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Video Game Use Linked To Breast Feeding

In order to demonstrate the ridiculousness of some recent studies which grabbed media headlines by claiming "links" between video games and all sorts of negative behavior (such as violence and the lower-quality relationships), Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera did an experiment of his own: "I started calling people I knew, and I asked if they had one or more video games in the house. Then I asked if they breast-fed their children. To my great shock, most answered 'yes' to both. One couple I contacted switched to formula after their child's birth, and told me that they didn't play video games. The data, based on my first round of calls, was conclusive: if you play video games, you are much more likely to breast-feed your children. You're probably ready to shoot five thousand holes in my argument. ... I did my job though, and you clicked on the headline." He goes on point out flaws in media reports and legislation involving such claims.

94 comments

  1. Lawl studies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So basically its "Get tities now and you wont get them later"

  2. uhh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lolwut?

  3. I'm not believing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pics, or it didn't happen.

    1. Re:I'm not believing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be careful, you might just invoke Rule #34

    2. Re:I'm not believing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I, for one, welcome our breastfeeding overlords.

    3. Re:I'm not believing... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      > "I started calling people I knew, and I asked if they had one or more
      > video games in the house. Then I asked if they breast-fed their children.
      > To my great shock, most answered 'yes' to both.

      Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog: "And that's the last time he'll suck brown wrinkly ninny!"

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    4. Re:I'm not believing... by Drumforyourlife · · Score: 0

      Shenanigans of the highest order. This study is bunk.

    5. Re:I'm not believing... by Sangui · · Score: 1

      Linking to a poor xkcd to reference an old 4chan meme? That's dumb.

  4. Idle by bernywork · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Doesn't this deserve to be under idle?

    --
    Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
    1. Re:Idle by In+hydraulis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ben Kuchera presents a satirical critique on the much-touted, supposedly causative video games-violence correlation.

      Certainly not idle material.

    2. Re:Idle by bernywork · · Score: 1

      It might come under "News for nerds" but "Stuff that matters" it doesn't count for. How about "Stuff that happens"?

      Really, it wouldn't make it any better of Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison or even Linus wrote it. Everyone knows it's crap, can't we just move on?

      --
      Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
    3. Re:Idle by wild_quinine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Doesn't this deserve to be under idle?

      This is actually an important issue for those of us that care about games, and whilst it is a bit prankish, it not 'just some prank'. Anyway, there's no category on Slashdot for 'preaching to the converted', it's just a general assumption that news articles will fit the bent of the site.

    4. Re:Idle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't this deserve to be under idle?

      Quite frankly nothing deserves to be under idle.

    5. Re:Idle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Until Ben Kuchera or someone else actually DOES the study, yes, this falls under idle.

      Contact a polling firm or a sociology grad department (I guarantee that there are some students who would LOVE to run yet another "gaming" survey). Get them to blitz out a generic questionnaire that includes questions on gaming habits and breast-feeding, do the stats work, and report the results. Or, if that's too much money and effort, do some secondary analysis of existing data. Surely there's been a lifestyle survey SOMEWHERE that included questions on both breast-feeding (or some other arbitrary factor) and gaming habits; find something that correlates more strongly with gamers than with non-gamers -- affluence, educational attainment, consumption of pepperoni pizza -- and run with it.

      This is a blog entry. An amusing entry, but nothing more.

    6. Re:Idle by Garganus · · Score: 1

      Doesn't this deserve to be under idle?

      Also has a bad summary (par?) and even has "I did my job though, and you clicked on the headline" quoted in the summary. C'mon... how do you miss an editing layup like that?

    7. Re:Idle by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      I think Jack Thompson might qualify....

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    8. Re:Idle by internerdj · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd say it is bigger than just video games. The type of thinking he is attacking has existed in one form or another for many, many years. He even mentions it in the article. Somewhere I read them called social demons, they are essentially scapegoats for society to blame abnormal behavior on. So long as we set up our collective social demons, whether it be videogames or rap music or whatever, we revert to an unscientific approach of fearmongering rather than a scientific discovery of the root causes of social ills. It is made even worse when someone makes a psuedoscientific claim that is obviously flawed to those who regularly do science but sounds "scientific and factual" to the general public. This article is about the abuse of science to shape the social consciousness. Most certainly "News for Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters."

