Not this again...

[wassup]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040301/tc_nm/leisure_games_dc_7

 

"It's concerning because they (video game players) are rehearsing scripts of behavior that will possibly play themselves out in real life," Michael Rich, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics who has studied the effects of entertainment media on the physical and mental health of children, was quoted as saying in the 45-minute "Deadly Game" documentary.

 

Let's emphasize this again: there has been no solid or consistent evidence suggesting that video gamers are influenced to play out in real life what they do in games.

 

"They run a very high risk of criminal behavior ... there's a lot suggesting that video games are worse," he said, noting that many players tended to identify themselves with game heroes.

 

Right...Jedi Academy influenced me to Force-jump off my roof. Generally speaking, most gamers are responsible in not confusing the line between reality and fiction (from my experience). And the "high risk of criminal behavior" argument is not only unfouded, its absurd. If they are playing games at home, how can they be subject to an increase in criminal behavior that occurs outside the living room?

 

Elisabeth Junttila, a mother of six and head of a nationwide association promoting closer ties between homes and schools, said some children became addicted to video games, spending all their waking hours in front of a computer screen gorging potato chips, pizza and soft drinks.

 

What about TV? Smoking? Drinking? If someone has an addiction, they need to go seek help, it is not any different with computer games. The player has as much fault in this as the video games, if not more.

 

What I find so appalling about these "findings" is the repeated efforts of these "experts" to prove the overly exxagerrated deterimental effects of video games. They fail to accept or acknowledge that their is as much blame with the people playing the games as the games themselves. Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

[XERXES]

I find that lots of people obsess over game and anime characters. Most don't let it interfere with their normal life, I start drawing the line at cosplay though.

[-=DarkZero=-]

It's pretty dumb, I was watching a program on it, and they actually tried to get a law in order so that video games can only be purchased, and played by people without children, ROFL.

 

It's pretty stupid

[IG-64]

Originally posted by Dante Vandetta.

It's pretty dumb, I was watching a program on it, and they actually tried to get a law in order so that video games can only be purchased, and played by people without children, ROFL.

 

It's pretty stupid

 

I don't have kids.

 

 

This is really dumb, I heard that video games actually help you, people can tell the difference between a game and real life.

[-=DarkZero=-]

Originally posted by IG-64

I don't have kids.

 

 

This is really dumb, I heard that video games actually help you, people can tell the difference between a game and real life.

 

I once killed a guy and stole his car, you can't tell me GTA3 didn't trigger that, I MEAN DID,>_> Oh god, I'm only helping their cause, KILL ME WITH THE SPARDA, I mean!? AHHHHHHH

[IG-64]

Originally posted by Dante Vandetta.

I once killed a guy and stole his car, you can't tell me GTA3 didn't trigger that, I MEAN DID,>_> Oh god, I'm only helping their cause, KILL ME WITH THE SPARDA, I mean!? AHHHHHHH

 

That game sux anyways

[Crow_Nest]

How can they do that? Dont they know that you can learn good english from video games?

[Astrotoy7]

I once became so obsessed that I started moulding mountains out of mashed potato......no wait..............that was 'close encounters of teh 3rd kind' .....sorry

 

nah, that's all crap. One thing that can definitely be said is that kids(and adults) are doing less exercise as a result of the diversions of indoor entertainment, liek computers, DVDs and gaming consoles....

 

*gets up, walks out and enjoys sun and fresh air*

 

MTFBWYA

[Seph]

hmmmm *wonders if you slash a demons ,throw it into the air shoot it with 2 semi-automatics then shoot is with a shotgun before it lands the ground would cause the word "Wonderful" to appear near his head* (devil may cry) now where'd i put it?

[Kain]

Okay, so sometimes I talk like Kain. I like his voice and so does my girlfriend(I can sweet talk her in that voice and...uh...nvm:o)

 

And sowhat that she was gonna ask her dad to carve me the Soul Reaver out of a huge block of wood. I like custom memorbilia(Its my hope to someday get a blanket made to look like a banner with Kain's symbol on it).

 

I wrestle with my friends. Not that amatuer stuff either, I'm talking powerbombing-ddting-rockbottoming-stonecoldstunnering-pedigreeing-twistoffating-swantonbombing-chokeslamming-hityouwiththatladderandchairing kind of wrestling(I like Jeff Hardy and the Undertaker, personally).

 

So what if I go paintballing and sometimes yell out like 'EAT IT' or 'GET UP SO I CAN KILL YOU AGAIN'(they don't fall, but those are lines from Halo) or VAE VICTUS(Kain's saying. It means suffering to the conquered).

