Desensitized

[DefunctTheory]

I'm sure most of you have read the news articles: Children Desensitized By Video Game Violence. And I'm sure most of you do the same thing I do: laugh at the ridiculousness of the idea and move on to more legitimate news.

Many of the posters here may not even know what desensitized really means. Is it a mere apathy to the idea of violence? To more specific events? Full blown violent behavior? Or more importantly, if video games don't cause such a state of mind, what does?

Personally, this subject hits me a bit hard, because I am desensitized to violence. Certain events in my life, mostly related to my participation in the United States Army, have rendered me almost emotionless to horror that cause many of my fellow man to collapse into tears. Because of the graphic nature of these events, I wont go into them, other than to say I've seen the most brutal ways to kill a man.

But more to the point, the question I have to ask of you is this: how many people here are truly desensitized, and how does it affect you. Personally, I horrify myself. I can watch watch violence at its worse without blinking an eye; doing it myself hardly registers anymore if the situation calls for it. I've had close friends die violently (Most recently during the Fort Hood shootings, if anyone remembers that particular day), and with a shrug of the shoulders and a sip of wine completely wiped it from my mind.

And for those of you who are not affected in such a manner, I ask this: does it make people like me less of a human being? I sometimes wonder if I've become some sort of emotionless monster, and though death bothers me not, that idea terrifies me.

Opinions?

 

[MONSTERheart]

I'd say that it is necessary for humans to create 'bubbles' around them, if you will. As you said yourself, you can recognize that deep inside you are wincing at the thought of it but choose to ignore it so you can keep moving on. If we didn't have this natural reaction we wouldn't be able to make any forward progress because we'd be stuck thinking about the past all the time.

In short, apathy spurs action.

 

[OmegaXzors]

Personally, violence in video games don't do a damn thing to me. The more blood, the more heads ripped off, the better. THEN, I watch Animal Planet or some other channel and have to see surgery and I can't take it. WTF?

I can tell you, I want it to be as gory as possible. God of War III and Dante's Inferno are both pretty bad. However, they fell below my expectations for gore. I honestly want the sweet nectar of my enemy's death at my square button, because they tried to kill me.

 

[Naeo]

Some degree of desensitization is necessary to remain sane. A huge degree of it, though, I would say isn't good. In your case, OP, and I mean no disrespect and don't want to sound like I'm blaming you in any way by this, I would say the extent is very not good. Sometimes you need to be affected by violence and death and suffering. Sometimes you need to feel something to be able to help others if the situation calls for it.

I'd say video games do in some way desensitize people to violence, but not nearly in the same way that being in the army and actually seeing combat would. It's one thing to play Dead Rising and rip someone's intestines out from an outside perspective and with a TV screen between you and with no connection to the character dying, but it's entirely different to actually have to do something like that in real life (fortunately, I'm just using a logical extension of the "hurting someone in a video game =/= you will so willingly hurt someone in real life", and not speaking from experience with ripping someone's guts out). Video games definitely increase our general fascination with violence, I don't question that, and they do desensitize to some kinds, but ultimately I'd say violent movies/TV do that so much more because it's so much more real/visceral of a depiction than in a video game- the people look so much more human, so much more real.

 

[SwimmingRock]

I always wonder about these studies, because it seems to me they assume that a persons reaction to virtual violence is the same as that persons reaction to real violence. I'm assuming they didn't actually beat up these kids or make the kids beat up somebody else. There were no guns, knives, katanas or other 'standard' videogame weapons involved.

I think videogames can desensitize someone to virtual violence, but that's to be expected as a consequence of repeated exposure (there's a term in psychology for that, but it escapes me at the moment). This is entirely different from actual violence. The body and mind react differently to situations known to be false and non-threatening than to situations where ones life is genuinely in danger.

Which is not to say that I think there's absolutely no effect on a childs perceptions of violence, because I don't feel comfortable making that kind of blanket statement without facts, but I'm pretty sure the studies these news articles are based on are either intentionally inaccurate (read: sponsored by certain people/groups) or misrepresented (the media has a tendency to fudge unclear scientific results, after all).

