View Full Version : ITV monday: "Video games" are killing my kids
Just a heads up, Tonight with trevor McDonald (20:00 ITV1) tonight is :
Could Video Games Be Killing My Kids?.
Linda Duberley investigates alarming evidence that suggests increasing numbers of children are becoming dangerously addicted to playing computer games. She meets parents whose children spend up to 14 hours each day locked in a virtual world and reports on new methods aimed at weaning them away from their consoles.
ITV meets the Daily Mail??
BTW this is in the Gaming forum because I think it's mostly intersting to gamers rather than general TV viewers
TheCookieMonster
18-09-2006, 17:38
So how long do we think before they mention GTA? 1 minute or 2? :D
Wendelius
18-09-2006, 18:01
So how long do we think before they mention GTA? 1 minute or 2? :D
It will no doubt be part of whatever is the intro segment / speech. I'd bet on 1 minute. :)
Wendelius
I think they're going to focus more on MMORPG's rather than violence
She meets parents whose children spend up to 14 hours each day locked in a virtual world and reports on new methods aimed at weaning them away from their consoles.
I'm going to take a really wild, out-there, stab at this one...wait for it... tell them they're not allowed to be on them 14 hours a day.
No wait, just let it sink in for a few minutes, don't reject it straight away, I know it's radical but think outside the box for a minute.
:cuckoo:
fivebyfive
18-09-2006, 18:14
I bet they won't let facts get in the way of a good scare story.
edit: Just saw the intro bit, complete rubbish
Drysolder
18-09-2006, 19:05
10 HOURS a day of gaming!!!!111
SLAVES TO GHAMING!!!!
Yep, completely objective reporting....
degeneration
18-09-2006, 19:06
So some dumb parents get on telly because their parenting skills are so poor they can't say no...
Wonderful.
Well, to be fair some kids do game for that amount of time, and it really can't be healthy. However, to infer that the games are to blame would be wrong, so I'm hoping they'll contrate their wrath on the parents that allow it!
Not too long ago the TV & video recorder was regarded by "misguided" parents as a cheap babysitter, but now it appears to be video games. I really do think that parents spend far too little time with their kids, spending quality time and actually conversing!
:edit: Ooh, did it really take me 5 minutes to try and write a reply in the errant hope it won't upset too many libveral do gooders, and crap parents? Just goes to show how worried I am about a PC view nowadays!
fivebyfive
18-09-2006, 19:13
It's amazing, parents seem to think children raise themself, it's called parenting for a reason. But its easier to blame someone else or object
:oh-hum:
Drysolder
18-09-2006, 19:22
Interestingly, there appears to be no father figure in all three of the families shown - they're not even mentioned.
cjanderson
18-09-2006, 19:38
Well, to be fair some kids do game for that amount of time, and it really can't be healthy. However, to infer that the games are to blame would be wrong, so I'm hoping they'll contrate their wrath on the parents that allow it!
Not too long ago the TV & video recorder was regarded by "misguided" parents as a cheap babysitter, but now it appears to be video games. I really do think that parents spend far too little time with their kids, spending quality time and actually conversing!
To be fair some adults game that long :suspect:
your right, parents fault, kids get involved with whatever they are into, parents need to make it balanced. I could read for 14 hours a day if unchecked, still can some days. :help:
i try to do a good 8 hrs reading a day
god bless work web access.
:edit: Ooh, did it really take me 5 minutes to try and write a reply in the errant hope it won't upset too many libveral do gooders, and crap parents? Just goes to show how worried I am about a PC view nowadays!
I'm not sure there's actually such a thing as "liberal" do gooders, it's an american invention! I'm not sure any do gooders or crap parents would care what you say, they probably think they're not the problem
fivebyfive
18-09-2006, 20:07
I'm not sure there's actually such a thing as "liberal" do gooders, it's an american invention! I'm not sure any do gooders or crap parents would care what you say, they probably think they're not the problem
there is do-gooders (what ever you want to call them eg bleeding heart do gooder, loony far left etc) there is a quite a few on the forum but I doubt they would be intrested in this unless they could blame the Uk and USA goverments with some tinfoil hat thinking
rbullivant
18-09-2006, 20:09
There was an item on the news in lancs today about someone trying to get Saints Row banned, billed it as one of the most succesful games of all time and couldn't show the clips because they were too violent.
I never really understand why they don't point the blame squarely at the parents, I am 25 and play violent games but if I have kids (big if as I am a man child who plays video games) I would not let them near such games. They'd play Mario and Pokemon and like it! No games shops sells adult games too kids, what they want to do is punish adults who make their own decisions for their own lack of gaming knowledge.
R
R
cjanderson
18-09-2006, 20:16
when i worked at electonic boutique i was always shocked at parents buying 18 rated games for their kids, does that happen in say HMV with dvds? why take notice of the age rating in one type of media and not another?
Sometimes i wanted to slap some parents. they were rubbish.
