Video games desensitize you to violence?
They say that like its a bad thing.
Ive been playing Doomish games since I was 10 and I can assure you that if it was absolutely necessary to kill someone and all I had on hand was, say, a dental pick, I'd ram that thing home in the perp's esophagus, wash my hands, pop out for a quick smoke and get on with my day. Damn right I'm desensitized. Desensitized people are useful! We can make unpopular but necessary decisive choices! We arent bothered by work that most people would be too squeamish to handle, like triage medics and slaughter house foremen. Do I get off on violence? Absolutely not, but I'm not bothered by it. It just boils down to a cost/benefit analysis. From executing Half Life scientists to deliberately starving resisting Civ 3 populations, video games help build iron wills and ruthless decision making skills. Thats how people survive, folks!
Video Game violence out of control? See for yourself!
Missile Command - When it comes to your choice in simulated mass destruction, demand the original!
99 Red Balloons, baby...
Seriously I think I was emotionally scarred by nightmares of nuclear war after playing that game for hours on end as a 6 yr old.