TL;DR? I don't buy it.

As for my personal reactions, very little in the way of blood, gore, suffering, dismemberment and what-have-ye affects me, but I wouldn't say that's because of videogames. Trying to figure out why I'm desensitized, what comes to mind are the few real life situations I've been in where violence was the only way out and I feared for my life, coupled with my odd misfortune of being around accidents, which has given me plenty of opportunity to see human bodies (or what was left of them) in states not seen among the living.

 

[IzisviAziria]

Humans evolve. We also adapt. When you consistently run farther than you can comfortably run, your body becomes conditioned to run farther. When you consistently lift weight hat is more than you can comfortably lift, you become conditioned to lift more. If you run farther than your body can handle, or lift more, you tear muscles and tendons and are potentially permanently damaged.

Our minds are no different. If we are consistently exposed to violence or tragedy beyond what we are comfortable with, eventually we develop a sort of mental-callous. To a point, it conditions your mind to be able to cope with such things without breaking down emotionally. But in that same way, if it is pushed too far something gives (and we see post-traumatic stress, insanity, etc).

Are you a monster? I don't know. I don't know you well enough to judge. That's sort of up to you. For me, it comes down to this: When you look at that, disregard whether you are bothered by it. Ask yourself, whether you feel it is right or wrong, and then ask yourself if you would make it right if that was within your power.

In my mind, so long as you properly distinguish between what's right and wrong, and are able to make your choices based on that, then whether or not you are emotionally disturbed is irrelevant. In fact, your emotional irrelevance probably gives you an advantage, in that you are more likely to keep a cool head and make the proper decisions in crises situations.

Which is exactly why the mind adapts to tragedy. You learn to cope, you learn to react appropriately. It's survival.

 

[Enigmers]

It's easier for me to ignore violence in video games than it is for my mom. When my brother and I play Skate 2, for instance, and she watches, she tends to have reactions to even the mildest of virtual injuries (such as skating the edge of a bench and falling over, for instance)

 

[Fortunefaded]

I think the term desensitized is not used correctly as it has different platforms where it can be used. I remember playing Roscoe McQueen where I put out fires, shouldn't I be frightened by seeing a fire? I wasn't. However come dealing with a fire onboard a ship i sailed on it was a different story, as soon as the general alarm went off I had so many feelings registering at once that I was dumbfounded before taking the appropriate action.

The same with violence. I see someone get shot in the face playing a first person shooter and I don't flinch. I see soap slit someone's throat and I don't' flinch an eye lid. I attend a army recruitment day and see the tactical knifes they use and I nearly shit a brick at the ferocity of the damn thing.

The same applies to films, I see someone get shot and I don't freak out however I guarantee you if someone fire a gun/shot someone in a mall etc, I'd freak the fuck out.

I think the average person who plays computer games or watches a horror film are desensitized to media violence and maybe would even say they are desensitized to violence in real life but push come to shove, they'd prolly shriek, have their pulse sky rocket and start worrying.

The only exception i'd say is if someone has actual real life experience and not, oh I saw someone get shot. I mean someone like the OP (if he isn't trolling) about being desensitized to violence as that is required in a soldier.

Anyone who says they are totally desentized to violence/horror etc without extreme and repeated exposure to violence etc is just trolling hard.

 

[Tharwen]

When you play games, you don't do it to kill people, you do it to beat them (Note: 'beat' here means 'defeat'). For one thing, the violence isn't nearly realistic enough yet to have an effect, and you know that the people you kill either have little consciousness or are controlled by someone who will get a new person in a few seconds anyway.

A truly horrific game would be one that didn't rely on graphics to deliver a horrifying image, but one that only displayed enough of it to make the user work out the rest and make it fully realistic in his own mind.

This post doesn't really have much direction, looking back on it.

 

[Delock]

Some things I'm desensitized to in videogames. However, stuff like MGS4's final few sections (microwave tunnel, fist fight that you can almost feel the blows) actually made me feel uncomfortable. Same with stuff most real life stuff.

