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Date |
: Jan 17th, 2002 |
| Genre |
: Editorials |
| Developer |
: N/A |
| Author |
: Jin-Ning Tioh |
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To Frag or not to Frag, that is a SERIOUS Question...
In 1998, a frightening event took place at Columbine High School. A teenager armed with a semi-automatic weapon rampaged through the school cafeteria shooting classmates, killing several students and injuring many others. This sparked off a series of debates and concerns among parents and citizens alike. Foremost among these is the belief that music, television and games were responsible for this tragic incident. As both a gamer and teenager, I find these suggestions absurd. Many times have I laid waste to whole armies of Nazis, monsters and other twisted creatures, yet I have never ever felt the urge to rush to the nearest shopping center with guns blazing. However, many publications and much of the world population still remain unconvinced. It takes something infinitely more profound and frightening happening inside the mind of that person for something like that to happen, and we will be far better off serving ourselves by pursuing genuine reasons and solutions.
Unfortunately, once in awhile a magazine will still scream out an alarming teaser, calculated to grab the attention of concerned moralists and ring up sales - PARENT ALERT : Violent Games. And even more unfortunately, some poofy, perky and ignorant housewife will gasp, grab a copy, shove it in her son's face and sternly reproach him. "You see! Those naughty games are bad for you!" All this still happens, even though proper research has already been conducted. In fact, if the results are to be believed, gamers have even more of a tendency to be more sociable, with an ever-growing topic of interest to chat about. So much for the image of a thumb-callused recluse who spends too much time in front of a computer blasting aliens. Also, most casual or hard-core gamers tend to get above average jobs during their adult lives and careers.
Established in 1994, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board has also played a vital role by bestowing ratings on interactive software. This encourages informed purchases and cuts straight to the core, allowing parents and guardians responsible to maintain a close eye on the games their children engage in.
From the points presented above, it would appear that this whole "violent games are dangerous" business is simply a false alarm. While understandably such matters scare parents as much as staring into the barrel of a shotgun, such games are simply meant to entertain and present absolutely no harm. So until the day I go apocalyptic and start blazing away at vicious aliens invading Earth, it is unlikely I will retract my statement anytime soon. Games are here and here they will stay, for sometime at the very least.
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