Desensitisation to Violence

[Gluk Schmuck]

I’ve heard that games, TV, the internet and such-like desensitise children to violence.
For example, yesterday, I didn’t bat an eyelid when I passed an upside-down car (I think it had people in it).

What I want to know is, what the ****ing hell’s wrong with desensitisation to violence. Now tell me before I break your ****ing legs!
(dramatisation for purpose of amusement only)

[One, Two, Middlesboogie]

What? Desensitised to violence? Moi? Try that again, punk, and I'll give you a knuckle pitta!

I don't think the internet affects how I react to voilence; I never look at violent content online.

TV and videogames do have an effect, I think. A lot of the videogames I play have fairly cartoonish violence (Spyro, Crash, Jak & Daxter, WipEout [to an extent; we never see anyone getting hurt even though it's not cartoonish], Oddworld [no blood or screams of agony or anything even though there are lots of beatings and shootings, and nobody seems to take that much pain], Vib Ribbon), but there's lots of it.
We also see so much violence in the news; it seems to be actually a part of modern society. A lot of the people at my school are sadly impervious to wit, pleas or reason and hitting somebody is the only form of retaliation they know. *can't wait to go to college where everyone behaves like and is treated like adults*.

[Gluk Schmuck]

Originally posted by One, Two, Middlesboogie
*can't wait to go to college where everyone behaves like and is treated like adults*.

Close your font tags

Yes, 6th form will be nice. Small(er) classes, no uniform, exellent subjects, less bullies (generally the people who underacheive).


When I said internet I was just clutching at straws.

Speaking of cartoon violence, the new NSPCC advert is very effective to the point that I try to avoid watching it. In fact, I dislike watching all the NSPCC adverts.
It seems I'm desensitised to the standard violence but I hope I'm never desensitised to violence against children.

[SeaRex]

Life is what really f-cks people up. Cartoons, music and video games play little affect in my opinion.

However... real life movies/TV/video games where you sit and watch someone die does desinsitize people. It's becuase you know it isn't real, but subconciously you think it's real becuase of it's life like qualities. I mean after sitting and watching realistic blood gushing out of someone for a while the "shock value" wears off, and you become used to seeing real blood and death. Well, that's what I think...

[Abe's son]

um..................im only 11 and have seen plenty of violence!!!!!! i ani't gona take any **** about that games taech people about stuff that is'nt ok listen num nutz GAMES DONT TEACH PEOPLE ANY THING THERE GAMES!!!!!

[Sydney]

It results in a lack of empathy when we see people in dangerous situations, like Gluk's example of the overturned car. A famous artwork by Andy Warhol explores this same theme, it's a photograph that depicts a graphic scene of a car accident, torn bodies everywhere. A woman with her baby in a pram is casually walking by as though nothing has happened.

[Danny]

Originally posted by One, Two, Middlesboogie
*can't wait to go to college where everyone behaves like and is treated like adults*.

Originally posted by Gluk Schmuck:
Yes, 6th form will be nice. Small(er) classes, no uniform, exellent subjects, less bullies (generally the people who underacheive).

Yes, 6th Form is fun. *laughs at the puny non-6th-Formers...*

Back to the main topic, I think TV is largely to blame. A generation or two ago, people used to watch Dr Who from behind the sofa because they found it so scary. Compare Dr Who to modern horror movies that our generation watch without so much as blinking...

[Statikk HDM]

Real life will affect you more and has affected me. I have to hyperactive and abusive brothers who are constantly beating me and each other. I am not even phased if they cry. My mom will smack us around a bit too. nothing too bad bad but most assuredly not plaesant. also, my grampa is from the old school of corporal punishment and once he whipped my ass so hard with my belt that i couldn't sit for days. The average person will see 18000 murders in the media, real or fake by the time they are out of high school. I think a house with a bunch of same age bracket siblings or the evening news is more violent than any fake violence.

[Danny]

The Real World does have an effect, but how many 7-year-olds have seen much real-life violence? How many watch the news? Not many, I'll wager...

[Steve]

my viewpoint is that we have always been desensitised just by different methods. throughout much of history if you weren't desensitised then you either wouldn't be able to fight when someone who was desensitised was would, or because of high mortality rate you would go insane from all the death(still probably true today). I am not supporting desensitisation but I am just adding something. also throughout history the main way people have dealt with death is with loved ones, denial, enemys, say that they are not human and in some way diserve to die.

[Wolfpac]

You know that's why they can't show the two Aeroplanes crashing into the World Trade Centre anymore. Because they were afraid that to many people were getting desensitised to the image. It reminds me on a fable I heard once.

There was a man in the Vietnam War. He came across a little girl who had died of a Bomb attack. He said it was the worse thing he had saw in his life. Then a couple hundred meters later he came across two dead children. "That's terrible" he though. "How could anyone do such a thing"? Another couple hundred metres he came across 5 dead children, dead from similar ways as the first. "That's awful", and he walked on. Then another couple of metres later he came across 10 dead children. "That's bad,” he thought. Another couple of hundred meters later he saw 20 dead children, killed the same way the first was killed. "That's war I suppose,” He thought to himself.

So you see if you get use to it then your going to get desensitised to it. And as much as you know that things are wrong, you fail to care because you have seen it all before.

[Danny]

How deep, Wolfpac...