    9. Re:Idle by canuck08 · · Score: 0

      Somewhere I read them called social demons, they are essentially scapegoats for society to blame abnormal behavior on.

      Tell me a bit about your life and I'll pick some aspect of it to blame for your grammar.

    10. Re:Idle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there's no category on Slashdot for 'preaching to the converted'

      yes there is, it's called "slashdot"

    11. Re:Idle by Skrapion · · Score: 1

      The tagline doesn't say "News for nerds && Stuff that matters".

      I believe they were implying "News for nerds \isin Stuff that matters", so your claim is mathematically impossible.

      --
      The details are trivial and useless; The reasons, as always, purely human ones.
  5. Before and After by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    One couple I contacted switched to formula after their child's birth

    So they were breastfeeding before their child's birth???

    1. Re:Before and After by Gabrill · · Score: 3, Funny

      I know I was breastfeeding before My children's births. *licking my lips*

      --
      Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
    2. Re:Before and After by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, the child's mother has been breastfeeding the child's father until she found that using formula is more convenient.

    3. Re:Before and After by Hatta · · Score: 0

      No, they switched to formula after their child's birth. It would be kind of hard for them to switch to formula before the childs birth.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    4. Re:Before and After by Lord+Fury · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Where's the option to mod -1 Eww?

    5. Re:Before and After by Shikaku · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      You never had a wife and pregnancy, did you? I'm gonna mention 2 things:

      1. Women start lactating about halfway through the pregnancy.

      2. Women get more horny during pregnancy. And also, orgasm can cause sudden lactation. The milk has to go somewhere, whether it's in the drain, on the sheets, bra, etc...

    6. Re:Before and After by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

      "Switched" implies a change. "Started using formula" would make far more sense than "switched to formula".

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    7. Re:Before and After by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Awesome.

    8. Re:Before and After by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I get home I will lift my bottle of Belhaven Ale in your honor.

    9. Re:Before and After by Chickan · · Score: 1

      I'm going to hazard a guess that MAYBE they breast feed for a few days, then switched to formula :)

    10. Re:Before and After by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pics or it didn't happen

  6. Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Video gaming is a hobby that the majority if Americans take part in, with 2007 research indicating that 63 percent of Americans play games. Violent criminals are, no matter what the number of news reports would have you believe, rare creatures. If you mix a limited sample with a hobby that the majority of the population takes part in... ta-da! You find that most killers have played video games.

    This guy isn't any better than the people he's criticizing. The debate and the studies he's arguing against are about violent video games and I have a strong suspicion that the 63% figure he gives includes casual non-violent games and he has not established that the studies he's criticizing do not exclude non-violent games.

    I agree that the violent video-game issue is overblown, but this doesn't help our side. It just makes us look as silly to them as they do to us.

    1. Re:Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by Kokuyo · · Score: 1

      How many non-violent games are there? I mean, if you get to the bottom of this discussion, Tom and Jerry are highly violent.

      So is Mario violent or not? What about Sonic?

    2. Re:Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by Faylone · · Score: 1

      Think of the poor tetrominoes, getting wantonly piled up and destroyed!

    3. Re:Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's a parody. It's not supposed to make us look....non-silly. It's supposed to make the other side look sillier. Which it does, to those of use with a sense of humour.

      Apparently, however, you're missing that personality component.

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    4. Re:Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by Kbac · · Score: 1

      But Sonic's violence was used to free those poor enslaved animals. The end justified the means.

    5. Re:Fighting bad evidence with bad evidence by qeloi · · Score: 1

      $ sudo apt-get install personality
      Reading package lists... Done
      Building dependency tree
      Reading state information... Done
      E: Couldn't find package personality
      $

      :(

  7. Idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Ben Kuchera is a dribbling moron who hasn't proven anything apart from his ignorance.

    He's basically making the following claim: I can do a non-scientific survey and publish the results. Therefore, anyone publishing results must also be doing a non-scientific survey.

    The non-sequiteur inherent in this claim is obvious. It's also overbroad. If true, his claim would invalidate not only the results about video games, but all of science.

    If you disagree with a methodology, attack the actual methodology, not a strawman of it.

