level 3 in Games Development
ETHICS: Impact of Computer Games on Society
There is many different opinions of video games and Gamers saying that people who play games are just wasting their time and are not doing anything with their life but then on the other hand most people that are in my generation and some older say that gaming is not a waste of time but can actually benefit the person playing them in the form of reaction time and awareness and that some people say that gaming is just like a work of art for entertainment purposes.
one of the main concerns that the media and mainly parents or ( Non Gamers ) are concerned with how much their kids or just people in general are actually playing video games. the reason for this is because the media has mainly aim for the bad side of gaming and saying that it controls you which isn't true in my opinion but that is just me. I get where some parents are coming from as if kids are using so much of their time playing their video games then it can affect the amount of sleep that they get which means how much concentration they are putting into important stuff like education. in extreme cases their have been reports of students not going to school because they are too busy playing video games. studies also show that parents have even gone to extent of neglecting their children one extreme case was when two parents left their children to die because they was too busy playing video games in the internet cafe next to their house.
The Concern about Playing Time on Games
one of the main concerns that the media and mainly parents or ( Non Gamers ) are concerned with how much their kids or just people in general are actually playing video games. the reason for this is because the media has mainly aim for the bad side of gaming and saying that it controls you which isn't true in my opinion but that is just me. I get where some parents are coming from as if kids are using so much of their time playing their video games then it can affect the amount of sleep that they get which means how much concentration they are putting into important stuff like education. in extreme cases their have been reports of students not going to school because they are too busy playing video games. studies also show that parents have even gone to extent of neglecting their children one extreme case was when two parents left their children to die because they was too busy playing video games in the internet cafe next to their house.
social isolation
following on from spending too much time playing games players also put them selves at risk of social isolation when they spend most of their recreational time playing games. this is especially noticeable in console gamers when they can play for hours on end and not have any communication with the outside world. a gamer who spends so much time alone with no human contact can become withdrawn and will have a negative impact on them and will decrease their ability to socialise with other people however some people say that they are happy playing and making friends with MMORPGS and feel a lot more comfortable just socialising with people with a microphone. in conclusion to this point being able to communicate in a virtual environment is a good thing but definitely should not outweigh socialising with people in the real world.
Cost
Gaming is a multi billion dollar industry and the costs to the average gamer is rising all of the time. While gaming can be a very healthy hobby it may become problematic if gamers feel the pressure of having all of the newly released games in their preferred genre. Other factors include the need to purchase the latest gaming platforms. With such a wide platform choice such as consoles, pc, hand-held and online games there is increased pressure on the cost of keeping up with the latest greatest gaming technologies. This may put strain on parents who’s children constantly want the latest releases and want to upgrade their platforms every year. But the thing is Cost dose not necessarily mean in a financial way it also means at like the cost of your health, friends, relationships are also a cost of just playing video games for your entire life so gaming can effect you in some pretty big ways if you let it
Separation from reality
Some gamers become so engrossed in games that they actually believe they are part of the virtual world in which the game takes place. This may be an enjoyable experience for some in the likes of an adventure game but it can have negative effects. There are examples of violent games that have made normally passive individuals become violent when they are not playing games. Other examples are people who have committed murders in the form of actions seen in games that they had become addicted to. Although these are very extreme examples the dangers of becoming separated from society and carrying out actions that you have seen in games because you believe this is the norm, it has happened.
The ethics of gaming are near and dear to my heart as I have a 15-year old Son who follows in his Father’s footsteps to enjoy gaming as his main past time. I have been and continue to be concerned with what such a generation of ‘gamers’ means to the future of society. I believe they are disconnected from society is of no benefit for them, I see the effects of a lack of interest to leave the house to do fun activities for the draw of staying in to play games. My son now has a VR device for his console which as a concerned Mother confirms my fear of even more social isolation. By immersing themselves into the games with headphones, microphones, television screens, monitors and now with no concern for their physical surroundings, I cannot see how they can become more disconnected from reality. Not to mention the time and money spent with the hobby of gaming is the content of the games themselves. It was stated in the book Digital Media Ethics that the defense “it’s only a game” argues that there is a clear and more or less impermeable boundaries between what happens in an online and/or virtual game environment and what gamers do in the rest of their largely quite ordinary lives (Ess, 2014). I am concerned about the sexual content of such games as Grand Theft Auto and the violence in the military combat games. I do talk to my Son about the content of the games and the reality of those acts, that they are not acceptable outside of the gaming environment but does exposure to it make the player more willing to consider them in reality? That has been the case in such scenarios as the Columbine shooters and at Virginia Tech. that they are linked to heavy use of violent games. I keep hoping that at some point my Son’s attention will be drawn to “girls”, dating and courtship, driving a car and exercising his independence as a teenager but that hope keeps fading as none of that interests him over gaming. As he will be 16 this summer and will be getting gainfully employed in his first job seems to be one of the few tools in my pocket to distance him and his gaming device daily. Wish me luck in my endeavors to see my Son as a socially active, prosperous, well rounded individual who enjoys gaming as a hobby.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Ess, C. (2014). Digital Media Ethics (Second ed.). Malden , MA, United States: Polity Press.