Let me start by saying this:
I am 14 and I am a hardcore gamer
Just by saying that, I am sure some of you will think I am the stereotype gamer- One who sits on his couch all day, eating chips and growing fat, and screaming vulgarities in to the television. Racist, and simply retarded.
That was never the case.
Based on a study by the entertainment software agency, the average age of gamers is not 17 years old but 33. They are born around the same time video games really boomed. That’s how gaming started. What’s more is that a quarter of all gamers are over 50 years old. Shocking, eh?
Gamers are not stuck in “their mother’s basement”. In fact, most are married! And I highly hate people who talk smack on my hobby.
If you are someone who thinks that video game brainwashes and make kids addicts, I think you don’t deserve to read up on tech news. Wait, before you leave, let me explain why.
Gaming has evolved from a simple entertainment to “one of the most important cultural mediums of our future“. It evolved much faster then the general community can accept it.
It is exactly like when television and magazines boomed. They became so huge, so fast before people can accept them as the new radio or newspaper. That is how porn was born. It is the same thing. Although most of the mediums are tame and children-friendly when they start, some people will start making things meant for specific audiences (eg.Adults). Games like Grand Theft Auto ARE NOT meant for children at all. Seriously, the game is named after a serious crime – vehicle theft.
You recover health when you hire prostitutes. If you let a 13 year old child played this, the child should not be kept responsible for what he would do. It is like a parent letting his child watch a porn movie/magazine/anything. The kid will definitely not have a proper growth!
Letting children play that type of “dirty” video games and when they become violent or sex-obsessed , it turns into the child’s fault. No, it should be the parent’s fault instead. Either way, if the child goes and kills a cabbie (EXACTLY like in Grand Theft Auto), he is screwed up. Simply mad. It’s like teens shoplifting. In my own opinion, they deserve to be locked up.
Whether if you are in a conservative country (like Singapore) or a liberal one, the press will be dogging on it (eg. Fox News, The Sun). Why? Video games are taking up a lot of time which can be used for watching TV. To be exact, it is taking up market share. Watch this:
Yah, it’s Fox news. Really, how much do you believe about that video? If you watch any sitcom/American television, the amount of nudity is roughly 5 seconds, and it only shows the side of a alien breast and butt.
The footage is on Youtube and it is simply nonsensical to say this is full frontal nudity. And the game is M-rated, for god’s sake. And I am sure most teenage boys like me will just say “meh” to it. What? I am being frank here. It’s a side of a butt. The nudity in the movie “Yes Man” is worst then this (a shot of Jim Carrey’s butt).
Franking speaking, gaming is one of the most understood IT cultures. As with human instinct, we look at the disadvantages and the dire consequences it will bring. So many people play games – but a few retards make the stereotype. If you STILL don’t believe the average gamer is not the couch-sitting idiot, take other stereotypes- Chinese stereotype, American stereotype, British stereotype, French stereotype, and heck, Singaporean stereotype. They are all false! From outside (of the cultures), they seem the same. Stereotypes include: Chinese are communists, Americans are loud, British like tea, france is based purely around art, Singapore are ill-mannered and speaks bad english. THEY ARE ALL FALSE!
Gaming isn’t the same as toys for young kids! It’s a diverse industry – the governments of the world don’t seem to understand that (Germany, I am looking at you). They all just see the words “NUDITY!!!” and either ban or restrict the game. God, I actually wanted to play Mass Effect. I really wanted to try it. And not because of the nudity, but because it is one of the best games which ever came out for the Xbox. I don’t mind a side view of a computerized butt-cheek, censor it for all I care! And really? Nudity? Why are people going for nudity which is made out of pixels? It’s just a bunch of dots!
Another comparison is between gaming and the world wide web. Many parents still take the “dangerous” Internet as a porn, pedophile, bully, machine which swallows their sons into eternal addiction. I quote the one and only Philip DeFranco – “Internet is my crack”. Yah, I am an Internet junkie. I cannot live without my daily dose of internetz. I am sure many of you also think this way. But I can control myself. That make ALL the difference.
Same as gaming. Yes, I tried Grand Theft Auto before, everyone tried it at lease once in my school…(maybe with the exception of the founder) Sure it is fun- teens are programmed to be rebellious. I can admit to people that the game make me less violent in real life- I vent all my rebellious rage into games. Whether it is halo, Call of Duty, or any other video game,I think we can all agree shooting your friend in the head virtually is much better then shooting a entire classroom full of students in real life.
I feel utterly disgusted people use inconclusive studies to brainwash the public into video hating zombies.
Writing in the International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, Patrick Kierkegaard of the University of Essex, England, suggests there is scant scientific evidence that video games are anything but harmless and do not lead to real world aggression. Moreover, his research shows that previous work is biased towards the opposite conclusion. Read more: Here
The studies actually show games are great stress relievers. What was that about violence? I am sure you will be violent right after you watch a man that…get…killed…by…zombies… (Just got reminded of a scary scene in a movie I watched before)
If you still don’t believe me, watch this…(Warning! – it contains strong language)
(Not working? Go HERE)