Grants & money to be available to "study" the effects of video on children

[SoCalDem]

C-span (live) at the time of this post.

Joementum is reintroducing legislation that had "bipartisan support" last time ..in the guise of Brownback,Joementum, Hilary and Rickie Santorum (what a broad spectrum, eh?)

He seems convinced that video games and video are the same as cigarettes and tobacco..

Don;t these guys know that "kids" can get anything they want?

Blowing millions of dollars on study after study does not lessen the attraction of technology to children.

Too bad they don't use all that "study money" to set up after school activities for kids..

[OneBlueSky]

1. maybe he can do his research in those balloons over Iraq . . .

might just as well piss all the money away in one spot . . .

[tnlefty]

2. Did I hear that reporter's question correctly?

That there have been 2,000 studies already done in relation to video games and their effects on children?

[YOY]

3. All of them conducted by Jack Thompson using a bible, a crayon, and a checklist

n/t

[SoCalDem]

4. All they need to do is ask Madison Avenue...or anyone they see on the street

ADVERSTISING(PROPAGANDA) WORKS..

People are visual creatures..and we are susceptible to "suggestion"..

It;s a NO-BRAINER, Joe

Send me the grant money, I'll write a report..

We ALL know it..

The problem is that so many kids have no PARENTS.. The parents are out there working 24-7 to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Lots of parents have no time for their kids, and kids always find things to do to amuse themselves..

It used to be riding bikes through the neighborhoods until supper, or playing monopoly, or dolls or checkers..

but now it's playing video games..

times change..

Only now there's no one left in the home to supervise the kids.

[porphyrian]

5. Fuck the nannies.

What about the kids dying in the war they aren't stopping?

[Dora]

6. Query: Why is this idea bad?

Why is the idea of a study on the effects of video/video games on children a bad idea? Aside from the political affiliations, that is. I would rather see these studies initiated by universities and other research institutions, but generally speaking, I think it's a subject worthy of investigation.

I'm curious because we're raising our only child in a tv-free house. He only sees video outside of the home, and we consciously try to limit even those exposures. I think TV is pretty toxic, and the public benefit is negligible. Like chemical fertilizer can make plants grow big and green while at the same time it will render the soil unfit for growing in the future. TV can "educate and inform," but it can also limit creative thinking, contribute to a sedentary lifestyle, and indoctrinates a consumerist lifestyle.

[kiahzero]

7. Because it's backed by anti First Amendment zealots.

It's the same old bullshit with a different medium.

[YOY]

8. Because it's basically BS

And if you delve a little into such studies you would find that out tout suite.

There is no connection between violent behavior and video game playing in children, young adults, or adults. PERIOD.

If you don't beleive me actually play a video game or two and see how many violent urges you have (aside from what you already have.) Go on. Give it a try. The game won't bite...unless it's one of those AWFUL Tycoon games...Jeez they blow.

[kiahzero]

9. It might bite if it's made by Ubisoft.

I hear Red Steel absolutely bites; it's horrible.

[YOY]

11. Or any of the Dragonball games (Atari's I think)...

The Tycoon series bites these days... So do any of the Anime games: Naruto for one!

G4 TV. Perhaps the best and most honest video game raters out there.

[Occulus]

31. If you have the horsepower

on your video card, CPU, and enough RAM, give Oblivion a look. There's also http://www.guildwars.com">Guild Wars, a popular online RPG similar to Everquest or World of Warcraft, but lacking any monthly fee. Buy it once, and play online forever.

You can test your PC for these and a variety of other games at this site. Note that this information is sometimes inaccurate if you have, for example, a video board hardwired to your mainboard, or have unsigned drivers or other unrecognized hardware. It's been a bit since I had to use this site (ironically enough, to test my PC for Oblivion), so they may have fixed this.

If you don't like role playing games or shooters, you may like sim games, such as Simcity 4 or Civilization 4. Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 is also a fav of mine, as is Command & Conquer Generals, and its Zero Hour expansion pack. Or, if you prefer to literally be God, there's always Lionhead's http://www.lionhead.com/bw2">Black & White 2.

