Parental Discretion Advised

I was creeping slowly around a corner, and realized I had little ammunition. I reloaded, and put my last ten rounds into my trustworthy M4A1 assault rifle. Taking a deep breath, I steadied my hands, and ran out from the corner; two terrorists were right there, and they both wanted to taste my blood. It took all of my ammunition to kill the terrorist in front of me, and I stared at my computer screen in disdain as the remaining terrorist took aim and shot me in the head. The terrorists had won, and in real life, I was about ready to put a hole through my computer monitor. The emotions I felt at that moment were feelings of intense anger and hatred. Could the video games I've been playing all these years be programming and desensitizing my mind? Games display horrific images of sex, violence, and illegal actions; these images tend to desensitize reactions to graphic images, change an individual's thinking patterns, and cause obsession.

Games display many images of gore, and it is not uncommon to see a person getting killed. Images such as these have a major impact on a person, so the gamer might not think twice about seeing these disturbing images in any situation. Effects like these might possibly make war in the media perfectly normal to see. Often, the user thrives in a war-torn environment; when the user views images of war on television they might not think twice. Games also display images of pornography quite frequently. As a result, the

Rolfsmeier 2

mind is desensitized to these images; the gamer might even find pleasure with these images supporting the sexual exploitation of women. Many games also place the user in

the scenario of murdering an innocent human being. When learning about a murder in the media it is not uncommon for the user to laugh, or make comments such as "that retard deserved it." Yes, desensitization and mind warping is not uncommon when exposed to all of the explicit material found in video games.

Not only do video games desensitize the human mind, but they also reprogram it as well. Video games drastically change thinking patterns. For the most part, the user will think faster. Faced with enemies running at them they are forced to consider their virtual environment and make a decision in a very short period of time. Focusing on the need to stay alive constantly, the gamer will primarily focus on their personal