In almost predictable fashion, the negligent, deplorable actions of a Nevada couple have been blamed on gaming. The couple, Michael and Iana Straw, apparently neglected their infant children to the point where the tots had to be hauled away by authorities for severe malnourishment and other unfortunate afflictions, all while remaining immersed in one of the many Tolkien-esque virtual worlds.
Of course, the media -- instead of blaming the parents' ineptitude as people or making a humorous anecdote about how the children would have been better off being raised by badgers -- had this to say:
... the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.
I'm going to forgive the mainstream media's rare double-scapegoating here as many people still can't tell the various races of elf apart, but to claim the base problem was gaming is myopic at best, and at worst dangerous. The parents were obviously unfit well before they donned a +3 Cape of Perpetual Loneliness, and the stork should never have handed over the keys to those children.
Far be it from me to blame a fictional symbol of childbirth, but in this case, an imaginary bird who delivers babies during the night is as likely to have caused the problems as any affection for Drow these people may have had.
To put it another way: Did we blame Isotoner gloves when The Juice wacked his ex?
[Via Blue's News]
Contest:
2:18 AM on 07.16.2007
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It must be the latest Pools of Radiance that drove these fine upstanding people into hedonistic indulgence.
It's the turn based devil that drives parents insane, the antiquated belief in that system is rotting society from the inside out. THE DEVIL IS AMONG US.
I think the companies in control of these games need to FORCE a fucking time limit on how long someone can play. A lot of people who already are emotionally unstable don't need to worsen their problems by running away from them within a video game.
It's just a rush to blame same old same old.
DEVIL CULT FUCK SAUCE.
This has nothing to do with videogames and everything to do with the parenting skills [the shocking lack of them] of the two idiots. They're responsible for their actions and I hope they're punished accordingly.
Video game addiction is just as dangerous as addiction to hard drugs like meth or coke. They're just dangerous for a different reason.
I'm not saying it isn't common sense to see how fucking stupid people are, but I'm talking about the recent news of more and more people having their lives ruined because their eyes are stuck into a game that literally forces you to play for more and more never-ending hours. Of course, I'm also not saying that it is technically MMORPG's fault or video games in general for doing so. People are indeed fucking idiots, but the problem here is that these games are becoming an excuse for them to get away from all the difficulty in their life until the excuse consumes them entirely.
So, my point is why we shouldn't be blaming anybody but the parents here, we should acknowledge that there is an ever-growing population of people who are letting common sense and logic go out the other ear. And while these video games don't necessarily have the physical affects of addictive drugs, there is a dangerous level of mental affects that can be. Of course it is simply remedied by, as I said, common sense, logic, and responsibility, but while we do accept that people are fucking stupid WE shouldn't be using that as an excuse to look the other way and shrug it off. If we want video games to be presented as something that doesn't influence the many things morons say they do, then we should weed out the video games that DO.
MMORPG's are, in my opinion, becoming a problem in the gaming community. And while there is no doubt some of them are fun, I'm seeing a pattern of issues that need to be addressed before ignorant dipshits start using it as a loophole to get what they want and you can't stop them from attacking it.
As I was saying, these ignorant dipshits are desperate people. If there is a tiny fraction of shit on our clean toilet, they'll exploit it like flies with hard ons. You can't stop or control their constant attempts at destroying what they don't understand. They will find "ammunition" whether we show it to them or not. So, we must look into our own issues and take responsibility for the problems that DO ARISE.
How, you might ask? Simple (obviously). We do the same thing we always do. Get a large group of people with common sense and have them remind everybody around the certain issue what they/we need to do to avoid pointless attacks or ridicules. As gamers we have our own responsibility to look after our own no matter how fucking stupid another gamer might act.
That article didn't sound like it was demonizing video games. It made mention of them as the specific diversion the parents in this case chose to devote their attention to, just as it would have if it were drugs or whatever else.
It also raised a good point. As technology advances and becomes more inexpensive and accessible, cases like this will increase. People always have some self-destructive habits, and games will be no exception. Games may not have a physically addictive component, but they substitute that with a social pressure within multiplayer games to contribute to the success of a guild/clan/whatever.
Still, nothing is to blame here except the parents. I think it's a dangerous and divisive notion to start singling out specific types of games that are involved in cases like this. If it weren't World of Warcraft, it would be cocaine or whatever, and the result would be similar. The problem isn't specifically what they were doing, it's what they weren't doing.
