[IMG]http://images.politico.com/global/2012/06/120620_rockefeller_ap_605.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE]n the wake of the Newtown shootings, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill Tuesday that would have the National Academy of Sciences examine any link between violent video games and media, and violent acts by children, industry sources say.
According to a copy of the “discussion draft” obtained by POLITICO, the legislation directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to make “appropriate arrangements” with the NAS to enable the study.
“Recent court decisions demonstrate that some people still do not get it,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “They believe that violent video games are no more dangerous to young minds than classic literature or Saturday morning cartoons. Parents, pediatricians and psychologists know better. These court decisions show we need to do more and explore ways Congress can lay additional groundwork on this issue. This report will be a critical resource in this process. I call on my colleagues to join me in passing this important legislation quickly.”
In particular, the draft bill wants the NAS to explore “whether current or emerging characteristics of video games have a unique impact on children, considering in particular video games’ interactive nature and the extraordinarily personal and vivid way violence might be portrayed in such video games.”
[B]There have been reports that Adam Lanza obsessively played “Call of Duty” and “[U][I]Starcraft[/I][/U]” before he went on a shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last Friday.
[/B]Other “violent programming” is also targeted in the legislation, which aims to find out if the programming “causes children to act aggressively or causes other measurable cognitive harm to children.”
Rockefeller said he will call on the FTC and FCC to expand their work on video game regulation. “The FTC has reviewed the effectiveness of the video game ratings system. The FCC has looked at the impact of violent programming on children. Changes in technology now allow kids to access violent content online with less parental involvement,” he said. “It is time for these two agencies to take a fresh look at these issues.”
The lawmaker also pointed out that responsibility rests with the entertainment industry. “Major corporations, including the video game industry, make billions on marketing and selling violent content to children. They have a responsibility to protect our children,” he said. “If they do not, you can count on the Congress to take a more aggressive role.”
[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/sen-jay-rockefeller-wants-shooter-games-and-violence-studied-85298.html[/url]
I can't wait for specifically Mass Effect to be targeted for the [B]3rd[/B] time as being a bad influence (the first was that sex scandal from Fox News, the second was the facebook comments when they found Lanza's facebook page)
Yes, please do study it so we can finally put this whole business to bed once and for all.
A teenager/young adult? Playing "violent" video games? Obsessively?
How unlikely; I can't name a single place where that's a common demographic. Oh wait.
I love how every time a person goes on a killing spree it's imperative to know what video games he was playing before he went on his rampage. They don't care what movies he was watching, the people he was in contact with, what particular brand of music he was listening to, etc. Nope. All that matters is whether or not his video game skills were top quality or not.
Since he used this particular brand of popular media, he became a mass killer.
No. What we should be doing is investigating the news media in this country for its lack of morals in their quest for the almighty dollar. Fucking scum is what they are.
[QUOTE=valkery;38899236]I love how every time a person goes on a killing spree it's imperative to know what video games he was playing before he went on his rampage. They don't care what movies he was watching, the people he was in contact with, what particular brand of music he was listening to, etc. Nope. All that matters is whether or not his video game skills were top quality or not.
Since he used this particular brand of popular media, he became a mass killer.[/QUOTE]
Don't forget the really evil xX-=BUSHMASTUR .223 ASSULT RIFL=-Xx
There is nothing wrong with studying this kind of thing.
There isn't a need to get all hysterical and defensive as long as it's a fair study.
I mean, we already know there is a positive correlation between spree-shooters and their consumption of violent media like games and films.
To be fair, Mass Effect 3 did make a lot of people want to shoot someone.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;38899266]There is nothing wrong with studying this kind of thing.
There isn't a need to get all hysterical and defensive as long as it's a fair study.
I mean, we already know there is a positive correlation between spree-shooters and their consumption of violent media like games and films.[/QUOTE]
I agree that if it is studied fairly and accurately then it's a decent thing to do.
