Violence and videogames, teens and kids

Posted Nov 30, 2006 at 06:34AM by Ian C. Listed in: Off Topic Tags: ESRB, Indianapolis, Vincent Mathews

After watching the GTA: Regent Park episode of Regent Park TV, I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to feel. Yeah I did feel a bit bored during the thing, but that's because the start of it drags a bit. After having seeing the whole episode of the show that's supposedly made for youth by youth, I'm not quite sure if I should be annoyed by the fact that a lot of these kids are too young to purchase this from an ESRB abiding retailer, or if I should be amused by the odd reactions from the kids when they were interviewed.

Here, check the video out yourselves:

Personally, I'm wondering if these kids are even able to appreciate a lot of the humor and the references put into GTA games, but that's just me, and I'm old and out of touch.

After having seen that video I then managed to find this report by Reuters about a study showing that violent videogames have an emotionally arousing effect on teens. Dr. Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis had this to say:

What we showed is there is an increase in emotional arousal. The fight or flight response is activated after playing a violent video game.

Yeah, I know, they used teens for the University research, but I just have to compare, I mean, the only fight or flight response I can see in that Regent Park vid is the kids wanting to dodge the question "do you want to go out and steal a bike?" He looks like he obviously wants to.

Who wouldn't?

I bet you that if that kid, pubescent teen or not, played Metal Gear Solid for 5 hours straight, afterwards he'd want sneak around his school hallways using a cardboard box to avoid detection from hall-monitors. I bet you that if that kid, teen or not, played Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time for 3 hours straight, afterwards he'd want to to "platforming tricks" on the architecture he comes across - run on the walls and jump on top of cars and stuff like that.

Thing is, they don't. Because they know that beyond the games there are things they shouldn't be doing, and some would argue that those things aren't the games fault anymore.

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43 Comments

by saltycarebear (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» hah first

hah im first and those kids are freaking idiots man. not about violent video games its just there trying to be gangsta and thats not gangsta. lol nubs

Re: heath (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» gangsta hater

I'm so tired of all this gangster bullcrap. Being in a gang isn't cool neither is picking up prostitutes. Get a life people and maybe pick up some real morals while your at it.

Re: Yep (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» True

Being gangster is completely G.A.Y. So is wearing a basketball jersey, starched jeans, and fronting (wearing fake diamonds, chains, acting like you're rich). When are black people gonna grow up and get with the program?

BWAHHAHHAHAHAHHA

Re: Wussap! (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Yea Yee

Man, I'm tired of these gangsta thung wannabes. These fools think they are so cool, but look at them: they are as ugly as dead monkies. They can't get girls; the only way for them to get them is to r-ape dem.

That's what those neggaz do: dey force dem white girlz!

Re: colin (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» screw you!

wow, way to be racist you two. go dress up in white hoods and pretend that your better than everyone else.

Re: j453113 (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» lmfao

i kno the white kid (not trying to be racist)
the truth is gta can influence some people but its up to the player to decide wheter they become influenced or not. im 16 n i dont get influenced by this. sure going around and killing people in games are fun but will it get me to do that in real life.... not even. even tho these kids don't really know whats happenin that much, its up to them to decide if they do waht they play...btw this was filmd in da t.dot
(toronto for those of you that dont know)

yep u motherf**ker stfu. im blak u damn white cracker. I dont act gangsta but since im black im not "with the program? you need to watch wut u say fu*kin co*ksucker. QJ WHY THE FU*K DO U EVEN ALLOW COMMENTS LIKE WHAT YEP SAID EVEN GET BY?!?!?!? THATS RACIST YOU KNOW....ALSO WUSSAP YOU FU*KIN WHITE CRACK FIEND! GO N FIND SOME GUTTER STREET HOES AND ACT LIKE OU CAN GET THEM B1TCH!!! COOLIN DATS NICE LOOKIN OUT.

Re: heath (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» your just as bad

I'm sorry but what you said was just as racist and you only made yourself look stupid. I agree those 2 guys need to quit it but i'm tired of it being ok for black people to call us crackers, call themselves negga or whatever. It's NOT ok so quit it all 3 of you.

Re: CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS - 2006-11-30

» GGGGGCHYA!

Eight Hype in the motha ****** house!

Chya!

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Re: j453113 (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» not really

even though what i said was racist, i was being racist to THEM and NOT TO THE WHOLE RACE. as you can see, they were generalizin ALL BLACK PEOPLE. i only attacked THEM. as I see it for this situation, its an eye for an eye so i juss hit THEM back and not any of the other caucasun people.

