Are video games destroying our emotions?

[Martyn 470]

This thought just occured to me.

I've always been a sensitive guy who wasnt afraid to cry, and i've always been very empathetic, I mean, I lost my dog to cancer 8 or 9 years ago and I cried for weeks, same for my first cat.

But in the past few years i've been playing more video games and i've noticed within myself that i've become less empathetic and more distant, to the point where my 15 year old cockatiel died a few weeks ago and I cried for probably an hour and that's it, I haven't got close to crying since, then a week yesterday I had to get my 1 year old cat put down because he'd badly damaged his nerves and couldnt relieve himself, and I basically raised this cat from a baby, and I only cried for what would probably be on and off over 3 hours.

It honestly seems from this point of view that i've become less emotional and more cold hearted, and it seems correlated to video games, as i've seen this happen to a few other "hardcore" video game players such as myself.


Does anyone else feel like it's video games doing this? or is it me just growing up more and being able to deal with things differently, i'm quite curious to find out.

[Deleted]

I think you are just growing older, and more accustomed to sadness.

[Deleted]

You could be more accustomed to the death of pets since it has happened so often.

[Spectral]

my 15 year old cockatiel died a few weeks ago and I cried for probably an hour and that's it

You cried for an hour over a fucking bird. I don't think you're in any danger of becoming unemotional anytime soon.

[Deleted]

I highly doubt video games are the source of it. Maybe you just got older and more "world-weary"?

[Theodon]

Becoming less emotional can be a natural part of growing old. After all, you harden against emotional distress as you encounter it throughout your life.

[Martyn 470]

You cried for an hour over a fucking bird. I don't think you're in any danger of becoming unemotional anytime soon.

I should mention I was the one who first named the bird and raised it, looked after it since I was 6 Years old, it wasn't "Just" a bird, it was there for 3/4 of my life.

[Deleted]

I don't quite get the emotional part. I don't feel I overdramatize shit like I did when I was a teenager, that's for sure, but that's called growing up and getting through puberty. Apart from that I actually feel more empathetic towards others than when I was younger (whether games have anything to with it or not I dunno, I've been playing videogames since I got my first system at like 6 years old... A mega drive!).

[silmarilen]

i think video games have as much influence on our emotions as they are the source of violence, and crying over your pet dying is anything but unemotional.

[Sialanne]

I'd say they aren't. I can only provide anecdotal evidence at best, but spend an hour or 2 playing LoL (or virtually any other competitive online game) and you'll notice the distinct presence of emotion. If anything, video games may allow for unbridled, unchecked emotional displays, like the guy who's busy motherfucking you up and down over a game.

Not that I think that's a good thing (it isn't, it's harmful to others, and to yourself), but it IS a thing

[Uvwaex]

This thought just occured to me.

I've always been a sensitive guy who wasnt afraid to cry, and i've always been very empathetic, I mean, I lost my dog to cancer 8 or 9 years ago and I cried for weeks, same for my first cat.

But in the past few years i've been playing more video games and i've noticed within myself that i've become less empathetic and more distant, to the point where my 15 year old cockatiel died a few weeks ago and I cried for probably an hour and that's it, I haven't got close to crying since, then a week yesterday I had to get my 1 year old cat put down because he'd badly damaged his nerves and couldnt relieve himself, and I basically raised this cat from a baby, and I only cried for what would probably be on and off over 3 hours.

It honestly seems from this point of view that i've become less emotional and more cold hearted, and it seems correlated to video games, as i've seen this happen to a few other "hardcore" video game players such as myself.


Does anyone else feel like it's video games doing this? or is it me just growing up more and being able to deal with things differently, i'm quite curious to find out.

Assuming you weren't in your mid 30s when your dog died, its much more likely that your brain has just changed over the period of a decade. You also shouldn't inherently relate emotion with crying. Or not crying with lack of emotion. Or not becoming depressed with lack of care about an animal/person/thing. I think most people tend to cry less as they get older, and perceive their emotions differently, whether that level of control is intentional or not. 99% of a chance not video games. Think of all the other things that have changed in your life over 10 years. You might as well say it was television, or movies, or driving a car more that made you lose the emotion. Video games are an arbitrary point.

[Reg]

I hope so. There are some people out there who need to toughen up.

[Pengalor]

This thought just occured to me.

I've always been a sensitive guy who wasnt afraid to cry, and i've always been very empathetic, I mean, I lost my dog to cancer 8 or 9 years ago and I cried for weeks, same for my first cat.

But in the past few years i've been playing more video games and i've noticed within myself that i've become less empathetic and more distant, to the point where my 15 year old cockatiel died a few weeks ago and I cried for probably an hour and that's it, I haven't got close to crying since, then a week yesterday I had to get my 1 year old cat put down because he'd badly damaged his nerves and couldnt relieve himself, and I basically raised this cat from a baby, and I only cried for what would probably be on and off over 3 hours.

It honestly seems from this point of view that i've become less emotional and more cold hearted, and it seems correlated to video games, as i've seen this happen to a few other "hardcore" video game players such as myself.


Does anyone else feel like it's video games doing this? or is it me just growing up more and being able to deal with things differently, i'm quite curious to find out.

If I've done my math correctly then you are somewhere around your early 20s? And that would mean you lost your dog when you were 12-13 ish. You're just growing up, getting older, it happens.

[Cracked]

I cried like a baby after seeing Arthas defeat cutscene. Great stories always get me, but I'm hardly empathetic to the suffering of others (and oft I enjoy it). Everyone is different and I don't think games play a huge role in the development of emotional health.

[Soulstainer]

When I was under the age of 5 I laughed when Old Yeller died. (not sure why but I did). At the age of 8 I Cried when My cat died. (started video games at the age of 5). At 13 I laughed through every Horror movie there was from Friday the 13th to Faces of Death (Faces of Death is real life death for those that have never heard of it). I cried at the end of Titanic every single one of the 50+ times I have watched it.

Do I think it or anything else has to do with Video games? Not in the slightest it has to do with age/experinces in life/and personality if you ask me.

Its like Obama blaming video games for terrorist attacks. Its just plain out not even close to being true.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't say that. I would say exactly the opposite. I didn't use to be so empathic myself before.

[Deleted]

When I was under the age of 5 I laughed when Old Yeller died. (not sure why but I did). At the age of 8 I Cried when My cat died. (started video games at the age of 5). At 13 I laughed through every Horror movie there was from Friday the 13th to Faces of Death (Faces of Death is real life death for those that have never heard of it). I cried at the end of Titanic every single one of the 50+ times I have watched it.

Do I think it or anything else has to do with Video games? Not in the slightest it has to do with age/experinces in life/and personality if you ask me.

Its like Obama blaming video games for terrorist attacks. Its just plain out not even close to being true.

Isn't that a realisation of the differences between fiction and reality though?

Some tough life experiences also make you more jaded and less emotional.

[Pengalor]

When I was under the age of 5 I laughed when Old Yeller died. (not sure why but I did). At the age of 8 I Cried when My cat died. (started video games at the age of 5). At 13 I laughed through every Horror movie there was from Friday the 13th to Faces of Death (Faces of Death is real life death for those that have never heard of it). I cried at the end of Titanic every single one of the 50+ times I have watched it.

Do I think it or anything else has to do with Video games? Not in the slightest it has to do with age/experinces in life/and personality if you ask me.

Its like Obama blaming video games for terrorist attacks. Its just plain out not even close to being true.

To add on to that, there's a tendency in the human brain that if they see two events connected with one happening before the other they will tend to believe that the first caused the second. We have to remember that correlation does not equal causation and just because you started playing video games around the time you started noticing your emotional growth doesn't mean the video games are causing it.

[Airwaves]

It's called growing up. It has nothing to do with games it is to do with the ability to deal with emotions. That happens to most people as they grow.

[Well]

This thought just occured to me.

I've always been a sensitive guy who wasnt afraid to cry, and i've always been very empathetic, I mean, I lost my dog to cancer 8 or 9 years ago and I cried for weeks, same for my first cat.

But in the past few years i've been playing more video games and i've noticed within myself that i've become less empathetic and more distant, to the point where my 15 year old cockatiel died a few weeks ago and I cried for probably an hour and that's it, I haven't got close to crying since, then a week yesterday I had to get my 1 year old cat put down because he'd badly damaged his nerves and couldnt relieve himself, and I basically raised this cat from a baby, and I only cried for what would probably be on and off over 3 hours.

It honestly seems from this point of view that i've become less emotional and more cold hearted, and it seems correlated to video games, as i've seen this happen to a few other "hardcore" video game players such as myself.


Does anyone else feel like it's video games doing this? or is it me just growing up more and being able to deal with things differently, i'm quite curious to find out.

You are just getting older. Death is not the same when you are a kid and when you are an adult.