Violence 101, Revised

If a child plays violent video games, they are going to grow up to be a more aggressive and violent person.

Just because a child plays violent video games does not necessarily mean they are going to be a more aggressive and violent person.

I don’t think there is one answer to violence in this world. I’m sure people would like to pin point one primary cause to a number of problems in this world, but the truth is there is no ONE answer to a lot of problems. I think this makes people very uncomfortable. If there is a problem then it would be nice to just have one answer and simply eliminate the problem all together, but that is sometimes impossible. 

There have been many studies on whether violent video games affect children and cause them to be more violent. Some studies have shown that playing violent games leads to increased physiological arousal, increased aggressive thoughts, increased aggressive feelings, and increased aggressive behaviors. 

Another study shows that children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure.   

One more study shows the brain activity in a person who played a violent video game versus one that did not play a violent video game. 

The person who played the violent video game had more activity in the part of the brain that displays emotion, and a decrease in activity in the part of the brain that shows self-control, inhibition and attention. With these studies it makes the problem seem so simple, cut out violent video games and your child won’t grow up to be a violent or aggressive person right? Here are some other factors to think about.

Child abuse and neglect could possibly lead to violent behavior later in life, according to the Surgeon General Report. It also goes on to say that youth violence tends to begin at puberty and adolescence and ends when the person transitions into adulthood. Therefore, aggressive and violent children don’t necessarily turn into violent adults. The Surgeon General also states that most children that are highly aggressive and have behavioral problems do not, I repeat, do not become serious violent offenders.  Even if video games do make children more aggressive, that shouldn’t transfer into adult life. Once again, this is from the Surgeon General Report.

A lot of people think that aggression in children is greatly influenced by video games and in turn will make them violent adults. I don’t think you can blame violence on just video games. I look more to the way the parents raised the child, the quality of their home and school life, psychological disorders, stressors like losing their job or husband/wife (in violent adults), etc. There are just so many factors to consider and there is no ONE answer to this problem and many other problems. People just have to live life knowing that and make the best out of the answers they do have.

Technology HAS Changed Human Society, Revised

Technology has changed human society in many ways. The technological inventions of computers, telephones, and gaming consoles have all changed the way we; communicate with each other, spend free time, and work. I'm going to talk about the computer and technology's advances in social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace and the ways these websites have changed human society. "Social media and social networking are more than a challenge to today's institutions they have the potential to change the very DNA of human society" according to Social Media Today.  These sites can be used for good or bad effects on society depending on the ways people use them since it is not only an easier way to communicate with friends, but also a better way for predators to find people and get personal information.

Some of the positive effects that social networking has on human society include; faster and easier communication with other people over further distances, easier way to stay in contact with society through these mediums than in person, people with the same interests can find one another, and individuals with the same schools/jobs can find each other to stay in touch.  You don't have to wait at your door a week straight waiting for the mail person to deliver an envelope anymore, your message is delivered in a matter of seconds no matter how far the distance. If someone is interested in a particular band and wants to discuss the latest album with another Green Day fanatic, there's a page for that. After ten years, you decide to find people you graduated with, chances are, there is even a page to find them. There are great benefits in order to keep in contact with other people in society.

Some of the negative effects that social networking has on human society include; giving predators the ability to better locate and interact with unsuspecting prey, less face-to-face interaction, and security issues. Any predator can get online, sign up for the social network under an alias, mask their age/race/sex and find/prey upon any member of society not aware of the tactic. With more social networks face-to-face contact has dropped drastically between teens. According to the National School Board Association "teens spend an average of nine hours per week on social networking sites" (NSBA, 2007) that could be spent face-to-face with other teens. Security issues also have to be considered, not only can social predators be encountered, but also digital predators. Digital predators can "hack" your computer and access personal and banking information and they can steal your identity and credit card information if the right tools are used.



All-in-all I think that social networking improves human society. If children have monitored access to these site as to avoid predators, social interaction is encouraged therefore avoiding anti-social computer drones for the next generation, and people know the proper ways to protect their privacy I think it will stay a positive addition to human society. I am an avid Facebook-er and it helps me stay in contact with friends and family. My profile is set to private and I don't share personal information that could put me at risk such as location and job/personal information. People just have to protect their social and digital selves.

I found a great site called http://socialnetworking.procon.org/ which goes much more in depth than my blog does for anyone who wants to learn more about the pros and cons that social networking has on human society.

Hi Everyone

My name is Marisa. I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone :)