Thread: Protecting kids on the internet/ violent video games, rubbish!

Originally Posted by Soldier

you can take hes games away and cram a book in his face but he isnt gonna read it.

And he isn't getting his game back

Overall, I believe that parents need to take a more active role in monitoring what their children are doing. You don't have to read their diary/journal (unless you have very good reason to do so), but look at the books they're reading or the games they're playing or the movies they're watching. Regardless what you think about "video games making kids violent," you have to admit that when you play violent games and watch violent movies and read stories about people getting slaughtered, you're being exposed to a lot of negative emotions: anger, depression, rage, envy, etc.

The same goes for sexually explicit material. Even if a kid/young adult may not be consciously aware of it, the exposure to that material has an effect on the reader/viewer/player. There's a reason I stopped reading Piers Anthony: I couldn't take it any more.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "Like father, like son." We live in a society where there is a growing number of people who were neglected or screwed up their own lives and are now doing the same thing to their kids. By the time someone's around the high-school age, they've been so indoctrinated by the values or lack thereof in their family, that it's almost impossible to rehabilitate these messed-up kids.

These games or websites or whatever are not the sole cause of issues with young people nowadays, but you can't deny that they are contributors.

As far as ratings on games/movies, I find it more useful when the label says "for violent themes" or "for foul language" or "for sexual conduct" or whatnot. There are things that disturb me more than others and I like to know what I'm getting myself into beforehand.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

...they get all pissed off when they find out Jr. has been playing Manhunt 2 and try to get the games banned and taken off the shelves.

Yes. Something is definitely wrong when people are actually shocked to discover that games with names like "Manhunt" or "Grand Theft Auto" include killing people and stealing cars.

The whole thing is utterly ridiculous for the most part. You should no more ban video games and the internet than movies, music, or even books.

Its just because video games and internet are more popular (for whatever reason you want to attribute, and there are many), and relatively new forms of media that they are being challenged so harshly.

In the end, people have taken great lengths to make sure a parent has EVERY way to make sure their kids are ok (We have Mortal Kombat to thank for the ESRB). If you can get the point across that some things are fictional and have no bearing on the real world ( as my parents did with me... and I saw and played violent things at a young age and I'm less violent than those heavily restricted children), good. If you can't, protect your children.

And quoted for truth.

Originally Posted by Mark75

Yes. Something is definitely wrong when people are actually shocked to discover that games with names like "Manhunt" or "Grand Theft Auto" include killing people and stealing cars.

Oh hey yeah seeing as how i'm sure the Government doesn't want to be seen as bias or hypocritical or stupid. I assume these ratings will also appear on books. I mean some of my friends, 16, read some novels with, to put it lightly.., graphically detailed sexual scenes. ( usually vampire romance novels..). Trust me i think one of those books, with a 10 page long sex scene, is probably worse for a 13 year old then some Halo 3.

Lolz books with ratings, can't wait. AT least games have rating! All books have is Adult, and actually i went shopping with a friend and the book she brought wasn't in the Adult section anyway, it was either in fantasy or thriller, can't re-call, but my point is it's in the same section as books young teenagers might buy, say "His Dark Materials" or something.

Its funny how this thread has evolved...

I think my first *advanced* words came out of playing computer games =P
Then I started to read books...

Also I think this thread hinges on the topic of

'Im 16 so I can legally have sex and have (x number of children) but I can't buy a 18 game or get married'

Which links to what I say...

But that's an endless topic for endless discussion. Being in the top 5% of intelligence in my country (or so I was told by NAGTY...) I felt that they had it all wrong!
Then I looked around and realised how awful and stupid some people are... I blame the parents. And if the parents are screwed up imagine how the x number of children will turn out!
Sometimes I wonder how my generation is going to turn out...

(Although my freind made a humourous solution for this and the looming extinction of coal ect... "basically we have to use all the dumb people in the world as corpses to fuel powerstations thus solving many problems such as overcrowding...")

hey ur.. Sanquis, who is this friend... because i've that and said that exact idea! Although it also included obese people who couldn't be bothered to fix themselves, draining our taxes on NHS treatment.( assuming the obesity isn't causes by a medical issue and is just the fact they eat like pigs)

Originally Posted by Daeva

*shakes head*

First off, I believe the first thing I ever did when getting an assault rifle in the single player of Halo was expend an entire clip into the dead body of an alien because I was just delighted to see that florescent blood being blown out of its body and all over the walls of the ship. I'd consider that a little gory and rather violent, but then when you are calling a game that focuses around the murder of species that you don't agree with I fail to see how you can't see the inherent violence there. If it wasn't violent, you wouldn't have guns, grenades, or a sword.