:edit: Ooh, did it really take me 5 minutes to try and write a reply in the errant hope it won't upset too many libveral do gooders, and crap parents? Just goes to show how worried I am about a PC view nowadays!
I'm not entirely sure why you'd bring PC into it here :lol: Say what you like, its only a forum ffs.
when i worked at electonic boutique i was always shocked at parents buying 18 rated games for their kids, does that happen in say HMV with dvds? why take notice of the age rating in one type of media and not another?
Sometimes i wanted to slap some parents. they were rubbish.
Happened to me all the time when I was working in a video shop. Kid comes in, sale refused, kid comes in with neanderthal dad etc etc. Not entirely sure what the answer is, apart from banning certain games cos kids will always find a way to play them.
EDIT - thought of a way. Shoot the parents.
cjanderson
18-09-2006, 20:24
law should be that you can refuse the sale if you suspect a parent of giving it to the kid.
Or report them to social services. its hardly as though its normal parents who do this is it? if i explained the general gist of GTA3 to most mothers, they'd say okay, well not suitable (well madam, first mission, pick up your ho from the clap clinic, and then beat her up for extra money, if you want more health, you get her to give you a BJ and then, you can beat her up again after for the money back, thats £19.99 please)
No, its the thug heads who were always going to be bad parents that will ignore your advice and buy anyway.
law should be that you can refuse the sale if you suspect a parent of giving it to the kid.
But then your intefering with a parents right to choose whats best for their kids, etc etc, and thats a nanny state which is almost as bad as being PC.
I'd go for reporting them to social services, but I'm still not entirely sure what they could do. Maybe we need a new social services for stuff like that.
Lagerlout
18-09-2006, 20:29
Parents are never to blame, its always somebody elses fault. Why admit your own failings when you can rant at someone else? IIRC kids aren't responsible for their actions fully until 16? Until that point the parents are supposed to be instilling some basic idea of right and wrong into them, if they don't then its their failing as parents. I don't believe in a 'bad kid' as such, the whole nature vs nurture thing is rubbish. Kids grow up how they are allowed to, if they constantly test what they can get away with its cos they know they can. Not got any myself so spose I'm not qualified to talk on that one, but seeing the way different friends of mine treat their kids and the way they react it seems pretty straightforward. The ones who ignore their kids to watch TV, talk on the phone or go the pub have bad kids, the ones who talk to them sensibly (not shout at them or belittle them) have well behaved kids. Wish they'd let us clone a few and put them in different households to prove a point once and for all.
Ah, sod it, lets blame GTA.
cjanderson
18-09-2006, 20:31
But then your intefering with a parents right to choose whats best for their kids, etc etc, and thats a nanny state which is almost as bad as being PC.
I'd go for reporting them to social services, but I'm still not entirely sure what they could do. Maybe we need a new social services for stuff like that.
true, its a nanny state but lets face it, the world would be a better place if some people did not have kids. (ha ha, i don't care about the pc bigrade)
I could blame gta, i do find it a morally bankrupt game really. but freedom of speach and all that crap still applies.
Drysolder
18-09-2006, 20:40
I could blame gta, i do find it a morally bankrupt game really. but freedom of speach and all that crap still applies.
I think for all the attempts to blur out what game the two lads on the PC were playing, surely it's obvious they were on World Of Warcraft?
And as usual, some appalling and technically inaccurate researching by ITN; how can they make the distinction that console games don't go online, yet clearly attempting to illustrate the point using an Xbox or Xbox360 game case (game title again obscured).
This kind of drivel is more at home on Fox News, surely?
Lagerlout
18-09-2006, 20:41
Freedom of speech only works when the people listening are able to decipher the BS, otherwise its mind control. If they want to blame video games for a kids actions I think its only fair to hold the person who brought them the game criminaly responsible. Maybe a few more parents would pay attention to what they buy their kids, they can't have it both ways.
true, its a nanny state but lets face it, the world would be a better place if some people did not have kids. (ha ha, i don't care about the pc bigrade)
I could blame gta, i do find it a morally bankrupt game really. but freedom of speach and all that crap still applies.
You should have to have a licence to be able to have kids. To be honest, I wouldn't have a huge problem if GTA was banned, (I like the game and everything, but I wouldn't care if I never played it again, but I cant see that being a popular option around here), but then there's also the argument that I'd rather kids inside playing GTA than outside doing it for real, so if they're playing it for 14 hours a day, let them, I say. :lol: as long as they're asleep or eating turkey twizzlers for the other 10 hours.
And as usual, some appalling and technically inaccurate researching by ITN; how can they make the distinction that console games don't go online, yet clearly attempting to illustrate the point using an Xbox or Xbox360 game case (game title again obscured).
It sounds like a wonderfully accurate piece of pulitzer prize standard journalism. To be honest, if the only people watching it were the usual ITV demographic, maybe it'll do some good.