Re: wow (Unregistered) - 2006-12-01

» wow

I bet this guy is just mad because he TOO wears basketball jersey's and fake diamond chains. It isn't a generalization when everyone who is "thug" does it. AHHAAHAHHAH

Re: 300 (Unregistered) - 2006-12-01

» Wow.

Guys, please remember that on the internets you can be whatever you want, and that includes being black. I don't believe this cat.

Anyways, on the video, I believe if a kid goes on a rampage because of GTA we should blame the parents. There's a 17+ rating on the box, and if their kid has enough personal problems to take a game so seriously he's gonna kill or rob someone, they should know better.

by anonamoose - 2006-11-30

» 25 year old Father, Uncle and Avid gamer

I have two Nephews who I love dearly and my own soon to be three year old son.

I don't want them playing games that are too advanced for thier ages. My son is too young to play video games (with any kind of skill that is) but he does on occasion watch me play. I try not to play anything offensive around him, the worst thing I've played around him is Devil May Cry which has a lot of violence and blood. IF he watches me play, I usualy turn the sound down low and he just sits and says something to the extent of "Daddy beats Monster?" he understands that it is a game and that they are monsters. he does on occasion go to his room and gets this cardboard wrapping paper tube, uses it as a scope to look for monsters and whacks stuffed animal with it saying "Vincent beats monsters!!" He never hits me or his mom or the cats. He is ok with that, I'm ok with that. What I'm not ok with is my nephews who have parents that dont give a damn what they play just as long as they have fun.

When they get Grand Theft Auto (I personaly have Vice, san andreas and Liberty city for psp) and start beating the ***** out of each other and litteraly knocking each others teeth out while calling each other *****es and get Saying get the ***** outta my way. I'm not supprised, but thier parents are. I do not condone letting kids play M rated games, PERIOD. T for teen games are ok for younger kids IE: 10+ on a case by case basis, I see nothing wrong with them playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance or SW:Battlefront 2. Games Like Project 8 (alcohol ref and crude language) and Bully are really pushing it for a 11 year old.

The kids in this video are too young to be playing games like GTA and thier parents should be monitoring that. I don't tell parents how they should raise thier kids, If someone asks I have a few suggestions. What I do know is that when my nephews come over I make sure I know what they bring over and play. Even if they try to sneak something in, every console has a parental controll.

Re: Matt (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Agree

It's up to the parents, and I believe its not so much the content but the parents ability to help the child distinguish and learn the difference. Idiot parents let their kids play GTA... Effect on people? No. If you go play GTA to take your anger out...that's a little weird...but the novelty of the game is being able to just do anything you want, and see the reaction. It's not necessarily even that what you are doing is wrong, it's just something you can't do in real life. I drive my car off bridges, try to cause traffic pile ups...and yeah, shoot helicopters with bazookas... I just want to know what will happen if i do...

Re: Anonamoose (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» the maturity to play M rated games

I just realized that kids get all hyped up after playing video games, adults are just entertainde by them, I actualy stop playing when i get bored of gta

Re: chrus (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» haha sure

get to ur wife and ur kids then and dont hang out on a psp website hahaha

Re: Zach (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Agree, kind of.

Everyone is different, it more lies on the maturity of the child.

I'll just state my age (and probably slaughter my credibility in the process), I'm 15, and I started playing the GTA games since GTAIII came out. I didn't start shouting random swear words, I didn't start beating people up, I didn't steal a car (real life references here). Mostly because (1): I knew it was wrong (2): Why would I want to?

Key of this isn't in video games, it's parenting and getting to know your kid. If you feel they're too impressionable for such a game, don't let them have it and tell them why.

Re: jrfhoutx - 2006-11-30

» I agree

"It's up to the parents, and I believe its not so much the content but the parents ability to help the child distinguish and learn the difference."
I agree with this. Parents are the only ones responsible for how their children turn out, and most want the responsibility of 'protecting' their children from content they should not see or play to fall on others (ESRB, MPAA for example) so that they don't have to take an active role in parenting their children. When I was a child there were none of these (except movie ratings), my parents monitored everything themselves, if I wanted a new album they listened to it first, if wanted to see a movie they saw it first. My parents truly knew the content of everything they put into my hands.

I'll agree it's partly about your child's maturity level, and getting to know them. It's also about knowing what you're giving them, exactly what the content of that product is, and teaching them the difference between right and wrong, and the difference between reality and fantasy. Even adults (or semi-adolescent adults) can have trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy.

The bottom line, which anonamoose gives a perfect example of, is that parents need to take an ACTIVE role and attitude in their kids lives and parenting, rather than a passive 'I'm here if you need me, otherwise go watch TV and leave me alone' role in parenting their children.

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Re: Yo (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Wussap!

Hey, man. I have 3 nephews. One of them is three. He started playing video games at the early age of 2. I can't believe how good he is, especially at his age. When I was his age, I didn't even know what the hell was going on, but he really knows what he is doing. It's amazing.

My newphew is a genius! :)

Re: anonamoose (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» reply to jrfhoutx post

Perfectly stated. It is the parents job to play an active part in thier childs lives. When parents go screaming to senators and congresmen to mandate a better rating system, it tells me that they are not doing thier jobs as parents

by bass (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» blah

that will, most definitely, be the dumbest thing I watch all day.

Re: squiggly (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» hmmm

media strikes again, they are being affected by this stuff and they dont even realize it. Blame the media for this stuff being ok. Look at our society today as compared to the 50's. How can they say that it has no effect.

by Brandon (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Regent Park

Hahahaha Regent Park is one of the poorer, more run down and crime ridden areas of downtown Toronto. It is not uncommon to hear the words "gun crime" associated with "Regent Park" on Toronto news stations.

Re: aah (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» ah

Ya every time I go to that part of Toronto a bunch of Black Guys jump out from the bushes and try and steal my wallet!!! F That place!

by TbD (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» oppinion

The violence in games and movies and whatnot is not the cause of all the violence in the streets or those highschool shootings. If someone cannot distinguish the difference between real life and the game, and want to reproduce something he saw or did in the game that someone is mentally ill and not raised good. If you learn your kids to not bully others they wont. Even if they see it in movies or games

by TheSh0wstopper (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» 360 causes Violence

The only way I can see a videogame making a rational minded teen violent is when his parents gets him a Xbox360 for christmas instead of a Playstation 3. That might make him run to the kitchen grab the biggest knife he can find and gut both of his parents like fish. But then again they would deserve it.

TheSH0wstopper

Re: waa (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA

AAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH
HAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHAHH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!! :)

by LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!LO

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!LOL!!LLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111oneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneoneone

:)

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by dang, ugly kids (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» lol

I play gta, and i'm underage.

by racist ***** (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» ho

" Being gangster is completely G.A.Y. So is wearing a basketball jersey, starched jeans, and fronting (wearing fake diamonds, chains, acting like you're rich). When are black people gonna grow up and get with the program?

BWAHHAHHAHAHAHHA"

I wonder who this guy realy is, how old. He's probably some "skating" poser who listens to whiny emo music. Pathetic.

by mohaas05 (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» gay

the message of the video i liked. the video itself...
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!

by PeeWee (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» Titty Boppers!

I agree with all of you, these kids are as gay as those stupid gay MTV shows. The reason I like GTA is for the stories of trying to get ahead in life, If I want a ho, i'll get 1 in real life, because getting a ho in the game is for little dumb@$$ kids to act like they're "cool".

by mr_bigmouth_502 (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» hmm..

I've played my fair share of violent games and it hasn't affected me one bit. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't affect any other kids out there either. So to all those parents out there, go ahead, let your kids play Manhunt, let your kids play GTA, let your kids play DOOM. At least they aren't killing people in real life, and besides that, while they are playing their games, they're actually improving their motor skills, which is very important.

by double OG loc (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» lesson that i learn in gangster hood

man, violent games like gta made me fight kids in my middle school i got suspended like 4 times and they even kick me out that school and then went to a worse school a lot of gangsters and there were even teenagers at 18 years old and i was only 16 years old
then i got ass kicked by a crips gang member.

by Uzumaki-Kun (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» HAHAHA

Double OG Wrote" � lesson that i learn in gangster hood

man, violent games like gta made me fight kids in my middle school i got suspended like 4 times and they even kick me out that school and then went to a worse school a lot of gangsters and there were even teenagers at 18 years old and i was only 16 years old
then i got ass kicked by a crips gang member."
HAHAHAAHAHA
funny dude.
anyway for the idiot who wrote starched jeans are gay would you prefer to go around wrinkled like a homeless person or do you think most people are idiots who wastes money at the cleaners to get clothes pressed when reall y all it is, is *glorified* ironing.

by azrael (Unregistered) - 2006-11-30

» a retort

Firstly to anonamoose and jrfhoutx, I applaud you two. To the first, I commend your approach and active participation in your child's life. It truly is admirable to see that you monitor yourself and regulate yourself in front of young children. I really hope that as your kids grow older, that you can continue that attention and involvement because it truly will make all the difference. Also to jrfhoutx, your parents really cared about you. They wanted to make sure that nothing bad would happen to you and they took so much time out of their own to be responsible for you and look over you, that's really wonderful. Honestly.