Ah but that suggests you have a violent tendency to begin with, you take pleasure in violence that isn't necessary. I have never actually done that while playing halo( maybe because i wanted to converse ammo). Also in a way i think of you play through the three games in the series the storyline is very good and you end up making an alliance with those aliens which you were killing in the first game. I think the game shows that while two different groups( or races) may fight each other at first, they can come to together and bring about peace between themselves.( plus elites are cool and their accents( in 2&3..) rule!)

So i'd suggest if your child is showing signs that he is becoming violent because of the games, then yes take them away, but don;t ruin it for every other child who sits down and plays what they know to be a GAME, and doesn't really think about the fact their committing virtual murder and liking it. They just think there having fun playing a game, and that doesn't change them in the rest of their lifes.

Originally Posted by AspirationRealized

The whole thing is utterly ridiculous for the most part. You should no more ban video games and the internet than movies, music, or even books.

I was under the impression this was about rating them, giving them guidelines to help people make the decision as to whether they - or their kids, for that matter - should be able to watch it themselves. Which is better.

I cant believe im agreeing with people on this thread who are trying to take things away from me lol.

posted by Amethyst Star
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "Like father, like son." We live in a society where there is a growing number of people who were neglected or screwed up their own lives and are now doing the same thing to their kids. By the time someone's around the high-school age, they've been so indoctrinated by the values or lack thereof in their family, that it's almost impossible to rehabilitate these messed-up kids.

sad but true my dad drinks alot and now my brother is drinking without them knowing, he starting to smoke weed too. I think soon I'll have to stop him or he'll turn into an idoit. I've tried weed, great stuff but I dont like the long term effects it will cause so I stopped. drinking? meh i'll stay away from that for a few more years.

Originally Posted by Siиdяed

I was under the impression this was about rating them, giving them guidelines to help people make the decision as to whether they - or their kids, for that matter - should be able to watch it themselves. Which is better.

There is a rating system though, and it works perfectly fine. If people at the stores don't follow it, that has nothing to do with those who make the games, or the ratings for that matter.

Guys, it's the same old bullshit that the news and media will be pulling for as long as the internet and videogames are popular. Everyone is in denial that the world is starting to turn for the worse.

It's all about parenting.

Look at it this way, if you spend the first 12 years of someone's life ensuring that they can tell right from wrong, reality from fiction, and what to believe.. there's not going to be any harm. Many of these say "Hey daddy, can I get call of duty 4!" because they hear that it's a "cool game". Then they go home, pop it in, and unknown to their parents, or even THEM sometimes, they're engaging in a violent behavior. I'm not doubting the fact that violent input will corrupt someone, but I'm doubting that it's that violent input's FAULT.

Hey, there is videos of executions and stuff out there.. If you expose something like that to a child, yeah.. they're going to go fucking whack. But the point is to ensure that they AREN'T exposed to that untill they're at an age where they can make proper decisions for themselves.

The only point in your life, where you should see sick shit like that.. is at the point where you yourself click the link or the video, knowing what it is. Any point before that, it's up to your parents. And if you ARE clicking those videos or links, knowing what they are, then it's your fault.

I'm going to bring up this little recent school shooting that was all over the news a month or two back. About that guy who just walked right into that college, not even a student, and blasted the fuck out of a shitload of people...

Okay. The first thing they said was "Hey, he played violent videogames.. it's their fault!" NO, IT'S NOT. The guy was in his fucking 20's. He has complete control over himself. The video game did not say "Congratulations, you have completed the game. Now go shoot up the nearest college!"

I read an article about it after my Dad tried to convince me that I might be under the influence of violent behaviors from playing violent games. The article stated that the guy was a member of a site that was on a whole, satanic in sort. For Christ's sake, his biography on the site was "I hate everyone, I hate the world, I hate God, and everyone deserves to die".. just paraphrasing.

Now, there's some deeper issues there than a multilayered-DVD can hold.

there shoudn't be ratings for anything besides pron honestly ive been playing blood and guts games literally since kindergarten and im not a messed up violent person

Originally Posted by dahitman474747

there shoudn't be ratings for anything besides pron honestly ive been playing blood and guts games literally since kindergarten and im not a messed up violent person

There shouldn't be ratings for anything besides porn?

For christ's sake, were you DROPPED?!

So you're saying, a three-year old child, should be able to go see SAW IV?

At a young age, violent media is damaging, it's harmful. But it doesn't make you kill your entire school.

Originally Posted by AmazeO XD

There shouldn't be ratings for anything besides porn?

For christ's sake, were you DROPPED?!

So you're saying, a three-year old child, should be able to go see SAW IV?

At a young age, violent media is damaging, it's harmful. But it doesn't make you kill your entire school.

well, you're talking a bit extreme right there but if the parents feel the child can handle Saw, they should have the right to let him see it. there's nothing wrong with letting a ten year old kid play an M rated game tho, they should be able to go to gamestop and buy it, at that age its not going to change a person's outlook on life at all.