Violent games are worse than porn

[VermilionUK]

Lifted from BBC

Violent video games have "a much bigger negative influence on kids" than pornography, a leading porn star has claimed.

He said parents should be more worried about the harmful effects of such games.

Mr Jeremy's comments were made at a session called the Great Porn Debate during the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Las Vegas.

His comments angered gamers, who accused him of "ignorance".

Mr Jeremy's appearance at CES in Las Vegas caused some raised eyebrows.

He took time away from the Adult Entertainment Expo, which takes place in Las Vegas at the same time as the annual tech fest, to speak out on behalf of his profession and promote some practical tools.

"Studies have found that violent video games are a much bigger negative influence on kids," Mr Jeremy said.

"It's rather hypocritical behaviour and it doesn't speak up for pornography's merits by merely saying "something else is worse, don't look at us.
Very disappointing behaviour from a man who should know better," said Jim Sterling of gaming news blog Destructoid.com.

Andy Chalk at video gaming site escapistmagazine.com said Mr Jeremy's remarks cannot be completely ignored.

"While I do think he's (Mr Jeremy) working from a platform of ignorance, I'm not quite as certain that the sentiment is entirely wrong.

"I wouldn't want my kids (the hypothetical ones, that is) playing Modern Warfare 2 or becoming overly familiar with Ron's body of work, but is it really reasonable to say that one is significantly worse than the other?" asked Mr Chalk.

Mr Jeremy also urged parents to play their part in preventing children from accessing adult websites.

Full article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8453043.stm

Questions for debate:

Are violent video games a greater negative influence on children than pornography?

Should there be stricter age ratings on video games with adult content (violence, sex, foul language, drug use)?

Should violent video games be banned? If so, why?

[FinalEnigma]

Honestly, I think most of the damage they cause is due to treating them as taboo to begin with. I would strongly suspect a society more open with fantasy of all kinds would lead to people being better adjusted and more responsible with how they handle the topic.

When something has a stigma to it but is considered extremely enjoyable for and non-harmful, at least not readily obviously so to the participant, it builds a certain mystique around the topic, that, in my experience, leads to people being unwilling to discuss it or becoming overly emotional when they do. This inevitably leads to both ignorance and fascination.

To me, the ideas behind controlling both pornography and violent video games are more or less the same as abstinence only education or prohibition. The more you try to block it off, the more people are going to want it, the greater lengths they will go to to get it, the greater likelihood of it being used irresponsibly. If we were to adopt the attitude of "this is what it is, this is how it works, use it responsibly, do you have any questions?" I think a lot of the problems surrounding each would disappear.

I have to agree with this. Its well known that sexual repression is a bad idea, and that if you tell somebody they can't do something, they're gonna want it more.
In my opinion, if society had a more healthy view of sex and of other things, such as, I suppose, gaming, it would be better for society in general.
Sex is actually a good thing, as much as some want to hide it in the corner. When approached responsibly, it can actually promote the well-being of an individual.

What are the people who want to hide away violent video games afraid of? Yeah, if you spend 12 hours a day gaming that's bad - anything overdone is bad. even drinking too much water can kill you, but in some cases, things like violent games can be even healthy.

If you look at children, when they are exposed to something traumatizing, it comes out in their play. Why? because that's how humans deal with things that are too much for them - they play with it, or dance around it - I actually write about things that are really bothering me - albeit frequently in a roundabout way.
Games, and play in general, can be a good way to deal with something that you can't deal with directly.

so is it healthy to spend all day on video games? no. is it healthy to use video games as a 45 minute mindless wind-down after work? sure. is it healthy to use video games to get out aggression and beat up imaginary monsters when you're being bullied at school? probably.

[MagusYanam]

I have to agree with this. Its well known that sexual repression is a bad idea, and that if you tell somebody they can't do something, they're gonna want it more.
In my opinion, if society had a more healthy view of sex and of other things, such as, I suppose, gaming, it would be better for society in general.
Sex is actually a good thing, as much as some want to hide it in the corner. When approached responsibly, it can actually promote the well-being of an individual.

Well, therein lies the big question, doesn't it? How do we approach violence and sexuality responsibly? There is a definite danger in treating something as absolutely taboo, but there is also significant danger in unlimited licence - particularly as regards the healthy psychological development of children.

I think the best thing we can do as a society is really what we already do. We don't outright ban some expression of violence or sexuality in our media (or 'hide it in the corner', as it were), but we do place some social limits on where it is considered appropriate through our rating systems. Perhaps we can entertain discussion on whether our rating systems are biased too far in one direction or another - since I do agree that our society treats violence far more casually than we treat sex, and I agree that it's a problem. Our society is hyper-militarised to the point where we fetishise weapons, domination and imperial violence (for example, in those damned National Guard commercials they're showing in theatres now) - showing that our approach to both violence and sex is unhealthy.

[NeedlesOrKnives]

Coming from a home that was destroyed by a father with a pornography addiction, I can tell you right now pornography has a much greater impact on society than violent video games do.

I believe that young children who are impressionable and perhaps haven't yet made the connection between reality and fantasy should be kept from playing violent games just as they should be kept from pornography. Pornography can ruin a child/adult's way of thinking about women/men by making them think that other people are just around to pleasure them in perverse ways.

Also, most people, I'd have to say, unless psychotic or mentally ill, know that in real life you can't pick up a gun and some body armor and take on the whole police force/army/civilian population. People who claim that video games cause school shootings and that sort of thing are wrong--school shootings and that sort of thing are caused by an individuals personal choice.