 

But you know what, I've also greatly expanded my vocabulary because of some games I play(and not 4-letter words, either). So I'm gonna do to this article that I did to the other and say 'Look what that article and them parents teach me' and bang my head on the wall.

 

If its setting the way of our lives, playing these games as the article states, well then practice makes perfect:fist:

[Druid_Allanon]

That article is absolute rubbish. It has been shown that people who play video games become more aware of their surroundings, and more intelligent. Perhaps when you play more video games, your grades will fall. However, I've seen many people who are in the last class of my school are clever and alert(not academically though). I can safely say that if YOU do not play video games AT ALL, you are a nerd, you will only be clever academically. Is that of any use in the society where it's full of bullies and gangsters? The parents merely want an excuse to ban video games and let their children concentrate more on their studies.

[Crow_Nest]

When you play games and get high degree eyesight and get glasses, those glasses will make you look like a smart kid and everyone will respect you.

[IG-64]

Originally posted by |GG|Crow_Nest

When you play games and get high degree eyesight and get glasses, those glasses will make you look like a smart kid and everyone will respect you.

 

That's a myth, your eyes get strained by monitors but they don't get damaged. I play video games and I have 20/20.

[Druid Bremen]

I got 50+/100+.

 

Weird eh?

[Surfnshannon]

If they made a law that banned people from buying video games, who had children, I would be forced to pirate them or use my sister in order to get them. Pretty sad when you would have to go to your "younger" sibling to buy you something your not supposed to have

[txa1265]

Originally posted by STTCT

If they made a law that banned people from buying video games, who had children, I would be forced to pirate them or use my sister in order to get them. Pretty sad when you would have to go to your "younger" sibling to buy you something your not supposed to have

That is yet another attempt by the liberals to enforce the 'it takes a village' mentality. Unfortunately, their view of the village is the government telling you how to parent.

 

But it won't happen.

 

I have no doubt that people can become addicted to video gaming - will anyone here deny that there is a rush to gaming? But how is that different than my getting up obsessively at 4AM to run 5 miles a day, even in -10 deg weather and feet of snow?

 

I also have no doubt that some people are disturbed and thin-willed enough that they translate game actions into reality, as they do things from movies, TV, books and comics ... when has that ever *not* been the case?

 

The other problem is that the media is fully supportive of the liberal agenda, and therefore push 'video games' = 'violent kids' as *fact*, not rediculous hysterical posturing. They are also fully into the 'I am not responsible for my own actions' - there must be some thing else, probably attached to some big company, to blame and sue.

 

Blech ...

 

Mike

[Divine Spirit]

i think that computer games DO have an affect on people.

 

we've all heard of stuff like peer pressure and influences and so on and they basically involve an external act or meaning that is taken on board by a person. kids can start smoking because their friends do it.

 

and i saw on TV this programme about young children watching on tv someone beat up this toy in another room. then the child goes into the room. and whats the first thing he/she does?....yes thats right, beats this toy up. and the same happene when the children saw someone hug the toy. they went into the room and hugged it straight away. i understand that these are very young children but it still makes the point that immature people can be affected by what they see on a tv screen.

 

there are already laws and age restrictions on computer games and now its the parents responsibility to look after their own kids. parents can stop them playing games that are unsuitable and its their job to look after their children.

 

i know its 'people that kill people' but then its also 'people that pick up guns' or commit other acts. i think there is a lot of evidence to suggest people are affected by computer games but then there can never be any proof as it is scientifically unprovable.

[IG-64]

Originally posted by Divine Spirit

i think that computer games DO have an affect on people.

 

we've all heard of stuff like peer pressure and influences and so on and they basically involve an external act or meaning that is taken on board by a person. kids can start smoking because their friends do it.

 

and i saw on TV this programme about young children watching on tv someone beat up this toy in another room. then the child goes into the room. and whats the first thing he/she does?....yes thats right, beats this toy up. and the same happene when the children saw someone hug the toy. they went into the room and hugged it straight away. i understand that these are very young children but it still makes the point that immature people can be affected by what they see on a tv screen.

 

there are already laws and age restrictions on computer games and now its the parents responsibility to look after their own kids. parents can stop them playing games that are unsuitable and its their job to look after their children.

 

i know its 'people that kill people' but then its also 'people that pick up guns' or commit other acts. i think there is a lot of evidence to suggest people are affected by computer games but then there can never be any proof as it is scientifically unprovable.

 

Infants are constantly learning from everything, they simply imitate what they see untill they get it right.