Of course, if you do like shooters, there are always Doom3 and Half-Life 2- and if you like frenetic online shooters that you don't pay for forever, I'd recommend Unreal Tounament 2004. Oh, and FarCry was a huge sleeper hit; it really deserves a look if you're looking for a great-looking, tough shooter.

All these games span the gamut of type, from RPG, godgaming, and strategy to reflexes and instinct. They're all fun, though, and that's my main point (I own all of the games I mentioned, and I wouldn't still have them if I wasn't getting my money's worth). Most of these games, if not in some way all of them, also ship with materials and applications you can use to create your own content for that game. In this way, you can- given enough patience to learn the toolsets and enough time and inclination to do so- alter the game itself, or use other people's mods (what such alterations are called), thus giving you unlimited replay value for your money.

There really is something out there for everyone; you just have to look. Oh, and if you can run Oblivion, you'll also be able to run all the games I mentioned above, and more- in fact, I used the requirements for Oblivion as the benchmark for building my current desktop, just because that game pushes my machine like nothing else.

Hope all this was of some help...

[kiahzero]

33. Right now I'm playing Final Fantasy V Advance

I had been playing World of Warcraft for about two years, but I lost interest - the crappy Internet connection at my current apartment might have something to do with that.

[Occulus]

35. Final Fantasy 12 here

:D

Best. Final. Fantasy. Yet. (well, except for, according to many, FF3; I haven't played it, so I don't know for sure)

This game is huge. Ridiculously so. And fun. The new combat system is great; it would be unplayable but for the gambits (it's a bit like programming your party members like machines, and getting them right makes or breaks you later in the game), and it's satisfyingly fast and challenging. And the Espers are just coooool. I'll be going after Adrammalech tonight :D

Strategy guide required. Seriously. There's no way you'll ever see the whole game without it, even if you turn over every single stone and search every corner of Ivalice. It's just necessary to get the guide- a huge, thick, full-color 349-page course in all things FF12.

Get it if you don't already have it- everyone! It's awesome, and reproves that video games can tell a story, and a good one at that.

[kiahzero]

38. I don't have a PS2.

I used my girlfriend's PS2 to play FFX-2, but she's quite a ways away, so I wouldn't have a system to play it on.

I'm kind of hoping that Square-Enix comes back to Nintendo on this generation of consoles, but somehow I doubt it.

[Dora]

19. Why the 'tude?

"If you delve a little into such studies you would find that out tout suite."

Likewise, I say to you, if you're interested in sharing information, please do.


:shakinghead: I post an honest question and 3 out of 4 answers are defensive AND aggressive.

[YOY]

21. Because there are alot of us who see this as a 'fluff issue'

There are real problems in the world and real problems in the country.

Not really trying to put forth a tude, but alot of the anti-videogame stuff in really just reactionary garbage to impress soccer moms and those who have never even played a video game while overlooking violent sports and other 'acceptable' pastimes as the bee's knees.

[Dora]

24. It's not fluffy to me.

I agree that targeting video games as the culprit of societal violence is not the solution. But I do think our entire culture needs to wake up to the forseeable (and seen) consequences of our dependence/addiction to video (whether it's television, movies, or vid games).

I have no prob with video games. I don't like the violence in some of them, but if Hustler can exist in the same world as Reader's Digest, then so can GTA exist in the same world as Blue's Clues.

[Occulus]

37. Dora, I know this is anecdotal, but

I've been playing video games of all kinds since I was seven or eight years old. Even as a kid, I never understood the argument that violent video games make a kid violent. I knew these things weren't to be taken literally, and I didn't take them that way. They were just fun.

The same thing remains true to this day. They're just fun, and in fact I'm interested in having a hand in making them- to the point that going to school for computer modeling and animation is my goal after my debts are paid off, with an eye toward the gaming industry. But aside from that, video games haven't negatively affected my life. I like them, as some people enjoy old movies or classical music.