Shut up with "TV does this, games make you do that"... BULLSHIT! Yes, they CAN be addictive...
IF YOU LET EM!
If you have control, and like past posts said, common sense... it shouldn't be a problem. If it is a problem, it can only point to the person.
While it is easy and to a degree comforting to chalk up many mental illnesses as a personality defect, I think its a bit shortsighted just to dismiss out of hand the mental component of addiction because it doesn't involve the direct chemical substitution of a neurotransmitter. An addiction is an addiction regardless of the mechanism, and if you look at mental health diagnostic criteria, you see that one of the first things always discussed is if an activity is imparing normal quality of life. If cocaine, mountain dew, WoW or pornography are negatively impacting the way you live, its a problem that needs to be delt with, regardless of the source. I'd go into a little more depth, but I really dont feel like digging out my notes from human development at 6:30 am.
I don't think that videogames are their own evil addictive drug per se, but like any other activity people can take it to unhealthy ends. One thing I did like about Guild Wars is it told you how long you had been playing the game without you asking. We all know how easy it is to loose an hour or six playing a game, and having the occasional reminder to get up and strech your legs isn't a bad thing. There is a part of me that worries that we are going to see health concerns in the future from long time MMO players. Spending several hours a day in a chair snorting mountain dew and ramen can't be good for your long term health.
Enjoy the mental health public service announcement.
And from just that News Quote it doesn't sound like they are attacking gaming but simply stating the fact that they neglected there kids because of that game. Whatever, game on...
First of all, if you can get that involved in DNDO, you shouldn't have procreated in the first place.
Secondly, I've never had a game, MMO or otherwise, force me to do much of anything, literally or figuratively. If a game is forcing you to do something against your will, that would be quite a feat. Or, you know, you're just an incredibly weak-willed pussy.
If you don't want to be saddled with the responsibility of taking care of children either keep your legs shut or your trousers zipped.
And for God's sakes, take some fucking accountability for what you do.
"You've been playing for 3 hours. Isn't it time for a break?"
Man I loved Guild Wars.
my real point that i'm trying to make is the more we talk about this, the more i feel like it will turn into a sort of 'darwin/evolution' debate. i know i am a developed enough mind to understand at least some of the bigger picture, but the people in this story obviously are not. granted their reason will never be known, but it appears that some sort of evolutionary step has taken place. [in their case backwards]
the worst part of all this is really the fact that i'm smart enough to not skip work, or my family, to play games and i dont' have any kids, while these folks endangered their children all for the sake of something that can be paused at any time.
It is up to the individual to reconize what they can and cannot control. The fundamental flaw in most humans is our inability to recognize our own bullshit until its far too late :)
Its like when your buddy is dating a psychotic bitch and everybody can see this but him. Ah, if only they would listen.
People who have an addictive personality will get addicted to something, whether it be video games, food, reading books or something more harmful like drugs or alcohol. Yes there are compulsive readers out there too! I personally know someone who is totally addicted to food, not a pretty situation there either. When a person with an addictive personality gives up one addiction they often move right onto the next addiction in a cycle that never ends.
Game addiction shouldn't be labeled as a bad thing, its more of a personality disorder than anything. People with an addictive personality often don't know they have an addictive personality either so therein lies the problem. If you have an addictive personality and you realize that, then you can control it and can possibly recognize when you have played too much of game or done too much of whatever you are addicted to. Like the above poster mentioned the critical fault is to not recognize the problem as yourself until it is too late or you have screwed up so badly that what you have done cannot be undone.
China and Korea have already imposed time limits on online MMORPG games especially for kids 17 and under and I think this is a good idea. I don't think a time limit should be imposed on adults though because an adult should be old enough to know when to stop, it is not the government's place to regulate the behavior of an adult with time limits.
Parents can help by NOT throwing their kid in front of the video game all day. If you tell your kids to play video games all day in order to keep them out of your hair then its your problem if they become addicted to the games and carry that addiction to later in their lives. Video games like most things are OK in moderation. There is nothing wrong with video games as a form of entertainment, its the same as any other form of entertainment. Parents if you think your kids are playing too many video games then its your job to limit their time playing the games or remove the games if it has gone too far or your child is completely obsessed! A little parenting can go a long way, unfortunately there are a lot of stupid parents in the USA.
If that is really what the authorities said, then I would consider it bad reporting to NOT include that information.