.

Do the recent movies (getting more violent and bloody) and the role-playing / first person shooter videogames have a part in this? I chanced upon an article in a recent mag in which psychoanalysts defined "internet and computer addiction" in which they argued that violent role-play games DO tend to influence teens to a fair bit. They either become short-tempered, violent, easily annoyed, nervous when not playing etc. OR they become suicidal insomniacs.

Do movies and videogames influence kids to that extent? Granted, violence in games and movies has considerably increased over the years...but the uber-bloody violent action movies of the 80s didn't have THAT kind of influence on us who grew through those years.

So...

What's your take on this?

I think it all lies on the parents in my opinion. Parents need to do a better job at a younger age to control what their kids watch and play. My nephew is nine years old and he watches horror flicks and plays Grand Theft Auto which to some extent I think is wrong because he is far too young to be playing things like that but his father (my brother) still teaches him right from wrong, and makes sure he knows that it's just a game or movie and he can't do stuff like that in real life.

If a parent teaches a kid the ways of life and shows them what is acceptable and unacceptable then I think that helps a lot. But it also lies in the mentality of a human being. Some people are just completely off or in other words not the sharpest tool in the shed or whatnot. You can easily see violent things in the news every day about someone getting shot and murdered or someone getting raped.

That's just my opinion.

I agree with Gore. Parents play a big part in making sure their kids grow up well. Obviously you could have great parents but because of other things, people at school etc. the child could turn out violent, but it's up to the parents to teach the child good values as much as they can when their minds are young and like sponges. After that, there are many more other factors like I said, but parents should still try their best to make their kids turn out right.

As for games and movies, I don't think it's entirely nonsense. There was one man in england a few years back who killed an elderly couple for no apparent reason, and when in court, he proudly admitted it and said he wanted to be as famous as freddy krueger. Now, that was obviously caused by a film. But, with a mind like that (and he was only about twenty when he did it, and in the newspaper it said he had liked blood and horror from a young age, the parents are partially to blame.

They should have known how impressionable their son was and made sure he was taught right and wrong and maybe laid him off the horror movies. I know it's weird reading me talk about this because of my age, but I know that even though I love horror movies, I can understand that all they are are movies and the things that happen in them are best left in the movies.

There are plenty of factors and definetely, movies and some games (manhunt etc.) which can glamourise violence, but it's up to the parents to let the child know right and wrong and to know when their child is maybe too into these games and films.

It was on the news here.

Shocking...and horrifying.

It really is terrible how a human being would do that. I always think it strange when people says things like "How one human could do that to another...". It's almost as though they don't seem to think it's as bad killing an animal. I don't condone enjoy killing of any kind. I hate people swatting flies when they could open a window or putting salt on a slug because they can. Killing of any kind is terrible. But then, only humans (and velociraptors) hunt for fun. Some animals kill when they don't need to, but they'll still take whatever they've killed and eat it later, or they'll kill in self defence. The human race is cruel and murder should be left to movies and books.

i think a kid can be exposed to almost anything at the appropriate time (this is fully dependant on the childs emotional maturity) if he/she has a proper base formed by a proper upbringing.

so basically i'm agreeing with the folks above to some extent - re the parents

every kid is different - some will not be able to process certain things appropriately at certain ages (some - never)

but if you have parents that give a shit, they will sit with you - explain things - filter stuff, answer your questions.

if there are no parents to give a shit - and show you why you should care for others, what the difference from good and bad, fantasy from reality is...then there is an excellent probability that the end result of the marginalization will end up in some amoral sociopathic piece of criminal shit.

this is the driving force behind the insanity thats spreading through north american society like a cancer.

irresponsible fucking idiots who have no business being fertile.

I agree with everything everyone above me said. I can't say it any better.

Here Here Urge Here Here!

I was exposed to horror movies at 5, and also i loved to play grand theft auto when i was younger.My parents knew that i knew what was right and wrong.They didnt care.I think it depends on the person and also the parents.

Good points!My parents sat with me sometimes when i didnt understand something.I got it right away



I'm just socially retarded.:)