It all comes down to you

Before I get this blog underway, I just want to say that I will not dedicate an entire blog on the big drama that is Kim Kardashian. Firstly, too many things have already been written about her and her divorce and so I'd pretty much sound like someone else and second of all, for anyone wondering why I didn't write a 'Saving Kim'-style blog, it's because to be honest she doesn't need saving. The woman made around $18 million from her wedding to basketball player Kris Humphries and allegedly the couple earned around $250,000 for every day that they were married. I'm guessing that she'll probably make more money from this divorce and still commands a generous sum from store and social appearances and any business ventures and endorsements that has her name on it. So even if the public stop caring much about her and she fades away from our consciousness (as it did her former 'bestie' Paris Hilton), she won't be missing anything other than more chances to hog headlines and attention. Hence, she doesn't need any of my help.

Ok, now that I've got that out of the way, I'd first like to share a recent article I read in the paper. According to studies conducted by the University Of Queensland School of Psychology, people who played violent video games, particularly fighting games, did so at the risk of losing their empathy. The study involved 144 participants who first played the game Mortal Kombat and then played a tennis game. They were then asked to rate their own empathy after playing. The participants admitted that they felt 'dehumanised' after playing Mortal Kombat and so the study concluded that prolonged playing of such games could turn people into violent, aggressive, unfeeling people, since these players would eventually begin to relate to these characters.

Like most guys, I too was a huge fan of violent games. I loved the Street Fighter series (which isn't exactly gory and violent, but still a fighting game nonetheless), played Mortal Kombat a fair bit and was an absolute fan of first-person shooters. I played them from hours on end. I will admit now that those feelings of coldness and extreme aggression has crossed my mind but you know what? I've never used it on anyone. I've never killed, maimed or seriously injured anyone because I know that it's not the right thing to do.

I wrote a blog a few months ago about taking things too literally, and I think the same could be applied here. I was taught from an early age the difference between right and wrong, as well as the fact that one shouldn't take everything they see and hear on TV, radio, video games and all that too literally. While I enjoyed playing these violent games, I also knew that I shouldn't try to re-enact what I saw on the game screen for real. Seriously, I get quite annoyed when 'experts' try to blame video games, movies, music and all that for rising crime rates and anti-social behaviour. Sure, they CAN contribute but it really comes down to the individuals themselves. Are they smart enough to not imitate everything that they see and hear? Or are they dumb enough to take it to heart and get themselves into trouble? My parents also made sure that I didn't play these games until I was old enough to do so. That way I could play them and not allow myself to take things to heart.

So while it's true that excessive playing of violent games can contribute to monstrous behaviour, I don't think these games should be to blame for turning people into monsters. Such a thought makes non-violent fans of these games look bad and could potentially lead to a ban in these games - which could lead to more than a few fans becoming murderous! People just need to know the difference between right and wrong and be smart enough not to take everything you see and hear too literally. Seriously, people, it all comes down to you.