However, I haven't seen a study of that nature recently that wasn't a biased piece of shit. It will be even worse with a politician backing it, and asking for a specific result so that he can pass some bullshit legislation.
Please let people fund a ton of videogame violence tests and stuff so we watch them cry cry when it turns out that playing shooters doesn't affect a functional member of society's tendency to become a violent killer.
I dont care if they target video games.
I am 18, so long as they target the younger crowds, i dont give a fuck, i dont want 12 year olds playing with me, and i dont think they should play the same games i do.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;38899266]There is nothing wrong with studying this kind of thing.
There isn't a need to get all hysterical and defensive as long as it's a fair study.
I mean, we already know there is a positive correlation between spree-shooters and their consumption of violent media like games and films.[/QUOTE]
Honestly, I think a study would be a waste of money for a country that is in so much debt.
[QUOTE=Fangz;38900506]Honestly, I think a study would be a waste of money for a country that is in so much debt.[/QUOTE]
A video game study is not going to even put a dent in the multi-trillion dollar debt.
Leave it to a Senator to not understand how empirical inquiry works.
Nevermind about how countless killers throughout history never even owned a TV yet slaughtered people in gruesome ways...
Leave it to the experts old man.
If video games influenced people the way overly biased researchers keep saying, then most Facebookers would make great farmers.
And we know the truth behind that one. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2hXkf.png?1[/IMG]
[QUOTE=latin_geek;38900224]Please let people fund a ton of videogame violence tests and stuff so we watch them cry cry when it turns out that playing shooters doesn't affect a functional member of society's tendency to become a violent killer.[/QUOTE]
Or just have them lie and alter the results or spin them somehow so as to make them seem right.
No, do not do this, no matter what the results are you people have already made up your minds that you didn't have mass shootings when you were young, you didn't have video games when you were young, so obviously it's cause and effect. They just want some justification to point to when they scapegoat video games and try to ban them.
Eh, let them study it.
When they find nothing, we'll just sit here in smug satisfaction.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;38899266]There is nothing wrong with studying this kind of thing.
There isn't a need to get all hysterical and defensive as long as it's a fair study.
I mean, we already know there is a positive correlation between spree-shooters and their consumption of violent media like games and films.[/QUOTE]
I would be entirely happy seeing an unbiased study regarding the effects of violent media on the populace.
I have a really hard time believing the study he calling for is unbiased. As he said, "They believe that violent video games are no more dangerous to young minds than classic literature or Saturday morning cartoons. Parents, pediatricians and psychologists know better. These court decisions show we need to do more and explore ways Congress can lay additional groundwork on this issue. This report will be a critical resource in this process. I call on my colleagues to join me in passing this important legislation quickly."
It sounds to me like this particular individual already has his mind made up about the results, and is calling for a study of the effects of such games to support his opinion. This is not how unbiased studies begin.
Additionally, he makes the claim that, "Major corporations, including the video game industry, make billions on marketing and selling violent content to children." Not only does his statement ignore the fact that the primary gaming demographic is [i]not[/i] children, but he disregards the violent content from major corporations in the form of constant sensationalized news coverage of violent happenings (wars, mass shootings, stabbings, rapes, beatings, rioting, police brutality, etc), which is absolutely marketed to an adult demographic. Rockefeller doesn't even touch on movies marketed at adults, or cable networks like HBO who run shows that are clearly marketed at adults. Why not? Both of the shooters responsible for the tragedies were in fact adults. It seems to me that studying adults might be a little more relevant to the current events at the center of this hysteria.
His lack of being informed combined with the biased view he is coming from is even more concerning when you consider that he wants the legislation to be passed 'quickly'. These things require time, and I'm not seeing many elected officials taking that into account. Within two weeks of the Connecticut shooting, we are now talking about drafting up and passing a number of laws that will change a lot of things for the country. And we are talking about doing it quickly.
