Why would anyone enjoy fake violence when so many people are victims of the real thing every day? writes Charlie Cashdan.

In a magazine I was reading the other day there was a full page glossy advert for a violent computer game complete with blood-splattered animated bodies and a muscle bound angry guy brandishing a bloodied sword.

On the opposite page was a photograph of a little boy screaming in pain with blood soaked bandages covering his tiny body as he lay in a primitive hospital in a war-torn country fighting for his life after a bomb attack.

Somehow, the game advert seemed to belittle his suffering and made me feel ashamed of the human race and all its blood lust.  Here, where we don’t have any wars, we have to make them up instead and play war on games consoles to satisfy our need for violence.

The two images just seemed so incongruous and I wondered what on earth that innocent little boy would think if you tried to explain to him that here in rich countries we play computer games and enjoy doing to animated characters the things that had been done to him for real.  He would probably think we were insane.

Ok, I know lots of you will probably comment that playing violent games doesn’t make you a violent person and I’m not suggesting that anyone who plays such games would condone violence against an innocent child but if you had seen those two images side by side, I’m sure you would have understood.

I don’t get it; really don’t understand how someone can enjoy violent games and films knowing that all around the world these things go on for real.  Why would you choose to watch something like that when torture, rape and violence are happening somewhere in the world, probably at that very moment, to someone who can’t simply switch off and walk away?