4 ms·

I doubt there's any kind of direct link between video games and people becoming violent, but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be f

by simias 6y ago

I doubt there's any kind of direct link between video games and people becoming violent, but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be fine with young kids shoot each other in the face with realistic weapons in CS:GO and Call of Duty but if you show one women's nipple it's unacceptable. While it probably doesn't directly incite violence in well balanced individuals, it does in my opinion trivialize war and glorify armed combat. I'm reminded of that French soldier who "cosplayed" Ghost from Call of Duty while on duty in Mali. I guess it's not really new, literature always told stories of war and it's an extension of that, but a book and a game are not the same thing. I wish that was what the discussion was about, instead of this dumb tabloid-tier "Doom creates serial killers" narrative.

noobermin 6y ago
I believe the US military uses COD and games like that in their recruitment. I definitely think that part is real. I personally always liked quake and doom, disliked Counter Strike and Call of Duty, so this might be my bias, but it seems easier to use the latter to soften people's perspective on war and conquest while the former are just so cartoonish levels of violence that you can easily distinguish it from reality. That might just be my perspective.
adamnew123456 6y ago
> but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be fine with young kids shoot each other in the face with realistic weapons in CS:GO and Call of Duty but if you show one women's nipple it's unacceptable. I havent seen this personally, but isn't this more of an American tendency than a general western thing? On the American side media violence is penalized less (in terms of adult ratings) than nudity/sex while across the ocean you see the opposite trend. Can anyone with more exposure to European (or Aussie/Kiwi) media confirm/deny this? I'm curious to hear the reason why if true.
- simias 6y ago
  It's definitely worse in American media but I think this bias exists even in Europe, just to a slightly lesser extent. Also, even though we're not quite as prude this side of the Atlantic ocean, we still have to abide by American cultural rules when we use Facebook, Twitter and similar services that have strict no-nudity rules. Similarly, any media produced over here that ambitions to enter the American market will also have to follow these guidelines. American culture is very pervasive.
mhh__ 6y ago
Call of Duty is a slightly more subtle problem because they tend to superficially claim to depict "realistic" warfare but remove all "politics" from it which really distorts any validity of the approach they take.
Blikkentrekker 6y ago
> I doubt there's any kind of direct link between video games and people becoming violent, but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be fine with young kids shoot each other in the face with realistic weapons in CS:GO and Call of Duty but if you show one women's nipple it's unacceptable. So the problem is that the weapons be realistic? I've always noted that rather extreme violence has always been a case of children's entertainment — in something such as Looney Tunes, the characters are frequently the subject of violence that would surely kill a man. Is this acceptable because it's not realistic?
- simias 6y ago
  Yeah, I do find the realism troubling at times. I think it's a bit obscene when kids teabag each other in some middle-east inspired CoD map when a few thousand kilometers from where they're playing people wearing similar garbs kill each other in similar places with similar weapons. It's something fairly unique to videogames too. Imagine the outrage if some American propaganda war movie à la Black Hawk Down showed American military personnel engaging in 360 noscope kill streaks, trying to rack up headshot combos.

by simias 6y ago

noobermin 6y ago

I believe the US military uses COD and games like that in their recruitment. I definitely think that part is real. I personally always liked quake and doom, disliked Counter Strike and Call of Duty, so this might be my bias, but it seems easier to use the latter to soften people's perspective on war and conquest while the former are just so cartoonish levels of violence that you can easily distinguish it from reality. That might just be my perspective.

adamnew123456 6y ago

> but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be fine with young kids shoot each other in the face with realistic weapons in CS:GO and Call of Duty but if you show one women's nipple it's unacceptable. I havent seen this personally, but isn't this more of an American tendency than a general western thing? On the American side media violence is penalized less (in terms of adult ratings) than nudity/sex while across the ocean you see the opposite trend. Can anyone with more exposure to European (or Aussie/Kiwi) media confirm/deny this? I'm curious to hear the reason why if true.

simias 6y ago
It's definitely worse in American media but I think this bias exists even in Europe, just to a slightly lesser extent. Also, even though we're not quite as prude this side of the Atlantic ocean, we still have to abide by American cultural rules when we use Facebook, Twitter and similar services that have strict no-nudity rules. Similarly, any media produced over here that ambitions to enter the American market will also have to follow these guidelines. American culture is very pervasive.

mhh__ 6y ago

Call of Duty is a slightly more subtle problem because they tend to superficially claim to depict "realistic" warfare but remove all "politics" from it which really distorts any validity of the approach they take.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago

> I doubt there's any kind of direct link between video games and people becoming violent, but I do think it reflects poorly on our societies that we seem to be fine with young kids shoot each other in the face with realistic weapons in CS:GO and Call of Duty but if you show one women's nipple it's unacceptable. So the problem is that the weapons be realistic? I've always noted that rather extreme violence has always been a case of children's entertainment — in something such as Looney Tunes, the characters are frequently the subject of violence that would surely kill a man. Is this acceptable because it's not realistic?

simias 6y ago
Yeah, I do find the realism troubling at times. I think it's a bit obscene when kids teabag each other in some middle-east inspired CoD map when a few thousand kilometers from where they're playing people wearing similar garbs kill each other in similar places with similar weapons. It's something fairly unique to videogames too. Imagine the outrage if some American propaganda war movie à la Black Hawk Down showed American military personnel engaging in 360 noscope kill streaks, trying to rack up headshot combos.