Games Could be Hazardous to Your Health

[Thurin]

I concur however the stone age ... meh.. . but in the general line of thinking I see few flaws.

When guided on the right level and taught properly a game will remain a game. (however gruesome content where heads are severed etc ... those games I would still not set my children loose upon until they are older.)

But all in all .. I believe the main issue still is parenting and/or those individuals who commit crimes being criminals ... just because they played a game before committing a crime doesn't make the game itself bad, just the person committing the crime.

Then again there are those who believe that the disney animated movie "bambi" is the work of Satan or the roots for some weird conspiracy... when can people start seeing things the way they are ? I wonder...

 

[trinix]

but bambi is evil.

Sure stone age is a bit too much but it wasn't meant as a we will go back to the caves, make stone tools. But we will go back in evolution, creative thinking will be less common, as games promote thinking outside of the box, not all games and not all gamers, but some gamers can go very far in thinking.

And while parenting is the main reason, don't forget puberty. All kids are different, I've seen children raised the same way and both result differently. Not in jail and the other in a very good job, but I see it more often then not, the kid decides how much he wants to proof himself to his friends, his environment and parents get blamed where they could not have prevented it.

Not everyone will become a university student with only top marks, go to the library to study straight to home etc. And parents can do everything in their power but in the end, the kid has to make the decision to follow the rules or break them.

But we don't need the government to take over the parenting job. If parents can't handle their kids, teachers should pick it up with meetings and how a kid behaves at school and they are the ones who should signal it. Unless you want to create some checkup system where every parent is being interviewed every week that will cost more and will prevent less.

The systems are in place, if you give the teachers more to say and a way for them to report kids that might have a problem, so someone can see if anything is wrong.

99% of the kids who shoot at schools would have done something bad with or without games, movies, internet (also a common enemy of the parents who can't control their kids).

 

[Guest]

Thank God we have the Governator on the side of reason.

 

[Guest]

Nice comparison!
Some are addicted to cigarettes, others to videogames, and they do affect health.
I mean, everyone can agree that sitting behind a desk playing violent games makes them a bit more on the edge with their emotions.
Also sitting on a chair all day can be seen as less healthy.

It is an escape from reality, that could be good if used in measures;just like alcohol.
I wouldn't go as far as to deem it 'hazardous', but I do know guys who spend their whole free time behind computer games,and apart from the chat-menu in some games,really have no social life!

I believe games are a great way of entertainment,when used in measure, but like all things they should not be used to escape reality.
And men just need to be aware of it's influences.

I mean, there are people out there that can get so agitated when they lose a simple game of 'prince of persia', and that happens more to the younger players (sub 15 years of age).

But I liked the comparison of computer games and cigarettes/liquor,since it has some similarities.

 

[waikano]

But it has been proven that Porn has influenced many Serial Killer such as Bundy yet there is no warning label on it. The only rage I get is when I read an article like this. CA wake up and vote that dork out of office is all I can say.

 

[ultim8wpn]

now if one day i turn on the tv, and see a news report of a kid performing an actual hadouken, then video games would need a label.


Now, about parenting....

 

[bounty]

What's the number of people murdered a year due soley to video games? It's probably close to the number of people killed by air, water, lint, string and suffocation by labels. All labels should be labled as hazardous. (including hazardous label labels etc.)

How about the number who die from food poisoning. All food should be labeled as hazardous. Baby bottles might contain some chemical we don't fully understand, all plastic should be labeled. Pencils contain lead... they need a label (and not just on the box.) Paper could be a suffocation hazard... label. Babies could spread/have a disease, they should get a label.

 

[NuclearShadow]

[citation][nom]ultim8wpn[/nom]now if one day i turn on the tv, and see a news report of a kid performing an actual hadouken, then video games would need a label. Now, about parenting....[/citation]

Labeled as AWESOME!

 

[DXRick]

We need to put warning labels on politicians like this one:

WARNING: This nanny-state liberal fascist wants to control every aspect of your life! Do NOT give him/her money!

 

[gm0n3y]

Can you even call somebody a "liberal fascist"? Aren't they mutually exclusive? Conservative fascist would make a lot more sense.

 

[Guest]

After playing Left 4 Dead, I've taken a closer look at my home and office to make sure they are both zombie proof.

 

[poisonpanik]

American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.

If American families wanted to know the truth about the products they buy their children they'd actually do some PARENTING and take responsibility for the crap they purchase for their children! I am a legal ADULT. I don't need some whinny mom telling me I can't play Mortal Kombat or Manhunt because it's too violent. I'll decide what is too violent for me!

 

[azxcvbnm321]

The modern liberal is completely different from the original "liberals" (more like libertarians) who believed in individual freedoms and choice. Thus it is totally possible, and perhaps even likely, that today's liberal is a fascist pig.

Fascism is a form of total government power and control over society, much like communism or socialism. That's why the Nazis were both fascists and socialists, NAZI stands for National Socialist.

People should have the right to harm themselves, and face the consequences of their actions. But today, we have good ol' government trying to save us from ourselves. Worse, instead of letting people who make bad choices face the consequences (like with the foreclosure mess) and using them as an example of what not to do, government makes these idiots sound like victims and give them taxpayer money thus rewarding their bad actions. Then they make laws to try to prevent people from doing things that COULD get them into trouble, like getting a subprime mortgage. Well there are plenty of people who can and are paying their subprime mortgages on time, but a couple of irresponsible folks who don't and the government feels the need to step in.

No, the real way to stop people from doing dumb things is to allow them to feel the consequences and point those people out as examples. A kid knows not to touch hot items because he's tried before and got burned, thus he is reminded by the pain he feels not to do it again. The kid is pointed out to others and they learn too because they saw what happened to the kid who tried to touch fire. But if the kid who tries to grab fire is rewarded with candy and ice cream while the stove manufacturer is punished for not having a warning, then no one learns and people just start suing instead.