 

[Estocavio]

I think its more conditioning - People used to be scared by 2D Arcade games, let alone 3D ones. Now, you have Condemned, among other things. And violence, well, you get used to it; Rationalise it in a way. And everyone does it eventually, its just a matter of when.

 

[Fortunefaded]

A truly horrific game would be one that didn't rely on graphics to deliver a horrifying image, but one that only displayed enough of it to make the user work out the rest and make it fully realistic in his own mind.

To be affected by a video game I feel as though you would need to actually care about the characters involved, engage with them on some social or moral level to have any concern or consideration about them and their actions- what about in Bioshock?. Killing random henchmen 350 will have no effect.

Some things I'm desensitized to in videogames. However, stuff like MGS4's final few sections (microwave tunnel, fist fight that you can almost feel the blows) actually made me feel uncomfortable. Same with stuff most real life stuff.

I fully agree with you. I hammered the buttons home in the microwave section as I did not want to create a time paradox Seriously, I was engaged by the excellent character development and plot that I didn't want to fail. It felt more realistic and was effected me on a personal level, it was shocking. I certainly wasn't desensitized to what was going on!

 

[Marine Mike]

I'm sure most of you have read the news articles: Children Desensitized By Video Game Violence. And I'm sure most of you do the same thing I do: laugh at the ridiculousness of the idea and move on to more legitimate news.

Many of the posters here may not even know what desensitized really means. Is it a mere apathy to the idea of violence? To more specific events? Full blown violent behavior? Or more importantly, if video games don't cause such a state of mind, what does?

Personally, this subject hits me a bit hard, because I am desensitized to violence. Certain events in my life, mostly related to my participation in the United States Army, have rendered me almost emotionless to horror that cause many of my fellow man to collapse into tears. Because of the graphic nature of these events, I wont go into them, other than to say I've seen the most brutal ways to kill a man.

But more to the point, the question I have to ask of you is this: how many people here are truly desensitized, and how does it affect you. Personally, I horrify myself. I can watch watch violence at its worse without blinking an eye; doing it myself hardly registers anymore if the situation calls for it. I've had close friends die violently (Most recently during the Fort Hood shootings, if anyone remembers that particular day), and with a shrug of the shoulders and a sip of wine completely wiped it from my mind.

And for those of you who are not affected in such a manner, I ask this: does it make people like me less of a human being? I sometimes wonder if I've become some sort of emotionless monster, and though death bothers me not, that idea terrifies me.

Opinions?

I'm in the same boat as you, I have no emotion left that I can't simply "turn off" when the situation calls for it. I often find myself thinking like "I should feel bad" or "I should be horrified by this" but the fact is that it simply doesn't bother me. Its hard to put my opinions on the matter into words, but I've often thought about what kind of man it makes me to be able to just shrug it off and move on with my day. I was diagnosed with PTSD, they claimed that this emotional distance was a symptom but I know that its not going to be "cured" by any amount of therapy. I've come to realize that the military didn't make me into this "emotionless monster" since most of the Marines I know aren't like me. Anyways, these are the cards we're dealt, and you can choose to see it as a blessing or a curse. Either way its not likely going to change, but you're not the only one who feels that way.

 

[Delock]

Some things I'm desensitized to in videogames. However, stuff like MGS4's final few sections (microwave tunnel, fist fight that you can almost feel the blows) actually made me feel uncomfortable. Same with stuff most real life stuff.

I fully agree with you. I hammered the buttons home in the microwave section as I did not want to create a time paradox Seriously, I was engaged by the excellent character development and plot that I didn't want to fail. It felt more realistic and was effected me on a personal level, it was shocking. I certainly wasn't desensitized to what was going on!

