Video Games Kill?

[Jetgirl]

An article from a Chinese news corporation:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/31/content_3023991.htm

BEIJING, May 31 -- A recent case of suicide by a boy addicted to Internet games has increased the public's concern over the issue of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).
Xiao Yi, a 13-year-old from Tianjin, committed suicide thinking that he would meet his friends from cyber space after he died.

My take on this, after reading the article completely, is this is not a case of "bad, evil, video games make people crazy", but that the kid had some major problems in the first place and the parents had absolutely no control over his behavior.

The article states:

His father also recalled that his son would sometimes stay out for one or two nights, spending all his time playing computer games in Internet bars.

My question, and what makes me angry, is WHY, oh why, did this boy's parents ALLOW him to stay out for one or two nights playing video games?

Is there something going on culturally that I'm missing here?

What's your take?

 

[Abbadon]

Umm, Video games kill? Gee, wonder why my friends, a good many people I know, and I are still alive.

Could it have been that the boy that killed himself was one of a very small number of cases where someone killed themselves becasue of video games? And that most of the people that play video games aren't any more likely to kill themselves than people that don't play video games? And that most of those that play video games that killed themselves did so for reasons other than video games?

Just my thoughts.

As for the boy's parents, they may not have known he was out playing video games. Some parents don't keep track of thier kids as well as others.

 

[flicka]

It is sad. Although it doesn't seem like they 'allowed' him to do this, he just did. The article indicated they went looking for him at least once and found him playing video games. Short of physically restraining them, parents really can't stop a 13 yr old from getting out and dissapearing for days at a time if that is what they really want to do.

It's only my 14 yr old son's own common sense and respect for my authority that prevent him from doing whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it. Apparently this boy lacked both.

 

[Jetgirl]

Umm, Video games kill? Gee, wonder why my friends, a good many people I know, and I are still alive.

I as well, I'm a Warcraft fiend. But it doesn't interfere with my life, it's for recreational purposes only.

Could it have been that the boy that killed himself was one of a very small number of cases where someone killed themselves becasue of video games? And that most of the people that play video games aren't any more likely to kill themselves than people that don't play video games? And that most of those that play video games that killed themselves did so for reasons other than video games?

I agree. I think this was an extremely troubled child who happened to find this outlet. I think that if it wasn't video games, it would have been something else.

As for the boy's parents, they may not have known he was out playing video games. Some parents don't keep track of thier kids as well as others.

Which is why you (in general) should keep good track of your kids.

 

[Jetgirl]

It is sad. Although it doesn't seem like they 'allowed' him to do this, he just did. The article indicated they went looking for him at least once and found him playing video games. Short of physically restraining them, parents really can't stop a 13 yr old from getting out and dissapearing for days at a time if that is what they really want to do.

It's only my 14 yr old son's own common sense and respect for my authority that prevent him from doing whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it. Apparently this boy lacked both.

I don't know. I was a boogersnot when I was a teenager. My parents put me on house arrest for about a year and a half, and managed to keep me from running away. If they hadn't I would have probably done myself some serious harm.

Good for your son. I hope I can have that happen with my potential children. I do think however, that you earn your authority. Wishy-washy parenting won't get it.

 

[lawtonfogle]

video games do not kill, neither does the gun, it just makes it easier, but then so does TV, and going over wars in history class. The army does use video games to help recruits handle killing a real person better. It does not make them kill it, it just makes it easier. Only in extreme cases would a video game give someone a reason to kill. Just like the two boys who took D&D too far. (they played on their peers, actualy killing them) It seems many over look the tiny, incy wincy fact that THEY WERE ON LSD.

A video game does not kill, it only helps with it, but as already stated, anything taken to far can help. And I am not saying a video game always help, some don't even get near it, and others promote peace.

 

[Maynard Keenan]

Kid has issues. Messed up people involved in all sorts of things do bad stuff.

 

[Nikos100]

Video games don't kill people, Atheists do

Joking

 

[Hydra009]

An article from a Chinese news corporation:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/31/content_3023991.htm

My take on this, after reading the article completely, is this is not a case of "bad, evil, video games make people crazy"

Exactly. People somehow manage to go crazy and kill themselves in a variety of ways. An apparent suicidal obsession with online gaming is no different.

