Children playing M rated games

Anecdotally, I played plenty of M-rated games when I was a kid. My brothers did, too, and most of my friends, on top of that, and we've all turned out well.

The idea that "mature" video games can somehow corrupt children is ludicrous. If anything, I advocate making children play a fair number of these adult-oriented games; psychologically, they will grow stronger and more resistant, and be far less likely to hold the disgusting weakness of being easily shocked as an adult.

We should be raising Overmen; not sympathetic, easily upset, humble puddles of puke.

Actually they can corrupt children. Proof my friends. When they where 8 they began playing M rated games. A month later they where violent and foul mouthed kids. The last sentence you said proof the damage of kids playing M rated games. You just want the world to be full of strong,violent and foul mouthed people just like the games you used to play

I want the world to be filled with strong-minded, ambitious individuals who are not phased, or worse, driven to tears by realities such as violence. I want a world filled with individuals in-tune with their will-to-power (Which should be obvious given my talk of the Overman; being an educated individual, you do know what I'm talking about, right?)

Originally Posted by tlozbj

Actually they can corrupt children. Proof my friends. When they where 8 they began playing M rated games. A month later they where violent and foul mouthed kids. The last sentence you said proof the damage of kids playing M rated games. You just want the world to be full of strong,violent and foul mouthed people just like the games you used to play

This. I'm not at all saying that kids who play M-rated games are gonna grow up to be killers or stupid ♥♥♥♥ like that, but children are highly susceptible to influences, even subconsciously. The idea that "well all kids should play M-rated games, it's fine!" is rather contrived and proof that people lack understanding of how easily children can be influenced. Being sensitive to violence is a good thing. People these days are surrounded by violence in movies, games, TV shows, and in the news, we have become almost completely desensitized to it, to the point where most people shrug and go "it's no big deal." It is a big deal. The human capability to respond and cope with violence, even on a non-personal level, is healthy. It does not make you "weak" or a "wussy" to feel affected by violence or violent images.

That said, I'm not saying that EVERY child who picks up a violent game or movie or whatever is gonna turn out to be screwed up. The chances of that are unlikely. While children are easily influenced, most of them are able to distinguish reality from fiction from an early age. However, some of them don't. Some children, especially young ones, do not have the capacity to cope with graphic images that adults do. They may internalize these experiences and not even know its affect until later on in life. You might go "but baww children aren't as weak as you say they are! I watched tons of violent stuff when I was young!" While this may be true, that is your experience, and cannot be applied to anyone but yourself. Just because YOU "turned out fine" does not mean every child will have the same experience.

Guys this is basic developmental psychology. Children are like clean slates. Whatever experiences you show them, whatever you do to them, whatever may happen to them sticks with them for the rest of their lives, subconsciously or consciously. Some experiences won't affect them at all. This is highly subjective, as not every child is the same. Yes, there are children out there that can watch, play and read about sex, violence and other graphic images and be just fine. More often than not, especially in this day and age, where such material is easily accessible, that turns out to be the case. But there are also those that can't. Believe it or not, just because you and your friends or your siblings "turned out fine", there is probably a child out there that won't. THIS is why the ratings are there. Ratings are guidelines.

I also want to point out that just because a kid might "act mature" doesn't MAKE them mature. I know plenty of children, namely my nieces and nephews, who "act mature" but are in fact extremely immature psychologically and emotionally.

Would I let my six year old niece play Amnesia: The Dark Descent? No. Would she play it and "turn out just fine"? Possibly. But she's six. Would I let my 15 year old nephew play it? Yes. Because he's fifteen, and is therefore more psychologically and emotionally mature than my six year old niece. (But hell, I'm 22 and even I'm having nightmares about that damn game).

Originally Posted by Miss Poe

I highly doubt any kid played games as violent as GTA or Battlefield 10 years ago.

Oh. Wait. That was over twenty years ago.

Because it was common sense that they should'nt.

What are you talking about? When I was a little kid in the early 90's, we were into all sorts of violent stuff like Power Rangers, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. And naturally, that meant with video games too.

Something must have gone really wrong when kids are craving games like that.

Kids like excitement and adventure. Violence usually comes along with that.

Parents, buy a super Mario and order the kid to shut up.

Mario is just as violent as any other video game. (You jump on things to kill them, hemoraging their spines, etc.) It's just not as graphical about it by not having blood and stuff. And you don't kill avatars of human beings. But you're still killing, beating up, and destroying stuff. Killing is killing. Violence is violence.

...If anything, you should be complaining that Mario is worse because it sugarcoats violence (a "wolf in sheep's clothing" argument or something like that).




Face it, violence is deeply rooted in our culture. Always has been and probably always will be.