I've done this several times already, but why not again? The microwave tunnel occurs after you have fought your way through a ship full of enemies (or painstakingly snuck past them), fought a psychic, and had a seizure. Snake, once the greatest warrior in the world, is now only able to keep moving because of the muscle suit and his own willpower. Stepping in the microwave tunnel (a machine that cooks you alive), he struggles to go forward, only for his suit to literally explode against his skin. He falls to the ground and suddenly the player is no longer in control. All they can do is cheer him on in hopes that he makes it. They're suddenly only a viewer during this time, but unlike switching to a cutscene, this is a time where they feel they should be in control. As Snake continues on, his suit continues to explode, meaning that he is now crawling on the ground with the muscles of an old man, trying desperately to get out before his body is literally cooked alive. Then his eyepatch explodes. I want you to imagine something that close to your eye, and make it something that you use constantly and have come to depend on. Now imagine it violently exploding right next to that eye of yours. Regardless, Snake continues on, only to fall right before the exit. You still are not in control. All you can do is fiercly press a single button and hope that Snake has the energy left in him after his muscles are fried to reach safety. By this point, you'll have noticed that all Snake has left is his will. His body has gone beyond its limits. Even that is draining to nothing. As snake finally reaches the end, he tries to stand up, only for us to see his face, contorted in pain and frozen unnaturally before he falls to the ground. He could have passed off this fate to anyone but he already knew he had no future because he was made as a weapon that had an expiration date. You don't even have the hope that you're allies will succeed as you're doing this as above you, you get to see all of them falling to the enemy. The ship is being overrun by automated weapons, the two you left behind in the large room to guard the door are being riddled with bullets, Raiden has no arms and is fighting a seemingly endless number of elite soldiers. Not a single person is in a good way here.

What is your reward for doing all that? Being attacked by hundreds of drones that literally drill through your destroyed muscle suit and into your flesh.

 

[joshuaayt]

Smash Brothers desensitized me to the feelings of sadness people feel when I completely dominate them on the battlefield.

 

[Wardnath]

I've seen the Budd Dwyer suicide video and immediately gone to sleep afterwards without any nightmares whatsoever.

I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty desensitised (although not the worst in the world, I'll say that much ).

 

[DefunctTheory]

I'm in the same boat as you, I have no emotion left that I can't simply "turn off" when the situation calls for it. I often find myself thinking like "I should feel bad" or "I should be horrified by this" but the fact is that it simply doesn't bother me. Its hard to put my opinions on the matter into words, but I've often thought about what kind of man it makes me to be able to just shrug it off and move on with my day. I was diagnosed with PTSD, they claimed that this emotional distance was a symptom but I know that its not going to be "cured" by any amount of therapy. I've come to realize that the military didn't make me into this "emotionless monster" since most of the Marines I know aren't like me. Anyways, these are the cards we're dealt, and you can choose to see it as a blessing or a curse. Either way its not likely going to change, but you're not the only one who feels that way.

I know its not going to change, and part of me doesn't want to. The odd thing is before I joined the military, I was always a proponent of mental toughness above all else. Now, after it seems I've obtained it, I see its not free: its like I've had something torn out of my head. I often feel exactly as you describe.

To some of you who posted, I suppose I should clarify: its not that I don't care about violence. If I see it and its wrong (I can still recognize right and wrong), I will still feel a moral obligation to stop it: I'm just not horrified by it anymore. I recognize intent, it just seems that the actual, horrible actions taken are beneath my notice.

I suppose the negligible affect violence has on me isn't as disturbing as my disregard for death. We recently had someone hear die of a heart, well, something or another (I didn't pay attention, as such things are not my business), and my unit spent most of the day in out storage area, sitting around and basically mourning. Someone asked me why I didn't look sad, and in fact looked quite happy (Note: I was not happy about the death, I just looked happy in comparison to those around me), and the first thing that came to mind in response was 'He's dead, what do you want me to do about it, cry?' Obviously, I didn't say such a thing, but the fact that it was truly how I felt about the situation is... disturbing.

 

[Wardnath]

I've seen the Budd Dwyer suicide video and immediately gone to sleep afterwards without any nightmares whatsoever.

I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty desensitised (although not the worst in the world, I'll say that much ).