All Video Games Cause Aggressive Behavior, Say Two US Congressmen

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All Video Games Cause Aggressive Behavior, Say Two US Congressmen

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday March 20, 2012 @10:41AM from the not-intended-as-a-factual-statement dept.

Fluffeh writes with news that U.S. Congressmen Baca (D-CA) and Wolf (R-VA) have proposed a bill that would require most video games to have a warning label decrying their "potential damaging" long-term effects on children. "Under the one-page Violence in Video Games Labeling Act (PDF), packaging for all video games except those rated 'EC' for Early Childhood would be required to prominently display a message reading: 'WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior.' The proposed label would be required even if the video game in question is not violent."

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Like War by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 10:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

War causes violent behaviour too, but no congressman as ever putting a bill against, have they?
1. Re:Like War by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 11:01 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Ah more nanny-state bullshit from the Baby Boomers. Before they die, they are fucking determiend to make sure the younger generations have no wealth, resources, or freedoms to inherit. It is their personal obsession. Baby Boomers if they was honest would say "I have not died yet so the whole world owes me something. Lots of something."
  
  What's the difference between a two-year-old and a Baby Boomer? The two-year-old might outgrow his sense of entitlement.
2. Re:Like War by similar_name · 2012-03-20 11:07 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I think they are conflating aggression with competition. Competition makes kids more aggressive. Let kids play any game where they are competing against each other and they will become more aggressive regardless of the violence content (I've seen kids fight over Go-Fish). EC games probably don't show 'aggression' because they generally aren't that competitive.
3. Re:Like War by TheCarp · 2012-03-20 11:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I play plenty of violent video games but you know....
  NOTHING makes me so violently angry as listening to politicians and their machinations. Can't we outlaw them?
  Doesn't matter which ones it is.... Democrats, Republicans.... they all piss me off to no end...pretty much anytime they open their mouths.
  
  --
  "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
4. Re:Like War by Moryath · 2012-03-20 11:52 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Well, someone has to step up to the moron plate now that what's-his-nuts has been disbarred and Joe LIEberman is retiring...
5. Re:Like War by ae1294 · 2012-03-20 12:13 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  No no they read it but why on earth do you think they would want people to arrive at the correct decisions?
6. Re:Like War by Gideon+Wells · 2012-03-20 12:39 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I see you are angry. Have you been playing too much Tetris? Maybe Bejeweled?
  
  --
  by Anonymous Coward: I, for one, welcome the shift from car analogies to pizza analogies. um.. overlords?
7. Re:Like War by realityimpaired · 2012-03-20 12:40 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Well catharsis and other arguments have been used wrt pornography and violence in TV. Except that we HAVE become more violent and less able to have good relationships. Now, I don't assume that TV and videogames and porn sites are the culprits, but I am pretty certain that they don't work the other way as I have heard for decades.
  Except that we haven't become more violent. Despite more things being illegal, rates for murder are lower now than they were in the 1970's, and all types of violent crime have been steadily in decline for 20 years. News media reports the crime, and thanks to the ubiquity of the Internet and TV, you hear about it a lot more, but the rates are actually much lower.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States
  And the same trend is happening pretty much everywhere in the developed world.
8. Re:Like War by deniable · 2012-03-20 12:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  All bribe-takers are also office holders. Something must be done.
9. Re:Like War by lightknight · 2012-03-20 13:01 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  "Wolf's my congressman btw. If someone better wants to run I'd be all for it, but the ones who actually run against him are much worse."
  And that's kind of the problem, isn't it? Are the people running for office the best ones that this country has to offer? I mean, what if that were true, that that's really the best we can do. That's something to tell your kids if you want them to have nightmares for the rest of their lives.
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
10. Re:Like War by lightknight · 2012-03-20 13:06 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Let them. We'll keep the secret of the elixir as such until the last of them is gone.
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
11. Re:Like War by hairyfeet · 2012-03-20 13:39 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Are you kidding? One of the R candidates for president has tied his entire campaign to....drumroll....keeping adults from watching porn! Yep, because with American boys dying for corps in hellholes and our country bleeding jobs and having a dead economy THAT is the issue, worrying about whether or not joe and jane public can see a blowjob.
  Let's face it folks, if you are vote you are just wasting your time as the whole thing is now nothing more than a puppet show. anybody who gets a chance at national office has been bought and paid for by the corps so all they are gonna do is pander until they get elected and then kiss the ring of the multinationals. As the late great Bill Hicks said so many years ago "I believe the puppet on the left shares MY beliefs, well I believe the puppet on the right has my interests at heart...hey wait a minute, there is one guy controlling BOTH puppets!" and that is all we get, like pro wrestling, its just a puppet show to make the masses feel they have a say which of course they don't. When you have a former congressman like Chris Dodd go on national TV and OPENLY BRAG about serious crimes like bribery? and nothing gets done and the POTUS even ignores the will of the people and refuses to prosecute? give it up, the game is over, just grab as much as you can before the whole thing falls down.
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
12. Re:Like War by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 14:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I would run, but I'm a college-educated atheist who doesn't come from a blue-collar background, don't think that giving up fundamental freedoms is the right way to fight terrorism or child porn, I like single-payer/universal health care, I don't support ridiculously long sentences for literally victimless crimes like marijuana possession, and I'm all for gay marriage.
  In other words: I'm godless and therefore lack a moral compass; I'm an intellectual elitist who is out of touch with the working class; I don't Think of the Children; I'm soft on crime; I'm weak on terrorism; I'm a radical socialist; I support the gay agenda and want to take away our religious freedoms
13. Re:Like War by Opportunist · 2012-03-20 16:24 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  How would I know the person holding that gun isn't going to rob a store? Let's outlaw guns!
  How would I know that person driving that car is not going to use it to run over his spouse? Let's outlaw cars!
  How would I know that person using this computer is not going to use it to download child porn? Let's outlaw computers!
  How would I know that person buying liquor is not going to hand it to minors? Let's outlaw alcohol!
  Get the idea or should I go on?
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
14. Re:Like War by Thugthrasher · 2012-03-21 01:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I don't support ridiculously long sentences for literally victimless crimes like marijuana possession
  Victimless? How would you know if the person carrying that isn't going to A) Sell it to someone or B) Not have obtained it by stealing money or whatever from people to obtain it. You know with that level of intelligence, you'd fit right in with the rest of them.
  A) If selling it is still a crime, then convict him of that.
  