This is why people are defensive. Here we have a biased, misinformed figure wanting to get a lot of things done. We have this at a time of widespread fear and sadness, when people want a quick solution to a complicated problem.
I wholeheartedly agree that an unbiased study would be beneficial, but this is not the way to start such a study, and Rockefeller is not the person to get the ball rolling.
[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;38900837]Eh, let them study it.
When they find nothing, we'll just sit here in smug satisfaction.[/QUOTE]
they most likely will find something considering evidence points to violent media increasing aggressiveness in children and adults both to different degrees..
[QUOTE=yawmwen;38901155]they most likely will find something considering evidence points to violent media increasing aggressiveness in children and adults both to different degrees..[/QUOTE]
Would it be aggression ingame or IRL? It would make sense if it were ingame. If I kept failing missions in freeroam games, I would dick around and start rampages.
[img]http://images.politico.com/global/2012/06/120620_rockefeller_ap_605.jpg[/img]
[img]http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/13686/1766760-gabe_newell_super.png[/img]
Is it just me or are there some similarities in the nose, eyes, jaw, etc?
I saw this motherfucker in real life once when I was at the airport. He's tall as hell.
Anyways, this seems stupid, unless they actually wanna figure out that video games and violence are all just made up fairy tales.
I think that this is relevant. [video=youtube;5uwAo8lcAC4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwAo8lcAC4[/video]
[QUOTE]There have been reports that Adam Lanza obsessively played “Call of Duty” and “Starcraft”[/QUOTE]
I don't think this is really anything, from personal experience these sorts of video games (i dont play starcraft) is an outlet to get rid of your rage, to me it helps me cool down if I've had a bad day or if I'm just generally stressed about something.
Now I would never tear up a fucking school in this case, sometimes I just have the desire to hit someone straight in the face so video games comes in handy to just again let out my rage, if anything it helps not encourages people to go out to some populated place with a gun and paint the town red.
[quote]There have been reports that Adam Lanza obsessively played “Call of Duty” and [B]“Starcraft” [/B][/quote]
Ah yes, because children are a well known source of Vespene Gas.
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;38901790]Ah yes, because children are a well known source of Vespene Gas.[/QUOTE]
He got pissed off from all the ZVZ finals.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;38899266]There is nothing wrong with studying this kind of thing.
There isn't a need to get all hysterical and defensive as long as it's a fair study.
I mean, we already know there is a positive correlation between spree-shooters and their consumption of violent media like games and films.[/QUOTE]
Too bad it's almost never a fair study. I remember a study saying video games increased violent behavior in children because a couple of kids were playing pretend karate afterwards.
[QUOTE=fruxodaily;38901642]I don't think this is really anything, from personal experience these sorts of video games (i dont play starcraft) is an outlet to get rid of your rage, to me it helps me cool down if I've had a bad day or if I'm just generally stressed about something.
Now I would never tear up a fucking school in this case, sometimes I just have the desire to hit someone straight in the face so video games comes in handy to just again let out my rage, if anything it helps not encourages people to go out to some populated place with a gun and paint the town red.[/QUOTE]
there is evidence to suggest that "venting" is counter-productive as well.
[url]http://psp.sagepub.com/content/28/6/724.short[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis#Therapeutic_uses[/url]
[quote]There has been much debate about the use of catharsis in the reduction of anger. Some scholars believe that "blowing off steam" may reduce physiological stress in the short term, but this reduction may act as a reward mechanism, reinforcing the behavior and promoting future outbursts.[7][8][9][10] However, other studies have suggested that using violent media may decrease hostility under periods of stress.[11][/quote]
You have to be crazy to actually try out the shit you see in movies, comics, television, the internet or videogames in real life.
Oh wait, Adam Lanza WAS crazy.
You know what is also crazy? Capitalizing on tragedy and fear to push a political agenda that would in any other time simply be shot down due to it's vagueness and fundamental flaws.
Oh fucking wait.
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