    But I suspect this bozo has done no research into the methodology used at all and is just assuming that since the results are not to his liking, the methodology must be flawed.

    That makes him an idiot.

    1. Re:Idiot by Crumplecorn · · Score: 5, Informative

      He's basically making the following claim: I can do a non-scientific survey and publish the results. Therefore, anyone publishing results must also be doing a non-scientific survey.

      Try RTFA.

      The claim he is making is that people publish results using correlation to imply causation just to get readers, with a nonsensical example to emphasise the point which, lo and behold, got people to read it.

      The problem is that, as someone said above, he is 'preaching to the converted'.

    2. Re:Idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The problem is, he's not even demonstrating correlation in a statistically meaningful fashion, which is what those studies achieved. Congratulations to him on producing an argument of even less value than those he's criticising.

    3. Re:Idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must do correlative research for a living nobody who doesn't make a living on statistical nonsense can defend it so passionately.

    4. Re:Idiot by Crumplecorn · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Parodies are not usually held to the same standards of quality as the subject they are parodying.

    5. Re:Idiot by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's implied that the studies are as valueless as his example, though. While nonintervention studies are not as valuable as newspaper articles would suggest, they are still important in determining which areas merit causation-demonstrating, intervention-based studies. The problem is the reporting, not the research itself.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    6. Re:Idiot by Vohar · · Score: 1

      I recently removed Ars Technica from my bookmarks because of articles like this. More and more I was seeing articles that weren't really about anything but getting people to click--he even admits as such in this one.

    7. Re:Idiot by clifyt · · Score: 1

      The problem with this is that vicarious social learning theories from times BEFORE video games have pretty much proven that while one can never 100% prove correlation / causation, it is well established that it is highly likely that there is a link.

      Psychological studies are not the same as physics...only because we have to deal with morality (there was one group in history that was actually were able to dispense with these moral conundrums and prove a lot more...but I'm not going to mention the name of this group because according to the rules of /. I will have already lost the argument).

      The problem is, he is preaching to people that have no clue about psychological theories because it has nothing to do with ones and zeros. Video games do lead to higher aggression...so do a lot of activities. The fact that nerds can't see this is beyond me. Probably just like pervs refuse to believe / or admit that pornography leads to higher incidence of violence to women. I like both videogames and porn...but know that in the hands of children, a lot of this stuff would be bad...

      But again, I'm preaching to those that will never agree with me because it goes against their predefined goals. 15 years from now when they have kids, it will be different...

    8. Re:Idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Psychological studies are not the same as physics...only because we have to deal with morality (there was one group in history that was actually were able to dispense with these moral conundrums and prove a lot more...but I'm not going to mention the name of this group because according to the rules of /. I will have already lost the argument).

      That's just a running joke. Mentioning the Jackson Five doesn't mean you automatically lose the argument.

  8. American Soldiers Don't Like to Be Shot At by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    American Soldiers Don't Like to Be Shot At - It's true. But you need to interview them to find out that their moral was higher before the end of WWII than when they were stuck in Germany after the war.

    Incredulity can lead to people dismissing things that are true.

    ((disclosure: I am an atheist...))

  9. Wait, this is that sarcasm thing again right? by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damn, and I was about to publish my study about the link between video game playing and breathing! 100% of gamers I have interviewed actually breathe between 10-20 times per minute. My interviews with non breathers at the local cemetery was a disaster, but I noticed that none of them play games! I think I'm on to something.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    1. Re:Wait, this is that sarcasm thing again right? by alienunknown · · Score: 2, Funny

      My interviews with non breathers at the local cemetery was a disaster

      Contact Umbrella corp. They'll know what to do.

    2. Re:Wait, this is that sarcasm thing again right? by koinu · · Score: 1

      Hmmm... I did similar studies and found out that most players of violent games also use toilets, eat bread and have one pair of eyes! I call for going to shit on sidewalks, eat croissants and stab yourself one eye out to try to escape this typical character traits of a potential killer.

      Wait, when I think again, it's better to get rid of both eyes, because someone might think you are into game piracy.

    3. Re:Wait, this is that sarcasm thing again right? by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 1

      Great, now I'm conscious of my breathing, thanks a lot.