Now for my view:

I'm 19 years old and I've been a gamer since Doom came out on DOS (do some of you young-in's even know DOS?). I've read so much of people saying, "I've played GTA and other rated M games and it doesn't affect me one bit," and I think that's crap. How on earth can you claim that? What, just because you haven�t done any crime, or even seriously thought about doing those actions, you think you can claim that it affects you none whatsoever? I suppose then, that advertisements and peer-pressure also affects you none. Face it, gamers, things affect us both consciously AND subconsciously. Just because you don�t actively think about that doesn�t mean that those violent and impressionable objects don�t work passively, affecting even the formulation of your thoughts.

Like another commenter said before, take a look at the 50�s or any other era that wasn�t as media and violence saturated as modern day life and how can you say that they�re not the same. Let me draw a more affronting and visual example:

Hitler youth. Do you even remember, from your history classes (or are some of you too young to have even taken European history?) the Hitler youth? If not, please allow me to school you. The Hitler youth were indoctrinated (that means that they were taught this every day, for hours at a time) into believing that the Aryan race was pure and superior and deserved to live whilst others deserved to die. Sounds crazy that such a method could work, even in today�s world? Look around even in America today and you�ll find plenty of current examples of �Neo-Nazis� and �White Supremacists�, even in young children. And I swear that those children believed that there was nothing wrong with those teachings and I swear that those children didn�t think that those teachings affected them at all, that those children thought that they were being raised no different than others.

Now let me bring this back to focus on the GTA, rated M games. You young, under-age rated M playing gamers are indoctrinated into the violence of the media. You play for hours at a time in front of games that kill, steal, abuse, and swear, and get rewarded for it. How similar is that? You sit there believing that those violent images don�t affect you at all? Maybe not consciously, but subconsciously and passively it does.

What do I think should be done? Honestly, I�m so disturbed by those kids� reactions to the game. Saying things like, �You get to kill people, steal cars, pick up prostitutes � it�s fun,� or other such nonsense. How ignorant is that? I�m also perturbed by the fact that those kids can even play those games � as if GTA wasn�t already a large enough topic in the media-violence-video game media frenzy of today. I can�t tell you how relieved that the creators of the next-gen systems are installing software to prevent the access of certain ratings to be played without parental control. I think that it was about time that a V-chip like product for the video game consoles. It makes perfect sense to have a tool that can help parents protect their children. I plan on being a parent one day and I know that even as hard as I try, I cannot possibly be there 24/7 to watch over my children and ensure that nothing bad happens to them � whether from fights to drugs, from tv to video games. That�s why I�m glad that there are tools out there, such as after-school programs, V-chip, and parental controls that help respo

Re: azrael (Unregistered) - 2006-12-01

» was cut off

V-chip, and parental controls that help responsible parents to do so.

You might, after this long post on anti-violent games, think me a "loser gamer" or a "n00b" or even a "poser". Fine, whatever. Those insults are left for those without better educated retorts to sling. Truth is, as I said, I game almost every day. I personally own PSP, DS, Xbox360, Gamecube, Playstation 2, Playstation 3 AND a self-built gaming computer. What's my liking? What, you think I play Barbie Horse Adventures or Paper Mario, or some other things like that? Wrong. I play Gears of War, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Halo, GTA, Rainbow Six, Dead Rising, Kingdom Hearts %u2013 the list can go on and on. I'm not saying that I'm a "better gamer" or whatever, I'm providing evidence and credibility that I too game. So do you now look to call me a hypocrite? Obviously if I've played these titles, I must have been playing these games when I was under-age. Well of course I have. But you know what, my parents trust me when I buy video games and when I play them. I was mature enough to separate that there are differences from video games and real-life %u2013 however I'm not going to be ignorant and ignore the fact that these games do have a passive role in my life, probably shaping my thoughts and actions. And you know what, if I were my own parents, I would have taken a more active role in my video gaming %u2013 I would have made sure to check up on my video gaming habits every now and then, just to make sure that I was willing of that trust.

So I'm saying that people have to be more aware about the games that they're playing and play rated M games when they're mature enough to determine that they're definitely not real and definitely separated from real life. And until you're old enough to legally pass and actually buy those games yourself, then your parents should play a strong active role in determining when you're actually mature enough.

Re: asslash - 2006-12-03

» what?

you expect me to real all that? i mean you may be trying to make a point but keep it short...and to the dumbass "white" dudes you're just a couple of dumbass kids.