Video games in the media.....y u no get along?

chin_grin

http://www.destructoid.com/daily-mail-has-proof-that-videogames-make-you-aggressive-216581.phtml

Do you play videogames? Do you believe you're not a violent person? THINK AGAIN! Turns out that you're as aggressive as a pitbull crossed with The Violator, and a well-respected British newspaper has hard evidence!

The Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis took twenty-two men (that's as many as two elevens!) and had half of them play violent videogames for ten hours a day, with the other half playing none. After performing MRI brain scans on them, the study concluded that games have an effect on the brain, although it could not say what that affect entailed. The patterns were simply different, and went away when the subjects stopped playing.

Fortunately, The Daily Mail knows all about science and has worked out what those university eggheads could not. It ran the headline, "Violent Videogames DO Make People Aggressive," coming to a conclusion that the cited study did not because the greatest scientific minds of our generation write for a ****ty little dishrag in Britain. And we all thought The Daily Mail just employed racists and chimpanzees.

"The findings will fuel the debate over the impact that violent games have on regular players and links to anti-social behaviour," writes the Mail's Stephanie Darrall.

No, Steph -- YOU will fuel the debate. Because you write for a bunch of c*nts.

I do like Jim Sterling for his sarcastic quips. But this is yet another case of lazy journalism or people wanting to jump on some "it incites violence!" bandwagon. It's tiresome.

Temptamperu

The media just hates competition, they want the 18 to 35's stuck in front of the tv watching shows and more importantly watching advertisments. The Crux of the whole situation. Videogames have very little advertisments and thats what "they" want from us.
How can we be good little consumers if we arent watching the car ads and the ipod ads and the coke ads that pay for TV as we know it.
Videogames are the enemy because of this and this alone.

OctavarIan

chin_grin wrote:

But this is yet another case of lazy journalism or people wanting to jump on some "it incites violence!" bandwagon.

It's not journalism but it's also not lazy. The Daily Mail are exceptionally good at sourcing up click bait stories for their website. It's an enormously popular website not just in the UK & Ireland, but internationally. These kinds of articles are win-win for them.

ShadowHearth

I just live with it. By now I know I am walking killing machine since I was 6. That Mario game made me the blood thirsty cannibal mass murderer. I am 25 years old now and I am going to exPlode any minute now. Beware world!

Blowfish

OctavarIan wrote: »

It's not journalism but it's also not lazy. The Daily Mail are exceptionally good at sourcing up click bait stories for their website. It's an enormously popular website not just in the UK & Ireland, but internationally. These kinds of articles are win-win for them.

Indeed.

Retr0gamer

The media knows that sensationalism to create fear is what sells.

People fear what they don't understand.

Stupid people that buy the Daily Mail don't understand videogames.

So making vidiyagames seem evil is a great way to sell papers.

The Daily Mail is a tomb of truth anf honesty and wouldn't fabricate results or jump to insane conclusions.

If the mind of some one playing violent videogames is different to some one playing non-violent videogames then isn't the opposite true? Going by the Daily Mails reasoning then there's a possibility that the non-gamers are the violent ones and the perpetrators of most high school shooters being non-gamers it seems to back that up.

wes

Its the Daily Fail, at this point, I just assume most of there output is either an out and out lie, or an gross exageration with a small bit of truth, maybe.

Grumpypants

I can't work out which is worse the Daily mail or Jim Sterling for writing out of context nonsensical drivel.

marco_polo

Grumpypants wrote: »

I can't work out which is worse the Daily mail or Jim Sterling for writing out of context nonsensical drivel.

+1 I have no desire to generate extra ad revenue for either party by clicking on the links above.

Kiith

I'd love to get an MRI scan of someone who reads and believes in the Daily Mail.

Wouldn't show much i'd guess.

CramCycle

Kiith wrote: »

I'd love to get an MRI scan of someone who reads and believes in the Daily Mail.

Wouldn't show much i'd guess.

Knowing the Daily Mail though, you would probably get Cancer from that one time you went to get an MRI done.

vasch_ro

Hi guys I have been asked to talk about this on Eastcoastfm tomorrow morning about 11.20am or so from the view point of a "gamer" apprently there was something in the Sunday Times also on Sunday about that study, are there any contradictory studies and is it possible that the violent computer games do affect childrens brains especially if the parents are not game aware and do not set any boundaries, I guess any thing in moderation is bad, but I would like to present games and gaming as pastime in a positive light, I guess alcohol has more to answer regarding violence in this country than video games ! Any viewpoints or points of view would be appreciated. It will be on the Morning show on Eastcoastfm I think they have a pyschologist lined up as well !

