Violence in Video Games

The video games genres that are the most popular in todays society are usually sports and action games, which for the most part is packed with violence. I personally prefer action packed gun games like Halo and Call of Duty. But what affect to these games have on gamers? Many people have argued that violent games teach violence to kids. I am the product of playing violent games as a child and I would argue that I was not affect by them. As a child, I played first person shooter games like, 007, Perfect Dark, Gundam, where the goal of the game was to kill your enemies. If any gamer would be affected by violent themes in games it would be children and as a child I was able to understand that video games were separate from real life interaction. With regards to the debate on children being affected by violence in video games, I believe it comes down to whether or not a child can differentiate video games from real life.

The effect that I have witnessed come from violent video games is that they are used as a stress relief. One of my friends actually will play a violent video game after a "bad day" and kill people in the virtual world to relieve stress.  So the real question is, would I let my kids play violent games? Yes, it will be a judgment call, when I believe that they can understand the difference between real life and video games.

Blogging about blogs

When I was a student in middle school, I was introduced to blogging. Teachers thought it was important to try and get students involved with the new technology which where blogs. To me, it sounded like the equivalent to a journal that everyone can read. Today, I have the same two problems with blogs as i did as a kid. 

For starters I never really knew what to write about. There are lots of blogs on the internet and for the most part I am not really interested in reading many of them. So what can I write about that would make other people want to read my blog? 

This is leads me to my next problem with blogs. Who cares what you are blogging about? I believe that blogs are making people socially lazier. There is no substitute to sharing experiences face to face with friends. Blogs are becoming misused. Blogs can be helpful and interesting if they share a common experience  that helps readers or reflects something a reader might not know or understand. Blogs are a medium by them selves if millions of people blog everyday. However, how are individual blogs a form of medium if no one is reading them?