I think the primary concern is the content coupled with the medium; either is already fine with Certain Parties absent the other. One wonders if a literal interpretation of the Bible as presented in a video game would go over so well.

Some people don't understand that other have knowledge of the difference between fantasy and reality. It doesn't make sense to me that such people would go to such great lengths to examine and ultimately ban such games, when all they need to do is promote the idea that these things are fantasy, not to be taken literally. Of course, they would look like fools for doing so, as such is blindingly obvious, which may be why they try to ban them so often.

People keep saying 'books are better', and I agree; they try to ban those also. See a pattern here?

I do.

ed.: clarification

[Dora]

39. I'm concerned about the larger consequences of all video exposure

I don't disagree with you. My query came from ignorance - I wasn't discussing the same subject that everyone else is.

Our lives are saturated with video - whether it's video games or broadcast media. We're losing our connection to the world around us because we're constantly bombarded with images/ideas of the world around us. Does that make sense?

For example, how many people watch hours of cooking shows, but do very little cooking? How many people watch professional sports, but don't play in a game themselves, or go to watch other people play? How many kids watch kids on television play games at pretending, but don't know how to pretend themselves? How many people watch talk shows every day, but are incapable of having an in-depth conversation in their own home?

We are a violent people. We were violent before video was ever introduced to us. I'm more worried that as people, we're forgetting how to live.

[SoCalDem]

40. Americans (and lots of other modern people) are voyeurs

I attribute it to the fact that so many people are bone tired after commuting and the job and the kids and the worries etc etc.. so now instead of DOING, they "watch" ..
It probably feeds that part of their brain that USED to spur them into action :(

[Occulus]

28. HEY!

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 is actually pretty fun- you can build your own coasters, like in the old versions, but this time it's all in 3D, so you can actually ride every ride in your park- even the coasters you design from scratch in the coaster editor. They also added a sandbox mode, too, with unlimited money and an empty park to build from the ground up.

RCT3 is actually a Tycoon game that doesn't suck.

[YOY]

29. Undersea Tycoon and Circus Tycoon though...

:puke:

I did like the first two Roller Coaster Tycoon games.

[Occulus]

32. The third one is great

You need a powerful PC, though... it tends to be a hog. You can turn the video quality way down if you have to, but as usual it makes the game look like ass.

Even with a powerful machine, I have framerate issues if too many people are in the park or I have too many rides. This usually becomes unavoidable as the game progresses.

I think the upcomingmove to the new form of raytracing will make these issues a thing of the past. Rasterized graphics will not exist inside five years from now; there's been a major development in raytracing technology (and I mean a really biiiig advance) that drastically reduces the time required to draw a frame. It's so good it will be utilized, and very quickly; it works as is, and has been proven. It just needs to be incorporated.

I real excited about it. Games are about to look better than we ever had any right to think they could be.

ed.: one word

[SoCalDem]

10. Because study after study has been done.. and the result is

the same every time.. VIDEO DOES IMPACT YOUNG KIDS..

Politicians are willing to piss away MILLIONS of dollars ..over and over and over to "study" the same issues, with the same results over and over.

The equate "studies" with "action"..

If parents don't want their kids playing violent video games, they just shouldn;t buy them, and should tell the parents of their child's friends that their kid is not allowed to play them at their house either.

But once a kid gets to a certain age, they will do what they want, even if Mom & Dad say no..

That's just the way kids are..

If parents like to play the graphic games...lock 'em up where the kids can't play them..

[YOY]

12. Links please

And no Jack Thompson BS.

Sorry SoCalDem, but I think you pulling that one out of Bullwinkle's hat.

[SoCalDem]

13. Jack Thompson?

I think you misunderstood me.

My point was just that parents should decide what their kids play with or don't.

I have been hearing about "studies" on this issue since ATARI was a household word.

Kids LIKE video games..so do adults.

