On the main premise of the video I can give a wholehearted agreement. News organizations are by and large are irresponsible, sensationalistic, entertainment. They place showing people what they want, emotion, over what they need, facts, even over their own ideology bias if it will make enough ratings. I remember seeing a clip of Katie Couric interviewing a woman who had just lost her husband/boyfriend (forget which) and Couric
deliberately provoking her to cry, real classy but them tears get ratings -_-. One cannot blame the news alone though as it could not exist that way if people didn't eat it up. Want it to change? Let your opinion be known and stop watching it.
I do want to comment on some of the things he said though. First one of the studies he sited was based specifically on
gun violence across different countries. Access to video games and guns is not equal in all of the countries listed (not to mention the cultural gaps). When you can't get a gun you can't do
gun violence so the study is irrelevant to his points. Second, and more importantly, I don't understand how he can say media coverage glorifying murderers encourages murders but says a video game that glorifies murderers won't encourage murders, it's hypocritical and bias. The only difference is one is fictional (well interactive too). Fictional games probably do have less influence than reality news but what you are objecting to with news is making the act seem desirable and both can do that. In fact games work on a cycle of rewards that reinforce behavior. Also technically you are looking at pixels with both so it's the viewer who decides one is real. What happens if you make a video game where you play out violent crimes that really happened? They made a movie based on
the Zodiac Killer should I object to a video game adaptation? The truth is parts of games are already influenced from reality that is why we are fighting "terrorists" in games nowadays and the USSR years ago.
I'm not against violent video games I'm against video games that glamorize criminal or evil acts (games like that Japanese rape simulator or GTA). Saying violence is bad is a generality which does not articulate the problem correctly. There is a time and place for violence, it's the improper time or place that makes it a sin. Anything that glorifies sin and makes it desirable is bad virtual or otherwise. I don't hold video games any different than any other media. They are a factor in influencing a person but not the sole contributor. When something goes wrong people look to pass the blame to things which will not restrict their freedoms or require taking responsibility. Say your friends make drugs seem cool and your parents don't care so, even though you know better, you buy some from a drug dealer. Want to know who is responsible when you get addicted? EVERYONE, you, your parents, your friends and the drug dealer. All of them knew better and are responsible for their choices, influence or negligence. I hear people blame the parents alone and ignore the fact that society does not allow you to raise someone chained in a basement or vise versa. Children are going to have contact with the world at some point so it's not enough just to teach them right you also have to change the world for the better too. That includes, but is not limited to, changing video games that encourage sin.
Note: Just so you know I am not new to the video's maker. I've watched several videos by him before this (In spite of the title of his review videos XD ) .