An interesting thing to point out is that the Chinese government has very tight control over internet access.

 

[Matt Never Existed]

People love to point the finger at someone or something else, as to avoid blame and punishment.

Adam pointed to Eve, and Eve pointed to the snake.

In this case, the parents are pointing to video games, since the kid had no rules and the parents didn't take an active role in that kids like to tell him "This isn't healthy".

And of course, the media always puts a bad spin on video-game related violence, even if video-games have nothing to do with it.

 

[morningstar2651]

What's your take?

Bad parenting kills.

 

[DaRkWoLf]

I really dont believe gaming directly kills people. I think the media needs scapegoats.

Firstly, I was an online gamer for a long period of time, and still am but not nearly as much (mabye Ill play a game once every week or two). When I used to play alot, I was number 1 on two trackers (which I cant even remember the names of, I havent played the game in ages) for Medal of Honor Alied Assault, Spearhead, and Breakthrough (each one ranked seperately) for about 4 months. Im also pretty good at counterstrike, and at one point I played a little GTA 2 and GTA 3 (regular, not the expansions).

Recently in Miami, someone hijacked a car and shot up the police station. The media called it identical to GTA 3. First of all, having seen the area around the station and the building itself, I can tell you that that is impossible. The media made it sound that GTA 3 literaly had the same blueprints of the Miami Station by saying something to the nature of "the perpetrator knew exactly where to go, the police weaknesses, the location of weapons (and other BS)... and it was all due to the perpetrators planning using GTA 3" I got a real chuckle out of that.

Games dont kill people. Guns dont kill people. Knives dont kill people. Peoples implement potentially lethal methods in order to kill people.

None of the weapons in my house (including the "evil" ak-47) have ever gone out and killed anyone. None have loaded themselves with ammo and walked out the appartment door. It takes a person with malicious intent to make them kill something. This malicious intent dosent come from video games, it comes from problems with ones living conditions, ones outlook on life, ones social problems, or ones poor upbringing or self control.

One can scapegoat honest human problems on games and such, but its merely scapegoating. The source is something that positive, understanding, open-minded human interaction from friends and parents can fix.

 

[Aalbiel]

When mom spends all day at the office, and dad works the graveyard shift, what is little johnny to do, but wander off a cliff?

He has no trees to climb, no fields to till, no land to explore. All he has are mosaics of concrete and circuitry to replace the attention his parents give to money and success, supposedly in johnny's interest, but only yields him paper love in an empty house.

 

[Our Sacred Honor]

video games deffinatly do not kill people...that kid was simply unstable in his head...i also do blame the parents for most of it...they shouldve watched his hours of playing and kinda...narrowed it down and make him go make "real" friends (like ones not on the internet) me and my friends play games but we dont go all crazy and revolve around them...they are just fun...and thats all theyll ever be.

 

[Jetgirl]

Video games don't kill people, Atheists do

Joking

You know, that's really not funny.

Not even with a presumptory "Joking" and a couple smileys.

I know you may not mean it, but I get that "for real" enough to really tire me out.

 

[Abbadon]

I think the percentage of atheist murderers out of the total atheists in the world is probably equal to the percentage of theist murderers out of the total of theists. So really noone can point fingers at anyone.

We theists have Hitler, the Clan, the Crusades on our back. Was Stalin an atheist? I think he was, I'm not sure, but still, we theists have got some work to do in the PR department.

 

[Jetgirl]

When mom spends all day at the office, and dad works the graveyard shift, what is little johnny to do, but wander off a cliff?

He has no trees to climb, no fields to till, no land to explore. All he has are mosaics of concrete and circuitry to replace the attention his parents give to money and success, supposedly in johnny's interest, but only yields him paper love in an empty house.

I absolutely agree.

The only reason I ever really got into trouble was that there was no supervision and absolutely nothing to do.

You can't go play outdoors because there are bad people that will kill you and worse, and besides there's nowhere you CAN go without trespassing.

We didn't have TV though, and I didn't have computer passwords, so I had stacks of library books piled up to the ceiling. Of course, I managed to get in trouble with that too...