Grumpypants

It really is quite simple violent game are over 15's or over 18's so no kids should be playing them, if they are turning out violent from playing games then its the parents fault for not parenting.

Retr0gamer

vasch_ro wrote: »

Hi guys I have been asked to talk about this on Eastcoastfm tomorrow morning about 11.20am or so from the view point of a "gamer" apprently there was something in the Sunday Times also on Sunday about that study, are there any contradictory studies and is it possible that the violent computer games do affect childrens brains especially if the parents are not game aware and do not set any boundaries, I guess any thing in moderation is bad, but I would like to present games and gaming as pastime in a positive light, I guess alcohol has more to answer regarding violence in this country than video games ! Any viewpoints or points of view would be appreciated. It will be on the Morning show on Eastcoastfm I think they have a pyschologist lined up as well !

There's actually no contradictory stories or research. The vast majority of research done on the subject in reputable research journals says that videogames do not cause violent behaviour in children or adults, including the comprehansive Byron report carried out by the British government. A very small minority unscrupulous researchers trying to get their names in the papers have published terrible research papers in poor journals that will take anything that will incite controversy to up their status have reported the opposite. These are usually the ones that will go to the papers like the Daily Mail and get a story made out of it because there's no news in saying videogames don't cause violence in people.

Also as stated violent videogames getting into the hands of children or children developing addictions to online games like WoW and CoD is down to bad parenting.

vasch_ro

thanks Retro had a look at the Byron report and gave me a few ideas.
It seems to have been well received and the I didnot realise the study quoted in OP's post was only confined to 22 people .
I will be batting for the forum and reasonably minded people everywhere!

Retr0gamer

You'll notice that nearly all (and it could be even 'all') the reports that show videogames in a bad light are just terrible research. A recent one there that was controversial was one that showed gamers carrying over behaviour and reflexes from games into the real world. It was published in a brand new journal with no impact factor that was trying to make a name for itself. The research in question amounted to asking 50 random students questions and amounted to what you would do to come up with a hypothesis, something you do before you start any research and definitely not something that should be published in a peer reviewed journal with any kind of ethical obligations. It was all based on hearsay answers like students saying that sometimes their fingers move as if they were playing the game or they are looking for snipers in buildings when they finish playing a game, complete hearsay and not a shred of science.

So yeah if they say that lots of reports show games influence violent behaviour, ask them to quote the research. They won't be able to. Then hit them with the fact that the majority of reputable research shows no link including the Byron report which is probably the most comprehensive investigation of the subject.

Also its work talking about the jobs that a high tech industry that videogames can bring to the government and how the games industry is a huge revenue maker in canada yet the irish government refuse to give the industry tax breaks to compete.

Duggy747

Retr0gamer wrote: »

.......Logic......

Go away with all that logic babble, you know damn well none of that holds up to the opinion and worry of a mother :pac:

Community Police Bray

think it went okay and was reasonably balanced

penev10

I'm surprised the Mail is advocating the work of a non-British scientist. They are normally completely against foreigners in gainful employment.

Well.. to be fair, when I play Skyrim I do get the urge to walk across the country looking for people to help. Also I've somewhat developed the habit of shouting randomly too.

chin_grin

Well thanks to Reddit, I've lost all faith in Jim Sterling. :pac:

Retr0gamer

chin_grin wrote: »

Well thanks to Reddit, I've lost all faith in Jim Sterling. :pac:

Destructoid and Jim Sterling in particular can't be trusted for reviews, they're terrible. Instead of reviewing a game they'll go for controversary just to make a point. Their Ys 1 and 2 Chronicles was so off the mark it was retarded.

me-skywalker

Brilliant, just brilliant... I watched the National Geographic on endagered Feline's. Now I stalk the streaks waiting to pounce the milkman for every bottle!

MOH

Definitely leads to aggression, don't see how anyone can argue differently.

In fact, I find my adrenaline levels rising, coupled with a strong desire to kill someone, after only five minutes of reading the Daily Mail.

cml387

Google Or Youtube for Charlie Brooker's Daily Mail Island, an astounding social experiment where a group of people stranded on an island live entirely according to the worldview of the Daily Mail

Optimalprimerib

This is win-win for the daily mail. This article will feed the fear for parents who are ignorant about videogames and will get sales from it. It will also anger gamers, causing them to either visit the website or buy the paper again, increasing the sales and publicity of the media.

It is alot more commercially viable for the media to hate on games as it plays on both demographics.

This isn't a fact, but just an observation: isn't it interesting how you never see an article pointing out the worries Internet addiction causes. God forbid we scare away potential visitors to our site.

Mindkiller

Jim sterling's fat nuff sayd

al28283

They're probably against pesky kids skateboarding in shopping malls during the 80's too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROPhpIpmWus