My Own Little Piece of Reality..

[The Doctor.]

So I just asked my little ones, while they were playing "Borderlands™"...

I asked them why they were being so cruel and deliberately blowing off their opponent's appendages after they had already killed them.

The girl, 7, said; "Because it's funny!"

I said; "Would that be funny in real life? Would you think it was just as fun?"

My very own Dolly said, "No... that wouldn't be fun."

"Why not?", I asked.

"Because this is a game, it's not real."

"So, if someone attacked you, then what would it be like?"

The Boy, age 9, said; "Well, then it would just go back to being a video game for her."

[Odin2005]

1. So much for the claim by anti-game nuts that kids don't understand the difference between fantasy...

...and reality.

[Ohio Joe]

2. I don't understand

Do you think she does not understand the difference between real life and a game? or that the game has made her violent?

[The Doctor.]

3. It's ok if it isn't clear at first. The point is that they understand the difference implicitly,

but also get that there is a point where reality turns back into something 'simple'.

[Ohio Joe]

4. oh ok, cool

I was thinking this was going to be one of those "evils of gaming" threads that pop up from time to time :D

[Skittles]

7. no, the point is YOUR kids understand the difference

[SheilaT]

5. The final response,

"Well then it would just go back to being a video game for her," does imply to me that kids this young may actually have a problem understanding the difference between violent video games and what exactly real life violence looks, feels, smells, sounds, and tastes like.

I was not there in Tucson, and I've never seen anyone shot or badly injured in any way, but I strongly suspect it's a whole lot different from video games.

[midnight]

6. Get those little ones away from this crap......

[Brickbat]

8. Why would you give them Borderlands?

Yikes.

[Ohio Joe]

9. Borderlands is an excellent game

If you visited the gaming forum and read my review you would know that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. I took my 2nd grade students to a parade one year

We were sitting there on the sidewalk watching the floats go by and a girl fell off a float right in front of us. The back wheel of the trailer the float was on ran over her head. There was blood everywhere. It was horrible. This was about 6 feet away from where we were sitting. Nearly everyone in the crowd gasped. I felt a poke at my side and turned to see the face of one of my 2nd graders who asked me "Was that real or pretend like on TV?"