  B) Convict him of stealing money or whatever from people then.
  
  It's like the "high driving" complaints. Making drugs legal does not suddenly make OTHER things legal. Driving while intoxicated: still illegal. Theft: still illegal. Assault: still illegal.
15. Re:Like War by Quirkz · 2012-03-21 02:20 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  That's an excellent question. I consider myself socially liberal and financially conservative, and vote almost exclusively Democrat because I put significantly more weight on my personal freedoms than the financial issues. The choice has been made easier in recent decades because most of the Republican candidates I could vote for haven't been all that financially conservative in the first place.
  
  --
  The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
TV? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 10:45 · Score: 5, Insightful

Shouldn't TV come with the same warning then?
1. Re:TV? by White+Flame · 2012-03-20 11:39 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Playing Monopoly tends to lead to violence. Commence warning labels!
An important caveat is missing by baudilus · 2012-03-20 10:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

Violent video games may cause aggressive behavior in a subset of individuals, likely already predisposed to said aggressive behavior.

The same argument was made about violent movies and the now more prevalent incidences of school shootings. I content that the movies didn't make the kids violent; they were already that way and probably should have had help beforehand.
There should be a warning on the bill. by Hentes · 2012-03-20 10:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

[citation needed]
Video games don't cause violence. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 10:52 · Score: 0, Insightful

The violent nature of humans causes violence.
Re:Someone thinking of the Children. by The+Archon+V2.0 · 2012-03-20 10:53 · Score: 4, Insightful

Thank FSM someone is finally thinking of the children!
And their parents' votes!
News? by funkatron · 2012-03-20 11:11 · Score: 3, Insightful

Two liars lied. Big fucking deal.

--
"Welcome to our world. We are the wasted youth. And we are the future too." Yes, I know these are stupid lyrics.
Re:ooh it's bipartisan!! by gman003 · 2012-03-20 11:24 · Score: 3, Insightful

Doom? Try Mario. Yes, under this bill, every Mario game would get a big scary "CAUSES VIOLENCE" sticker on it. Same for Sonic, or Tetris, or Oregon Trail, or Pong. Same for such nightmarish gore-fests as "Junior Classic Games" (a compilation of checkers, backgammon, etc.), "Nicktoons MLB 3D" (a Nickelodeon-themed basketball game), "Imagine Babyz" (a child-care simulator), "Microsoft Flight" (a flight sim), and "Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster " (a Sesame Street game - need I say more?).
The "E" rating means "Everyone". To quote the ESRB, "Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language."
Apparently they need to amend that to "suitable for ages 6 and older who are not elected officials or otherwise mentally handicapped".
All congressmen cause violent behavior, by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 11:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

All Congressman cause violent behavior, says 2 video game players.
---Fixed it
Linked by whom? by chrismcb · 2012-03-20 12:30 · Score: 3, Insightful

Link to violence? By whom? Some quack? Can anyone go around linking cause and effect? As far as I know, no study has conclusively linked violence to video games. And a few have shown the exact opposite, in that violent video games give people an outlet to vent.
Interesting Facts about Rep. Frank Wolf by Salgak1 · 2012-03-20 12:34 · Score: 5, Insightful

He was first elected in 1982, promising to retire from the Congress after 6 terms. That would have been 1994. He's still there, 18 years, and 9 terms after he'd pledged to retire. So much for his word. His OTHER interests are Tibet, Stopping Internet Gambling, and pork (in the form of road construction funding for his district). How do I know this ? I'm a citizen of Virginia's Tenth Congressional District. Somebody: Dems, Greens, Libertarians, Tea Party: PLEASE run someone to replace this clown...
Re:They are wrong! by lightknight · 2012-03-20 13:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

And I've watched Japanese anime filled with all sorts of what would be considered violence and sexual perversion.
As a result, I am more prone, than in time's past, to take a quiet moment of reflection before condemning someone.

--
I am John Hurt.
Re:Someone thinking of the Children. by Pseudonym+Authority · 2012-03-20 13:43 · Score: 3, Insightful

Video games cause pedophilia too?
Touhou might.
Huh? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-20 13:58 · Score: 2, Insightful

Whoever said anything about politicians being the best?
They are just well-connected, wealthy, and power-hungry. That is the basic recipe of a politician. The rest is just details.