If adults don't like the games their kids play, they should not buy them

The graphics get "better" because HUMANS ARE VISUAL CREATURES..

I do NOT think that "video games willl cause your kid to become a serial killer"..never said that..

My sons played video games, and turned out fine..

the amount of money and time spent on all the "studies" is what I'm pissed at..The politicians are just throwing bones to the people who want to ban everything, and they do it by "studying this and that" over and over.

I wish they would just stand up and say, that if there's an age listed on the game (aren't they all age-tagged these days?)..just don;t buy it..

[YOY]

16. Terribly sorry

Did not mean to misinterpret.

[SoCalDem]

17. no prob

:hi:

[Avalux]

15. You've answered your own question.

It's up to the PARENTS to make decisions about what their children should watch and do. Not the government.

[Dora]

18. No. My question is, why are "studies" of the issue a bad idea?

The tenor of the responses to my query is fascinating. Only one response is at all informative - and that's the sensible argument that there are apparently ample studies already done on the subject.

[Avalux]

20. OK, I'll give you an answer why.

Studies of this type are far from scientific, and often cannot encompass the vast amount of variables that must be considered. There will never be a "right" answer to come from such a study; and there's danger the data will be skewed to bolster support for censorship. Funding by the government to conduct this study will provide them with the results they desire.

[SoCalDem]

23. The right wing think tanks get lots of funding this way

They have "grant writers" who always seem to be getting grants to "study" this and that..They have a plethora of "reports" on just about anything you can imagine.. and amazingly their "findings" always seem to be right down the partyline..

It's been going on for ages, no matter the party in charge..

I still remember from years back when someone wrote a book about this , and was a guest on the old Tonight Show with Johnny.

One study that stayed with me was one for several hundred-thousands of dollars.. it was about tricycle safety..

the report's findings were that :
1. toddlers have a hard time learning to ride trikes
2. they often fall off them and get hurt
3. parents need to supervise them more..

ANY parent could have figured those things out withour the government spending bags of taxpayer money to have it all studied and typed up nicely..

[PVnRT]

22. Come up with a measure for "violent urges"

Which I guess is what the moralists believe that these games cause. Do we observe them and see how many crimes they commit? How often they cuss? Get into fights? What, exactly, do you measure here?

And how do you "grade" how violent a game is?

The point is that it is all subjective, and subjective studies will always be open to challenges and different interpretations. Pissing away more money "studying" this is a political ploy so that politicians can get some cred with the culture warrior crowd.

[Dora]

25. Now I'm confused.

The OP does not specifically address video games, but it does say video. As it refers to something happening in real-time on television, there's no link for reference.

Nowhere in the OP or in my question was there a reference to "violent urges."

:shrug:

[SoCalDem]

26. It was about video games

The VIDEO graphics in the games are apparently "too graphic" for Joementum & the gang..

The video of the press conference should be up at cspan by now..

Basically it's just Joementum Classic, jumping in front of the camera to announce anything and everything he can.. He;s just asserting his importance

[PVnRT]

34. What effect should we measure?

How do you measure the effect of violent video games on kids? What are you measuring? That's the question no who supports this nonsense wants to answer. Give us a quantifiable quantity that can be measured and independently checked.

[Dora]

36. I think my confusion was apparent. I misunderstood the OP.

The discussion that I've been participating in wasn't limited to video games, but rather included video in all its forms.

I am alone in that disucssion it seems, and that's a result of my misunderstanding of the OP.

[Lance_Boyle]

30. Do you need to spend millions in taxpayer money

for "studies" when you already *know* that "parents, don't let your children play those games that you don't want them to play" is the answer?

[applegrove]

27. Adult videos are bad for kids. Some topics and actions are too much

for kids to take. I'm talking 18 & over movies here. Not just porn. Why would studying any new media and its effect on children be a bad thing?

[Avalux]

14. That's it - waste money doing pointless 'research'

How about doing a 'study' on how children have been affected by this useless war by losing a parent to death or mental defecits? These people really have no clue what the world we live in is all about.