Blog Assignment #5: Video Game Addiction

I was confronted with the problem of “Video Game Addiction” five years ago, at 26. April 2002, when German schoolboy Robert Steinhäuser killed thirteen teachers, one police officer, two schoolboys and in the end himself. This amok run led to a fierce discussion about youth and violence, in particular regarding to the addiction to so called ego-shooter games like Counter Strike, Castle Wolfenstein, Hitman and other games. Several subsequent surveys attested these games a direct effect on behavioral characteristics of teenagers and adolescence. Today we also can see that other games like World of Warcraft and other strategy games also attract an enormous following with more than millions of users online every hour. I never thought about that problem because I am not interested in playing computer games. I think, agreeing with Andreas, that these games are a waste of time and that it is pitiable and pathetic that young people spend more than five, sometimes even ten hours a day in an virtual not real world.

This could happen, because computer hardware as well as software capacity increased to an enormous extend. Today’s games are more realistic than a few years ago. The graphic of some of these games are supported and generated by 3D-accelerator graphical cards. The graphic is almost identical to the real world and than it is so easy to kill someone without hurting someone.

I think computer games should not be forbidden. Moreover advanced regulations and obligations have to be enacted to protect young people from their baneful influence!