Will Wheaton about games and violence

Amanda Mckay interviews Will Wheaton at Pax 2007. Will maybe have the most logical and simple explanation why you can't blame games for kids who is violent and who's fault it really is.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Amanda
• Mckay
• Pax
• Game
• games
• violence
• gta
• Wil
• Wheaton

[amensigala]

@ElfHybrid

Shitty parenting & social neglegience.....

[amensigala]

@korg13 & everyone Keep in mind these regulations that r in place r because of these parents who "blame" video games for violent behavior.They really r just holding these violent video makers responsible for the content & to inform buyers what they r buying. It's fair & it's right. I'm thankful for their work in enforcing labeling on all video game content. It should NOT have taken angry parents to have made this happen

[SamusDrake]

@SamildanachEmrys

Amen to that my friend. ^_^

[SamildanachEmrys]

@SamusDrake Yeah, that's one of the things I really don't get. Think games are making your child violent? Stop buying them violent games!

[YellowRoseKat]

Before games it was heavy metal music. Before heavy metal it was rock and roll. Parents will always try to find a scapegoat for their own incompetence. Thank you Wil Wheaton for standing up as a parent and saying where the real fault lies.

[SamusDrake]

Mr Wheaton is absolutely correct. If a parent buys their 10 year old child a copy of Call of Duty or GTA - then they are responsible for their child's resulting behaviour.

Message to parents and retailers: GAMES ARE CERTIFIED FOR A REASON. STOP BEING IGNORANT.

[ftolmsteen]

Shut up, Wesley!

[Stairc]

@Andrewh313 1) We are talking about kids of parents, the kind who parents blame games once said kids murder a bunch of people. That's what the vid is referring to. I don't think there's a glut of homicidal 4 year olds.

2) Yes, environmental stimuli always has an impact. However, our minds do change and develop our own identities. Telling me 'I double dog dare ya' to do X no longer has the same impact on me.

3) If violent imagery can't overcome positive parenting, the point is proven. Thank you

[Andrewh313]

There is no age at which human beings become immune to environmental stimuli. We are not gifted with moral insight when we reach a certain age. We are all the products of our environment. Our environment acting with our animal biology is what makes us.

If violence is reinforced in our minds but we choose to act peaceably, it is only because peaceful behavior has luckily been enforced over violence. When someone is not so lucky to to have been trained to be peaceful, you get murder.

[Andrewh313]

@Stairc

Ugh, now I think you're just trying to pester me. I thought we were talking about children?

Anyway, I found another study after literally less than a minute's worth of google searching. Google "The influence of media violence on youth". It should be the first thing. You can search for this stuff too, you know.

[Stairc]

@Andrewh313 Please link some studies to adults, not children who have no mental buffers. Observational learning is factual, but how much it matters among people of age is what's important. Are there any studies whatsoever that demonstrate that playing a lot of violent games or watching a lot of violent TV shows can turn an otherwise peaceful teenager into a violent criminal?

[Andrewh313]

@Stairc

I looked for another study that I know which compared the behavior of young children after watching teletubies in one trial and power rangers, results being what you'd expect. I couldn't find footage of it, but if you google "effects of power rangers" without quotes you'll find an old California State study which was similar.

This stuff is not hard to find. Observational learning is a pretty basic phenomenon in animals, children, and adults.