[Raptor_Jesus]

well it really doesn't matter. Children are going to be subjected to violence and sexual activity at least a few times in life. Its only natural.

[NeedlesOrKnives]

Yes, but young people are more impressionable. That age is when a child's ideas about the world are formed. Keeping them around that sort of thing is unhealthy.

[Abraxas]

Yes, but young people are more impressionable. That age is when a child's ideas about the world are formed. Keeping them around that sort of thing is unhealthy.

Why? Keeping them away from it in a society that highly prizes it will only serve to make it that much more enthralling. If they are more impressionable, that only serves to make it that much better a time to teach them what it means and how to behave responsibly rather than let it grow into a forbidden fruit on a low branch.

From a personal standpoint, I was exposed to pornographic materials at a young age. In my family the naked body and even sex weren't topics to be avoided but a fact of life to be discussed, explained, and, like all topics of importance should be, handled in a fashion to ensure responsibility when the time came. When I got older, it wasn't the big mystery for me it was for many of my peers, it wasn't shrouded in mystery or secret nor was it hidden behind a shroud of moral outrage or righteous indignation. It was what it was and I sincerely feel because of that environment I was much better prepared to deal with the realities of life than many of my peers, for many of whom it became an obsession and a destructive influence.

From my perspective sex and violence are facts of life, certainly so in this culture, and when it comes to children we can either do what we can to keep them in the dark (a doomed endeavor to begin with) or we can prepare them as best we can for what is out there and how to deal with it. To me, sending them in unprepared, armed with only the rumors, mysteries, and glorified tales of other children will inevitably do more harm than sending them in with knowledge of what they are facing and how it works. As I said, inevitably they will find these things, however, how they react to them is largely within the power of the parents.

[Raptor_Jesus]

Yes, but young people are more impressionable. That age is when a child's ideas about the world are formed. Keeping them around that sort of thing is unhealthy.

Why? Keeping them away from it in a society that highly prizes it will only serve to make it that much more enthralling. If they are more impressionable, that only serves to make it that much better a time to teach them what it means and how to behave responsibly rather than let it grow into a forbidden fruit on a low branch.

From a personal standpoint, I was exposed to pornographic materials at a young age. In my family the naked body and even sex weren't topics to be avoided but a fact of life to be discussed, explained, and, like all topics of importance should be, handled in a fashion to ensure responsibility when the time came. When I got older, it wasn't the big mystery for me it was for many of my peers, it wasn't shrouded in mystery or secret nor was it hidden behind a shroud of moral outrage or righteous indignation. It was what it was and I sincerely feel because of that environment I was much better prepared to deal with the realities of life than many of my peers, for many of whom it became an obsession and a destructive influence.

From my perspective sex and violence are facts of life, certainly so in this culture, and when it comes to children we can either do what we can to keep them in the dark (a doomed endeavor to begin with) or we can prepare them as best we can for what is out there and how to deal with it. To me, sending them in unprepared, armed with only the rumors, mysteries, and glorified tales of other children will inevitably do more harm than sending them in with knowledge of what they are facing and how it works. As I said, inevitably they will find these things, however, how they react to them is largely within the power of the parents.

I honestly have to agree with you entirely Abraxas. One person can not live an entire life without hearing about these two topics. Your children aren't as innocent as you think, you can't keep them in the dark about stuff their entire life. Since I'm still in high school, I even hear about all of this stuff. I have been since middle school, even less! Its not just my parents, its curiosity. The fact that something is forbidden makes people want it even more. Call it tendencies, I call it natural.

[NeedlesOrKnives]

That's a very good point. My personal experience was on the other end of the spectrum. As a kid, my parents tried to keep my sheltered but failed because they would tell me things were bad, and then do them themselves. For instance, my parents both always told me drinking was bad. Then my dad got drunk and tried to kill my mom and brother. Same thing with pornography. My dad told me it was horrible and addictive, and then he left his magazines on the floor. Plus, when I was around 8 or nine I got smart enough to hack our computer blocker, and that sort of thing. Having it as forbidden fruit just made it more appealing to me. I think there should be a balance. Now I'm mature enough to stay away from it for the reason that it objectifies and disrespects women. You make a very good point for the "open" style child-raising. I wish my parents would have let me have the maturity of making some of my own decisions as a child.

[FinalEnigma]

That's a very good point. My personal experience was on the other end of the spectrum. As a kid, my parents tried to keep my sheltered but failed because they would tell me things were bad, and then do them themselves. For instance, my parents both always told me drinking was bad. Then my dad got drunk and tried to kill my mom and brother. Same thing with pornography. My dad told me it was horrible and addictive, and then he left his magazines on the floor. Plus, when I was around 8 or nine I got smart enough to hack our computer blocker, and that sort of thing. Having it as forbidden fruit just made it more appealing to me. I think there should be a balance. Now I'm mature enough to stay away from it for the reason that it objectifies and disrespects women. You make a very good point for the "open" style child-raising. I wish my parents would have let me have the maturity of making some of my own decisions as a child.

Have to be careful with that though. There's a balance between over sheltering and making it too open. My parents pretty much ignored me when I was young. They let me make too many of my own decisions(with regards to most things), and that didn't turn out well either.

[NeedlesOrKnives]

Ah, exactly. There's got to be a delicate balance between constricting a child and allowing him to hurt himself because you didn't impart the basic wisdom an older person should know about certain things.