[SkinWalker]

Originally posted by txa1265

That is yet another attempt by the liberals to enforce the 'it takes a village' mentality. Unfortunately, their view of the village is the government telling you how to parent.

 

Actually, the anti-video game and "it takes a village" mentalities are both conservative.

[ExcelsioN]

This kind of stuff is always a load of crap. My parents are always blaming games for stuff I do (and other people do) though.

 

And Divine Spirit, I saw a similar (if not the same) program and those were little 3 year old kids, they still need to learn about the way people act etc.

 

Games have absoloutley no affect on people unless they're a bit wrong in the head.

 

And its the swedish....pah.

[SkinWalker]

This is a relevant article and seems to make some sense. It's a subscription service and the article is brief, so I'll paste it here.

 

 

 

Nature 424, 355 (24 July 2003)

 

A calm view of video violence

Studies of violence in the media and its effects on people are clouded by overheated rhetoric and exaggerated claims. More clarity is needed, both in the science and in the way it is discussed.

 

There are good reasons to be troubled by the violence that pervades the media. Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what's wrong with a society that presents videos of domestic violence as entertainment. Of course, the same questions could have been raised about watching Macbeth, or Punch and Judy. Let's face it, people have always enjoyed watching other people's mayhem.

 

Most researchers agree that the causes of real-world violence are complex. A 1993 study by the US National Academy of Sciences listed "biological, individual, family, peer, school, and community factors" as all playing their parts. And a 2001 report by the US surgeon general concluded that "the preponderance of evidence indicates that violent behavior seldom results from a single cause; rather, multiple factors converging over time contribute to such behavior".

 

Viewing abnormally large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behaviour in certain individuals. The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality. Sceptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: "At this time, well over 1000 studies ... point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children."

 

Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of pandering to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto in Canada, reviewed the literature , he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out "the most doubtful measures of aggression", only 28% supported a connection.

 

The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labelling games as violent or non-violent, should Pac-Man gobbling a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters measure physiological arousal, or record the time it takes game players to read 'aggressive' or 'non-aggressive' words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intent of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health, to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions, is an important step in the right direction.

 

Another appropriate step would be to tone down the crusading rhetoric until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify prolifically on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being duped by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society.

 

 

© 2003 Nature Publishing Group

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[TiE23]

Im gonna kill every one! I've played Halo, UT2003, R6 Raven Shield, SOFII and the first M rated game i saw was Doom and Doom 2, my first FPS was Darkforces, my first M rated game (That I had) was Unreal Tournament! Im gonna kill every one!

*****

^^^(Some thing politions (sp?) whould like me to say) ^^^

 

video games have never made me want to kill some one, I would never do such a thing unless it was for self defence or something like that...

 

I am not gonna get the .306 sniper rifle in MY upstairs attic, take it, run down stair to the garage and go to the tool box full of stuff that is to dangerous to be in our house, grab a hand full of .306 rifle rounds, then run out to the road and take some pot shots at some cars driving by, even though I know that I would be thrown in jail, ruin my life, ruin my family, kill someone, do damage, all because I play some video game that had a rifle.... I would never do that, only people who are insane or on drugs or suicidal would ever do such a thing!!!!!!

SO UP YOURS GUYS WHO DID THE STUDIES!!!! UP YOURS!!!!!

 

I feel much better

 

TiE

[Guest Jed]

That Yahoo article is FULL OF ****. I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF THOSE YAHOO JACKASSES.

 

*gorges himself on Twinkies and sharpens his weapons*

[IG-64]

Originally posted by Jed

That Yahoo article is FULL OF ****. I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF THOSE YAHOO JACKASSES.

 

*gorges himself on Twinkies and sharpens his weapons*

 

Ya, those guys are such lamers! I mean...

 

 

[Master_Keralys]

I think most of it is way overblown. I do not doubt, though, that especially in the minds of young children, there is a strong correlation between violent behavior and violent media. However - it's the parents' job to take care of what their kids are playing, not the governments. Just as my parents kept me from seeing extremely bloody movies when I was a young kid, parents should monitor their kids' gaming. I still don't play incredibly gory games; they're not my taste. I don't think there's a lot of point to it, honestly. But it's your business, not the government's.

 

That's my biggest problem with the whole thing. Sure, I may think that the games out there may be messed up and sick, but it's not the govenrment's job to tell me what I can and can't do in every aspect of my life. Anyone who disagrees with me should go read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and see where that thinking leads - except that it's the exact opposite direction there, it's the same concept.