Video Game Health Warnings Coming? Congressman Would Like To See It

[The Straight Story]

Video Game Health Warnings Coming? Congressman Would Like To See It

Democratic Congressman Joe Baca -- that's his smiling mug to the right -- would like to introduce a health warning label to video games. He introduced the "Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2011," that would mandates that "all video games with an Electronics Software Ratings Board rating of Teen or higher" must be sold with a health warning label that reads: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

If you're a Republican who's firing up your comment finger to post something like: "See? Demo-RATS want to take ur gamez!!", don't bother. The bill is being co-signed by Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican, who says...

"Just as we warn smokers of the health consequences of tobacco, we should warn parents – and children -- about the growing scientific evidence demonstrating a relationship between violent video games and violent behavior," Wolf said. "As a parent and grandparent, I think it is important people know everything they can about the extremely violent nature of some of these games."



Read more: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/709993/video-game-health-warnings-coming-congressman-would-like-to-see-it.html#ixzz1CAe9LodW

[dkofos]

1. Another go no where waste of time

[Sonoman]

2. I wish they would do away with them altogether.

I see all of these pudgy teens and wish they were all out playing ball, chasing chicks, smoking pot and drinking.

Nothing good could possibly come from those idiot games. They won't make anyone stronger or smarter.

Anyway, that's my opinion.

Sonoman

[OhioChick]

6. Surgeons, maybe...

Gamers make better surgeons, study says

According to a new study published in the Archives of Surgery, surgeons who put in their downtime playing video games proved to have considerably higher surgical skills than their non-gamer co-workers, in particular when it came to laparoscopic surgery, which involves manipulating instruments while staring at a monitor. While the study is far from authoritative, with only 33 surgeons participating in it, it nonetheless found that those who played video games for at least three hours a week performed 27 percent faster, made 37 percent fewer errors, and scored 42 percent better in surgical tests than those who had not played video games. The correlation between video games and surgical skills was apparently so high that it proved to be an even greater indicator of performance than either the length of an individual's surgical training or their prior experience with laporscopic surgery. No word if those that snuck in some extra practice in Trauma Center on their DS had an even bigger advantage.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/20/gamers-make-better-surgeons-study-says/

[Arkana]

7. Why exactly do they have to have a higher purpose?

They're fun.

That's it. They're a harmless diversion. They're no different from any other hobby.

[Drale]

13. Your parents or grandparents said the same thing about

Rock and Roll and Comic books back in the day. You can not judge something you don't understand at all.
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/709993/Video-Game-Health-Warnings-Coming-Congressman-Would-Like-To-See-It.html
Read that article and you'll see that there is a correlation between the fall of violent crimes and the rise of so called "violent" video games.

[gratuitous]

3. They could enforce the rating system in place

We did a little store auditing on behalf of Christian Peacemaker Teams. Is it really that tough for the game stores to put the kiddie games at eye level for the kiddies, and put games like Dead Space 2 higher on the rack? From the reaction we got from the store clerks, you'd have thought this was Lexington and Concord all over again. The absolute worst reception we got was from K Mart, which absolutely forbade us to look at their toy displays. We did anyway, and offered some pointers for them as we were being escorted from the premises.

[DainBramaged]

12. The PARENTS buy the games for the kids so all is for naught

Mom, pick me up DKM III when you go shopping please, it's only $50 on sale today..... (Death, Kill, Murder, a fictional game). So Mom asks for DKMIII and not bothering to read the package, brings it home for little Johnny and any and all controls are for naught.

Putting a fucking warning label on a video game isn't going to do squat. It's all a game, isn't it......these are the same kids who throw Europa Universalis into the fireplace......

[gratuitous]

15. I wasn't talking about parents who serve as little more than personal valets

That's kind of a different subject.

[DainBramaged]

20. It's still a huge part of the problem

and if stores and manufacturers were truly concerned about how they marketed to kids, they'd start at the parents.

[somone]

4. How about Blackberry thumb

[Arkana]

5. That's absolutely not fucking true, and anyone with a brain knows it.

Millions of people play violent video games and are smart enough (and sane enough) to be able to separate games from reality.

I should know, I'm one of them.

[DJ13]

8. I'd like to catch him in a dark alley

Now excuse me, I have to get back to killing space aliens.

[gatorboy]

9. I'm surprised there's no video game lobby.

They make billions. Time to get those guys in DC.

[Drale]

14. There are you just don't here about them

The ESRB was created because of congressional hearing in the 90's. The fact is there is already a system in place to inform people about game content and if the parents of kids are to stupid to read the ESRB rating, they probably blindly vote republican as well.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. What? No health warning labels on Rush Limbaugh's show?

Or Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sarah Palin, et. al- when it's been convincingly established that some people are listening to them and then running out and killing OB-GYNs that perform abortions, trying to attack obscure left-wing think tanks, and sending death threats to elderly left-wing Professors?

I personally think it's important that people know everything they can about the extremely violent nature of some of these TV/Radio *personalities* and the relationship between their hateful rhetoric and violent behavior.

[JonLP24]

11. As long as they include a label that shooter games

improve decision making.

[AsahinaKimi]

16. THERES A SWITCH

Put warning labels on Violent games but WHO PUTS THE WARNING LABEL on violent Speech like GLENN BECK?

[name not needed]

17. Oh for fuck's sake.

[Odin2005]

18. Idiot moralists pushing junk science.

[Ladyhawk]

19. WARNING: Video games increase hand / eye coordination and decision-making skills

I'd like to see a statistic: the percentage of those who play violent video games who then act on violent impulses. I bet it's statistically insignificant.

(I play violent video games. I could snap at any moment.)

[TK421]

21. yet ANOTHER burning issue to go after....can I get some real fucking leaders, please?

jesusfuckingchrist