And I once had a german talk to me for 45 minutes about how great WOW was, and I wanted to shoot him, so maybe there is something in this games causing violence lark?
Couldn't help but think of Brass Eye tbh...
cjanderson
18-09-2006, 20:49
I think korangah when i see harry krishna's. :suspect:
They never seem to do sensible stuff on computer games. Good article in GamesTM about jack thompson (or whoever that chap is) and he does have some fair comments on some games, but they way he gets reported makes you hate him. Oh for some grown up debate!!!!!!
Drysolder
18-09-2006, 20:53
It sounds like a wonderfully accurate piece of pulitzer prize standard journalism. To be honest, if the only people watching it were the usual ITV demographic, maybe it'll do some good.
And I once had a german talk to me for 45 minutes about how great WOW was, and I wanted to shoot him, so maybe there is something in this games causing violence lark?
:lol:
I dunno, the reporter also had a Mac on the desk as she rabbited on...
Perhaps what they say about Apple's products being the devil's spawn is true... :suspect:
Spectre07
18-09-2006, 21:13
I'd go for reporting them to social services, but I'm still not entirely sure what they could do.Give them time to work on it and they'll find a way to intervene.
internetuser
18-09-2006, 22:00
That 6 year old was in my local paper a few weeks ago.
It is actually GTA he is addicted too would you belive. He will not play another game just that.
If you search you may find the report here
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/chroniclelive/eveningchronicle/
internetuser
18-09-2006, 22:01
I let my son 6 year old play games on the weekend, well 2 hours max on a friday night, and the same on a saturday or sunday.
No more harm than a film in moderation. But he also goes to gymnastics for 3 hours over the weekend and an hour swimming too.
Just curious, but if the kids 6 and he's playing viseo games for 11 hours a day, then when the hell is his bedtime?
SIMON ADEBISI
18-09-2006, 22:25
Just curious, but if the kids 6 and he's playing viseo games for 11 hours a day, then when the hell is his bedtime?
Whenever he completes the level he's stuck on.
ryonhilluk
18-09-2006, 22:32
Same problem as it always is - THE BLOODY PARENTS!!!
Most couldnt care for a bag of sugar let alone a kid or 2.
ghost.ottercrab
18-09-2006, 22:42
I don't think that an age-restricted game (eg GTA) in of itself has a detrimental effect on a youngster as rule, I think a lot of it is dependent on the values that the parents have developed within their child. I played violent games and watched 18-cert movies before I was legally allowed, but I think my upbringing was responsible and I knew the difference between fantasy and reality. Nowadays, I think a lot of parents simply use videogames as a means to get them out the way, and they'll buy them whatever they want just to keep them quiet. They're not interested in the content that they're allowing their children access to.
true, its a nanny state
I don't think KRW was saying it was, just that preventing parents from buying bad games for their kids is nannyish. I don't really believe that's the case, if it's illegal to sell games to kids, then you'd have to stop a loophole.
Wendelius
19-09-2006, 08:18
The friendly Americans are setting out to answer the questions about violence in video games for us. (http://www.brokentoys.org/2006/09/18/the-hearings-of-course-will-be-held-in-camera/)
Wendelius
xraystan
19-09-2006, 08:51
There was one kid on the program that apparently played on his games for 20 hours, during the school holidays!
When I was a young 'un and I'd play on my Amiga in the evenings I would get into trouble if I stayed on for too long. My parents would tell me to turn it off and go to bed. Obviously I played for an extra hour, until the eventually came into the room and told me I had to turn it off, but I still turned it off.
The longest I've ever played on a console was on the original playstation and playing Final Fantasy 7. I bought the game on the Friday evening, played it for a bit and was hooked. The next day I got up at 8 and played FF7 from 9 through until 9 at night. I broke the playstation. It wouldn't read any disks after that and I had to buy a new one. :nuts:
HubbaHubba
19-09-2006, 09:05
I enjoyed watching that while playing Everquest II and Lego Star Wars 2 all night.
Jack Thompson, Attorney at Law! will save us..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/deanos81/Jackthompson.jpg
36Degrees
19-09-2006, 14:09
Video games teach our children that one man can make a difference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy0YRiqVPZg (Lewis Black on video games)
degeneration
19-09-2006, 15:38
What was the jist of the programme? I was playing Dead Rising for about five hours so I missed it.
SIMON ADEBISI
19-09-2006, 15:40
:D Games are bad m'kay
HubbaHubba
19-09-2006, 16:43
What was the jist of the programme?
That the kids featured had crap parents.
degeneration
19-09-2006, 18:08
That the kids featured had crap parents.
Ah, glad I spent my time zombie bashing...
rbullivant
19-09-2006, 18:15
Video Games are just the latest thing to detract away from bad parenting, in the past it was violent movies. Being 25 I remember a number of things that were bad influences on us, WWF wrestling was one I recall, when I was about 4 it was food with E100 flavourings in it.
In a few years it'll be something else
R
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