Are Video Games Too Violent?

This was a topic I mentioned in my last post,a question that was first raised in the 1990s,as video games were becoming much more realistic in that era,with games such as Doom,one of the first ever first person shooter games to be created for pc's.Parents were astonished with how much blood and gore was in the game,and this prompted many parents to complain to their government that this game and others should be banned from public use.

In 1994,the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) created the ESRB (Entertainment System Rating Board) to appropriately rate video games based on their content,for example,Doom was rated M (for Mature) by the ESRB because of its excessive violence,meaning only people over the age of 18 were allowed to purchase and play the game.However,this did not stop kids from playing these games or watching other people play these games.Of course,back in the 90s,this argument had just started.Now,20 years later,we are still asking the question-are video games too violent?Most people today would say yes,as video games today are very realistic and very violent,which some people would say makes a dangerous combination.

But I,being an avid gamer for about 13 years now,would say that it isn't video games that are too violent.In my opinion,it is the real world that is too violent and video games,being a realm of fantasy created by humans,are following the example of the real world.Basically,I believe that it isn't video games that cause violence,it is violence that causes video games.Consider this for a moment:which was created first,murder or video games?Which happened first,World War 2 or all the video games about it?From my opinion,you could say that if there was no violence in the world,there would be no video games,but that would be a very boring world.It's getting quite frustating to see angry parents blaming video games for all their kids' problems,when I think the blame should be placed on those parents for not watching over their kids appropriately.Games consoles today offer parental control settings for parents to monitor the content their children are allowed to watch and play,as well as the age rating given to every video game on the market so parents will know what type of game it is.Anyway,this is just my opinion.Perhaps I'm wrong and video games are too violent,I'm just saying that I believe I've seen much more violence in the real world than in video games.Let me know what you think about this topic in the comments,and I'll see you all next time.


Cheers,
Darren