      On the bright side, now you are, too! >:)

    4. Re:Wait, this is that sarcasm thing again right? by Aphoxema · · Score: 1

      Make them play video games?

      --
      "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
  10. In yet another study linked to breastfeeding... by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... it was found that well over 95% of people who use hard drugs, started out on milk.

    Quite obviously, milk is a "gateway drug" and must be outlawed! "It's for the children."

  11. whoosh by reiisi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I mean, really, how many geeks does it take to miss a point?

    --
    Computer memory is just fancy paper, CPUs just fancy pens with fancy erasers; the 'net is just a fancy backyard fence.
    1. Re:whoosh by Bieeanda · · Score: 1

      Just the one apparently, since it's the same guy whinging.

    2. Re:whoosh by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

      I think you just coined the new /. motto.
      Goodbye 'News for Nerds'.

  12. George Carlin some 30+ years ago. by ashitaka · · Score: 1

    "Mother's milk leads to everything!"

    --
    If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
  13. Do you really belong here by unity100 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    if you are not able to discern about an important satire making a point regarding misconceptions and bullsh@t going on in the society about video gaming ?

  14. Three problems with your logic by PinkyDead · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. Breastfeeding is more prevalent in more educated people, which is correlated to wealth - i.e. people with more money who can buy video games. Check to see if two cars or a bigger house is related to breastfeeding.

    2. Even though I'm sure your the most popular guy on the planet, I doubt the sample you have tested is remotely significant. Clearly you need funding to take your research globally.

    3. One of the key features of breastfeeding is that men can't do it. So they have more free time - especially as they're not getting any of the other kind of action.

     

    --
    Genesis 1:32 And God typed :wq!
    1. Re:Three problems with your logic by Tridus · · Score: 2

      That sound you hear is the point going way above your head.

      --
      -- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
    2. Re:Three problems with your logic by PinkyDead · · Score: 0

      I was breastfed as a baby, so I hear that sound quite a bit.

      --
      Genesis 1:32 And God typed :wq!
    3. Re:Three problems with your logic by Zerth · · Score: 1

      Actually, with a course of injections, you too can breast feed. If you already have moobs, it is even easier.

    4. Re:Three problems with your logic by Aphoxema · · Score: 1

      I see three problems with your logic, as well.

      --
      "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
    5. Re:Three problems with your logic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That sound you hear is the point going way above your head.

      I hope this is a case of recursive sarcasm.

    6. Re:Three problems with your logic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't even need injections; estrogen and antiandrogens come in pill form.

  15. LOL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like they say..."There's lies, damn lies and statistics!".

    As my hero Dr Jonathan Lewis ( Oracle expert ) once wrote in a copy of his book, I presented to him to sign, "Don't believe everything you read."

  16. the true issue by dropzonetoe · · Score: 1

    So what they are saying is that breatfeeding leads to violence right?

    --
    Look out, you'll shoot Dorkus.
    1. Re:the true issue by Aphoxema · · Score: 1

      That is exactly what they're saying, I read the post like, 3 times and that's the only thing I can come up with.

      Breastfeeding -> Stealing cars, killing people, having a negative disposition towards authority.

      --
      "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
  17. Re:faildot by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Whoosh.

    Everybody. Fucking WHOOSH!!

    It's not that there's a scientific link between breast feeding and video games. The author is making a sarcastic point about the ridiculousness of the studies, and the tenuousness of the link between video games and violence.

    Think, people.

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  18. Re:faildot by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 0, Redundant

    You must be new here.

  19. I know this was TIC by cvd6262 · · Score: 1

    But most of the studies that have been published include much more rigor than this conveniently-sampled, not-significance-tested phone survey by the poster. The issue is more the media translating the researchers' conclusion (video game playing is *linked* to X, Y and Z) into a causal association.

    From the BYU study:

    The study didn't allow Jensen and Walker to determine whether video games are drawing college-age adults away from social settings or if they are a way for those already struggling with relationships to spend their time. Walker guesses both are at play.

    Yet I saw at least one newspaper with the headline: "Study shows video games *cause* host of problems."

    --

    I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.

    1. Re:I know this was TIC by LandDolphin · · Score: 1

      We require truth in advertising, not journalism.

