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Violence in gaming, Good or Bad?

The violence in gaming has become extremely graphic and realistic, but this violence could be what is needed to prepare young soldiers and marines for combat. Statistics show that Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a real and true problem in soldiers returning from combat. The violence in today’s video games and online gaming has become extremely graphic and some people believe it has gone too far. Is it too much for our youth of today and is it causing kids to act out in extreme ways? Are the video games a good tool for the army to use in recruiting or can they be used to train and prepare people for combat. Due to more realistic training through video games it could possibly prepare military personnel for what they might see and experience. This in return could reduce the amount of PTSD in soldiers and marines.

            Video games have become extremely violent over the past few years. Many people have grown to dislike the violence in video games and believe they are harming our youth. Common sense media rates a manhunt as the most violent game by today standards. A game that encourages the player to commit to “bloodier and more violent” murders as you assassinates people. Grand Theft Auto draws the most controversy though. In 2003 a young boy who killed 2 police officers and 1 dispatcher was brought into an Alabama police station for questioning. A young boy by the name of Devin Moore was said to be acting out scenes from the game Grand Theft Auto. Child Psychologist David Walsh (CBS News) says that young children like Devin Moore who play upwards of 10 hours a day of violent video games, as Devin Moore did, and are pre-wired to commit to crimes are at high risk of actually doing so. Children like Devin Moore who come from a broken home filled with abuse and play violent video games in excessive amount are at risk. “All it takes is a child like that to be put in the ideal situation and they will act out scenes from the game” said David Walsh. It is this kind of violence from video games that has caused so much controversy.

            The military is using a first person shooter game called Americas Army to recruit and get younger teens interested in the Army. The game created by Colonel Casey Wardyaski, was designed to help the army save on recruiting cost and keep up with today’s youth in technology. The game was designed to target 14 year old kids and older teens. The army hosts tournaments at colleges and local recruiting stations to help draw crowds of possible recruits and/or future recruits. The idea was to make it seem realistic and team oriented to teach future possible recruits what they will learn in the army, in the way of team work and tactical maneuvers. Some video game style machines are used in military training already. Realistic video game style training could be used to prepare possible pre-deployment soldiers for combat, by using more graphic images to prepare one’s mind for what they might possibly encounter.

            A key reason for preparing military personnel for combat mentally is Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD affects 1 in every 5 soldiers returning from combat. That is over 300,000 military veterans. The prevalence rate for Vietnam veterans is 30.9%. The prevalence rate for OEF/OIF veterans is from 10%-30%. PTSD is a real and horrible problem effecting spouses and families as well as the individual with PTSD. However, a way to possibly bring down the amount of people returning with this problem may be to better prepare their mind for what they are going to go through. If we do not try and fix the problem now we could end up with veterans of OIF/OEF following the same paths of Vietnam veterans before them. Some have ended up in prison or homeless.

            In closing, video game violence has become quite extreme. The graphic’s and realism is not something a young teen should be exposed to through the developmental years. If they do play video games it up to the parents to set the parameters of what games and how often they are played. The army using video games to recruit is a new and more modern way to attract people. The true value of the video games can come from the preparing one’s mind to be ready for the horrors of combat. It can also be used to desensitize veterans as well. From taking one vet and having them play games corresponding with what they went through and slowly back off of the violence to help the desensitization. It can also be used to help with later PTSD problems and give relief in a therapeutic way.

Citations

-CBS News for article on Devin Moore

-Common Sense Media for video game statistics

-www.americasarmy.com