Unit 6 Assignment 3

Research Task Worksheet Link

Opinionated Blog Post

I believe that people have an active choice in what they do, we are not pawns in a game of Media. We have our own choices, and sometimes we don’t know why we make them but that does not make us passive it just makes us unsure. I agree that the media can have a big impact on how people act but that is not to suggest that the media is to blame, society controls us. I believe that the messages spread in the media are often negative decreasing self esteem and affecting people’s well being but it not just violent games that have that effect on people. To say that it is only violence which influences our minds is plain ignorance, it suggesting that we are all soldiers following only violent orders and following what we see. The media has an influence but it is not solely the thing that makes us act and think in a certain way. We as humans have a mind of our own we speak and think for ourselves and we have free will, games have not influenced us anymore than a film that we have enjoyed has changed us. For me I have been affected by films such as Harry Potter -growing up with them has made me find some happiness and dream of things but just because I have watched such films does not mean to say that I have been so heavily influenced that I will go around trying to kill people with wooden sticks.

I would say that I have a mixture between a preferred and an oppositional reading towards video games. I think this because it all depends on the type of game I am playing. I agree with some video games as I feel they are realistic and interesting -they entertain me. Where as some I dislike it all depends on types and a person's interests. I have a preferred reading to action and adventure games but I sometimes have an oppositional reading towards fighting or combat games.

Many games have been labelled as the cause of violent behaviour. They have been blamed on countless occasions as having heavy impacts on a person's behaviour suggesting that the Effects Model Theory is true in the cases of video games. Games such as: Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat or Manhunt have all had complaints and links to negative or violent behaviour.



Grand Theft Auto III
The complaints about GTA are that it increases violence and it has been blamed for a number of murder cases suggesting that the game is entirely to blame for these acts of crime.

Manhunt
The complaints are as follows even going as far with blame for shops to start taking the game off of their shelves.

Mortal Kombat
There have been speeches about video games being the cause of problems such as shootings this game being one of many to be mentioned as a cause.

Opinions on Video Games

"that it’s also fair to say that playing violent video games again and again does, in fact, make young people more aggressive.
Significant and repeated exposure to violent video games is not healthy for young people, especially young people who are otherwise maladjusted."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/video-games-spark-aggression-article-1.1293112#ixzz2ubitp800

I disagree with this quote and what this article is saying as there is no evidence that video games are to blame and that they actually have a big impact on people. To suggest that young people are shaped by video games is frankly absurd, yes they may have an impact but they are not to blame and people have their own mind, they can think for themselves and they are responsible for their actions not something they have played or watched.

'Playing video games could be compared to smoking cigarettes. A single cigarette won't cause lung cancer, but smoking over weeks or months or years greatly increases the risk. 
'In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have a cumulative effect on aggression.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2246478/Playing-violent-video-games-just-20-minutes-day-encourage-aggressive-behaviour.html#ixzz2ubkduPFi 

I think this quote is interesting as it shows how strongly people feel about this issue -that they feel that it is incredibly serious and it is just as big as cancer. We think about the short term effects of things when this article thinks about longer effects and compares it to something which is long term and lasting. 

Video Games with POSITIVE impacts on people 

The thing with video games is that people only focus on the negative, they completely ignore the positive impacts it could have on people and our society because there are so many bad stories linked to certain video games that it sometimes outweighs the positives. Studies have shown that video games can help improve your hand-eye coordination which can benefit you in everyday life and in some jobs -shooting and targeting can improve your focus and determination. Other studies show that video games can help people with social skills and can rehabilitate stroke victims and and help them to regain their motor skills. 

Example: http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2013/sep/04/brain-training-game-memory-older-video

The game BRAIN TRAINING has been proven to help memory in the elderly. It helps develop changes in neural aspects os a person. 

The Effects Model

I disagree with the effects model because it makes out that audiences are passive which I find insulting because people have their own mind, some people are easily influenced but that is not to say that we are all like that and that we ourselves are not responsible for how we act. To blame video games is just a way of shifting the blame and not taking responsibility for our actions. The theory is irrelevant towards video games we continuously blame anyone but ourselves because we live in fear that we could actually have the power to make our own choices and live and act how we choose. It may have slight links to cases of violence however I believe that it is more important to look at a person's background and their mentality than to blame anything other than society and the people we live amongst.