The smoker should face the consequences of his actions, if that's cancer then that should be pointed out. But he should have the freedom to harm himself and face the consequences instead of government trying to control his and everyone else's life. That's the difference between a free society and a fascist/socialist society.

 

[gm0n3y]

I'm not from the US, so my use of the words 'liberal' and 'socialist' are different than yours. Liberalism has no relation to the 'nanny state' and personal freedoms, liberalism has more to do with providing more social services. I guess looking at it from your point of view, not helping those in need would be akin to allowing people to learn from their mistakes.

House on fire? No help for you, you should learn not to own flammable possessions. Get in a car accident and get injured? Too bad, don't drive a car. Get robbed? Too bad, you shouldn't own anything worth stealing.

Liberals are willing to tax a little more and provide more services (roads, schools, police, fire departments, etc). Socialism is the same, its not necessarily communism.

 

[blackbeastofaaaaagh]

Well, I can attest to the fact that after playing a racing game for more than an hour, if I were to immediately go out for a drive, I feel that I am going much slower than actuality and can end up speeding if I'm not careful. However all racing games warn you of this phenomina on the start up screen.

Other than that... Hmmmm, getting fat from sitting around and playing games.

 

[blackbeastofaaaaagh]

About the liberal issue:
What viewpoints constitute being a "liberal" varies greatly from culture to culture. One common trait of such people is that they do not strictly adhere to and often think outside the religious traditions and social ethos of the predominant local culture.

From a modern Western perspective, liberal and fascist schools of thought are clearly mutually exclusive. In the US, at least, only the conservatives call for banning books in libraries and schools (well some liberals oppose "required reading" in schools if the book is deemed to be racist), hold book-burning church gatherings, call for banning the display of controversal arts in museums, etc.

 

[ooo]

Not long ago kids perform suicidal acts trying to imitate superman or other alike comic heroes now is the turn of videogames, do not let ur children play games for older ppl, if you cant control them turn off your tv, pc, lock under key the console games whatever, and just let them play under your supervision or an adult different of the grandpa or ma, violence is everywhere is just time your kid/s finds the way to transmit their furious state through some type of violence act, is just a medium to express their insanity not the cause, yes your kids can be born conditionally to act like criminal thats why also insanity can be pass through your genes...if your see some kind of sickness in your kid go to a psiquiatric clinic.
Just compare the number of videogames players against the criminal acts named in their acts and you see there are no related in that 1 to 1 case.
In other thoughs there are more criminals because sometimes kids cant find a way to survived in modern corporate world too, to much presure, look japan for example they are dying cuz of the social corporation order of these days, they educational system is so hard that they cant leave the school until they finish the day lesson no even the young ones, thats insane, repulsive and in order to keep the number 1 technology image they are killing their ppl, thats why they have so much sexual magazines that any teenager can buy (call hentai) becuase they born rate is overpased by their death rate along ago , so yeah soo they will not have kids just old ppl, the system many times can be too hard to be adapted, we moving to a system when competition is more and more efficiently orientated and thats why more and more pressure is put in the world (your kids and you) 1 person is healthy when dont take acts based in extremist ideas, the world is going to the extreme when only a few can keep up with the grade of efficiency required these days we need a more healthy system to be more widely accepted by others otherwise look japan and maybe that is our fatal future, we will end like 1 million of rich ppl and 1 millions of miserable poor ppl, we need balance, balance is health, every system affects the other, share the good and sanity and you will receive the same behavior, cool down the overdemanding consumism and u will find urself in the future with a world to be happy with it...

 

[ooo]

As long as the money is the final goal and not the man everything will be a medium to reach the money even the man, the survival of the man must be final goal of every society and not the money.

 

[blackbeastofaaaaagh]

I wouldn't call the NAZIS socialist. They were all about control, but instead of by govt. by the people, it was govt by a single party along with their crony capitalist/industrialist clientel.

The old China could be said to be socialist (though communist/despotic is a more accurate description). The new China is turning out to be Fascist: Business and the needs of the rich and well-connected over the freedom and rights of the the people.

 

[trinix]

Communism, Marxism and Socialism are all terms of a govt that takes care of the weaker in the society.

I can talk hours about why the one is at least fine while the other is not bad either. Everyone is right and everyone is wrong. Communism, there is no real communism in the world. This thing the Russians and Chinese made, was just total control. Communism is flawed, because you can't have equality without someone inspecting things, the inspectors need power to see if all goes by the rules, if someone disobey rules, they need to be punished. On paper it's the best system, no need for money anymore, everyone is equal, everyone has everything they need, but in reality people stop to try and be better. Why work hard when you get the same as the person next to you and why does the government have so much power.

Socialism is just taking care of others, who can't take care of themselves for whatever reason. Health care and unemployment money are the most common things this system does.

But the bottom line is, that if you want to control what the people do, what the people watch and what the people think, you are no better than the enemies you are trying to fight.

Yes criminal acts should never be accepted, child porn on the net, find the bastard and put him in jail. But don't go punishing people, or prevent them from playing GTA. It's a game. If they don't understand that, than they have a problem. A movie, a book, the internet, even a friend could convince him to kill. A game is not a tool of destruction, it's a tool for entertainment.

When you lose touch of reality and start thinking you are a half elf tomohawk who is here to destroy the evil people by shooting his gun at people, you are lost and need to find help. That is your responsibility. Parents need to teach there childeren responsibility and the difference between fairy tales and movies and games and reality. Once the understand that killing people is bad, but in a game you aren't killing people, but sprites and it is only okay to kill them in video games on your pc/console, make them understand that. That is a parents job. If they don't see the difference between reality and a game reality, you have failed as parent.