      --
      Spelling and Grammar errors have been added to this post for your enjoyment
  20. Freakin' Bravo by maclizard · · Score: 1

    I love BS statistics! 90% of all statistics are 45% made up and 31% scare mongering. Also, statistics statistics 43% statistics 12% statistics Fox News statistics statistics.

    But I can't really blame them, I mean, you read my non-sense too, statistics... ;P

  21. It's funny 'cause it's true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Statistics show 100% of the people that play videogames will die eventually.

    1. Re:It's funny 'cause it's true by Khisanth+Magus · · Score: 1

      I plan on destroying that perfect record!

  22. Ahh, them good ole days by meist3r · · Score: 1

    When gamepads used to have two large immensely comfortable buttons and two analog sticks to chew on. Want girlie-hug now!

  23. does anyone else wonder? by v1 · · Score: 1

    One couple I contacted switched to formula after their child's birth .
    . ... how they were breast-feeding their child before birth?

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    1. Re:does anyone else wonder? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      They switched from preprocessed nutrients directly from the blood of the mother to formula.

      They really don't have much an option to switch, seeing the placenta detaches all by itself.

  24. Re:faildot by LordKronos · · Score: 1

    Exactly, and I was able to figure that out without even RTFA.

  25. Re:faildot by Shikaku · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Think, people.

    You must be new here

  26. Wait a Moment by mathx314 · · Score: 0

    Combining this with some other studies, I guess there's pretty clearly a link between breastfeeding and violence!

    /ducks

  27. Re:faildot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL ASS BURGERS

  28. Breast is best. by Bemopolis · · Score: 1

    That explains the impossibly-proportioned Lara Croft.

    --
    "I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
  29. As someone that works with young adults... by bigtoque · · Score: 1

    For most people, violent media doesn't do that much other than likely desensitizing people to violent behaviour a little bit at a time. This doesn't cause people to go on a killing spree because most people are capable of reasoning out their actions.

    I work with young adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and many of the guys I work with often don't have an ability to reason out their actions. If something makes them upset (I took too long to go to the washroom, their social assistance cheque didn't come in today, the sun is yellow) they can get extremely upset.

    I have seen first hand how much more aggressive and violent they get after putting on a 50 Cent CD and playing shooting games. Often times, it results in one of my guys ending up in jail again.

    Do I blame 50 Cent, Halo or GTA? No, but I can appreciate that under certain conditions, they can be the factor that pushes someone over the edge, or brings them to a heightened level of emotion where the next "problem" will push them over the edge.

    This doesn't account for everyone, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a great deal of "normal people" that could be pushed over the edge with violent material in the same way.

  30. Seriously though by iamangry · · Score: 1

    I realize this was sarcasm, but now I'm curious. Does video gaming lead to breast feeding, and alternatively does breast feeding lead to video gaming? I wonder how much government money you could get to do that BS study.

  31. Re:faildot by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

    No, I'm not. That's why I know I have to tell people to think......

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  32. Video gaming prolongs life! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Accounting for all recorded history a much larger percentage of people who haven't played video games have died, than of those who have.

    I guesstimate the figures would be something around 95% of people who never played a video game have died, and probably less than 50% of those who have played are now deceased.

    I think this is something we really need studied. Funding anyone?!

  33. No wonder those little suckers kept biting me! by missvolare · · Score: 1

    Maybe i should have put down the controller, but they were always hungry right when i was getting the most kills!

  34. Re:faildot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought it was a sarcastic point about the ridiculousness of the link between breast feeding and..well... Anything!

  35. I've seen it by Oriasten · · Score: 1

    In November of 2007 my best friend's wife had her 2nd child. She had recently become a fan of Rock Band. I do not have the picture on my computer but she got the brilliant idea of what to do while breast feeding the child. "Give me the Rock Band guitar, I want to play." And thus her husband has a picture of her playing Rock Band, and breast feeding her child. So its true!

  36. LSL by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

    It's not that there's a scientific link between breast feeding and video games.

    OK, but what if it's Leisure Suit Larry?

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  37. Simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They would rather breastfeed their child for them to sustain the monthly fee of the game they play and continue with their quest and grind wow gold. And I guess also for the preparation of buying latest console? ^_^