I think the idea of prosocial videogames is a good idea. I completely agree with the idea that violent videogames have a negative effect on children. Why wouldn’t the same ring true to positive nonviolent video games have a positive effect on children? Living with a 15 year old brother you see a lot of different video games. He and his friends do act different when he plays certain games. After call of duty they act like they are really in the game. They switch turns after one dies. They will then switch the controller until the other one dies. After another game such as basketball, they don’t act as if they are violent and pretend they are playing war. They act like they are playing basketball, or they are pro football players. I think that if they start having video games that are more and more about helping people instead of Grand Theft Auto, stealing people’s cars, etc. they will become more helpful at least right after that time of playing. I think that if they play long enough, maybe it will have a lasting effect on them. Who knows maybe the young generations could instead of being so aggressive, be more helpful and be more willing to be happy and not think that everyone is out to get them. (Hostile Expectation Bias) The world definitely needs better people.
I also agree with this idea that violent video games have a negative effect on children. My little brother is 7 and he is in love with the war games like Call of Duty. I don’t see so much of violent behavior, mostly because he knows that I would whoop him, but I do see the affect of the video games on the things he likes to do and the games he likes to play. A year ago he was really into racing games and all he wanted was toy cars he could play with and crash into each other. Now that he has started playing shooting and war games now, all he got for Christmas was Nerf guns and army sets. This is interesting to me how much a video game changed the toys he asked for and the things he is really into now. Though he still likes toy cars, he would much rather have a gun and an army fatigue outfit so he can pretend he is a soldier. Since I am not really into video games, this makes me think what other video games are out there and how those also affect children, either good or bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree that violent video games have an affect on the way that we operate on and off the console. When playing games like call of duty, it has not failed me to find myself to be immersed in the story line. the more realistic the games are becoming, the more you can feel like you are actually the character.
ReplyDeleteIts funny to think of the way I play the game and how my father plays the game. He doesn't play many games, but he has always been a big "war movie" fan since he was a child. This is probably the reason i have a healthy liking for war movies and games as well. While I play the game, I take more of the Rambo approach giving thats more like my character and the way I like the main character to act in the movies. My father on the other hand, finds himself liking the sneaky spy tactics of war. He takes twice as long on the game, sneaking up on people and reducing the amount of damage and deaths that he takes per board. My father is also this type of person in life. He is precise and methodical while Im more forward and take charge. Video games and other media seem to just fine tune the type of person you really are inside. I don't think it has made me who I am though. I just find myself playing those video games, because of the ability to be in a position of power and to control what is going on.