Stop Blaming Games

[Ronin Storm]

At long last, someone in a position to make a political and social difference says that games aren't evil.

Following the publication of her report investigating the effect of violence in the media on children, Dr Tanya Byron has warned against holding games accountable for society's problems.

"We need to stop panicking, get a grip, move on in the debate and just be sensible about who plays what at what age, and what's appropriate."

Source

 

[Traxata]

The story about wanting all games rated at the moment sort of continues on this, even though I don't own a game in my collection that doesn't have an age rating on it now....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7314751.stm

So what exactly is the point in forcing everyone to do what they are already doing?

 

[Haven]

*punches RoninStorm*

Lara Croft made me do it !!!!!

*runs away cackling*

Alternatively duh ... yeah not much constructive to add to this really since I never really saw a causal relationship in the first place. Sure games show you things you "could" do to people/buildings/evil 3rd world countries controlled by Martians disguised as cleaning ladies, I doubt very much (in fact I actively do not believe) that the knowledge leads to the desire for application however.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Desire for application, no. But children belonging to irresponsible parents who haven't clearly outlined, or show disregard for, the rules of society could be influenced by examples of onscreen violence (not limited to games). Of course, where do you draw the line? So, although I agree that the link between videogames and violence in children is pretty negligible, I still think it pays for parents to take responsibility for their kids. This is coming from someone who played Alien Trilogy in primary school

 

[waterproofbob]

Sure games show you things you "could" do to people/buildings/evil 3rd world countries controlled by Martians disguised as cleaning ladies, I doubt very much (in fact I actively do not believe) that the knowledge leads to the desire for application however.

I dunno Haven I regularly get an urge to become a tiny colourful ball and act out peggle by launching myself from a 2 storey building into a crowded area.

 

[Haven]

I dunno Haven I regularly get an urge to become a tiny colourful ball and act out peggle by launching myself from a 2 storey building into a crowded area.

Your urges are probably best relegated to the deep dark interior of the web where few will happen to cross them during a full moon!

But children belonging to irresponsible parents who haven't clearly outlined, or show disregard for, the rules of society could be influenced by examples of onscreen violence (not limited to games).

Children are influenced by the world around them, whether that be playground bullies, violence on TV, in books or even just their own creative machinations. Very young children have very few moral restrictions on what they do and yes it is down to parents to give kids a fighting chance and give them some mental structures to cope with the world. Thats a very seperate issue and what I am referring to is causal affect in fully functional adults capable of reasoning.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

...her report investigating the effect of violence in the media on children...

With all respect, I'm not the one on a seperate issue! Regarding your post, though, I agree that the causal effect of videogames on a developed adult with a clear grasp of society is ... not worth thinking about.
In the words of my brother, I can't wait for GTAIV so that I may again savagely murder people and then rip the police force apart. It's therapeutic

 

[Ronin Storm]

Not that any of us really need any more ammunition for this, but Stephen King has spoken out in defence of games too (source: Eurogamer).

"What really makes me insane is how eager politicians are to use the pop culture - not just videogames but TV, movies, even Harry Potter - as a whipping boy," wrote King. "It's easy for them, even sort of fun, because the pop-cult always hollers nice and loud. Also, it allows legislators to ignore the elephants in the living room."

(The original article at Entertainment Weekly)

 

[Wol]

I dunno Haven I regularly get an urge to become a tiny colourful ball and act out peggle by launching myself from a 2 storey building into a crowded area.

lol. thats one of the funniest mental images ive had in a while!

Well if some kids are stupid enough to recreate things they see and do in games, theyll soon realise that theres no respawning...

Or is the hype just another reason for parents to pass on blame for being **** parents?

 

[thatbloke]

the problem with "Western" society in general is that when something goes wrong, someone somewhere must be held accountable. Millions and millions of pounds/dollars/[insert currency here] can be spent on a single case, with no end in sight (read: Princess Diana) and all all this money and time is being spent simple to find out who (or what) is accountable for a particular action. But this is a whole different debate...

My point is that games are simply there and the violent scenes in some games are an easy target to try and blame for kids being "violent". Did you not ever stop to think that PERHAPS, just PERHAPS, that this kid naturally has these violent tendencies?

And what about Movies? There are movies out there with may more gratuitous violence/gore/horror in them than any game I can think of (the SAW movies anyone? Hostel?) and if a kid wants to get hold of these movies they can do just as easily as they could a game (if not even moreso).