"Video Game Addiction" to be Forum Topic at Sandy Hook School District

[BlameTheWizards]

"Video Game Addiction" to be Forum Topic at Sandy Hook School District

Connecticut's Newtown Public Schools district, the site of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, will feature the parent forum on video game addiction as part of a series sponsored by the Newtown Recovery Project.

A parent forum on video game addiction will be held next week in Newtown, Connecticut, the site of the infamous Sandy Hook shootings in December 2012 that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, as well as the shooter Adam Lanza. The event is part of an ongoing series of forums hosted by the Newtown Recovery Project, set up in the wake of the tragic killings.

According to the Newtown Bee, the April 24 forum "will provide information on the definition and criteria for video game addiction, the psychology of video game addiction, signs a child may need help, what makes them so addicting, negative consequences of gaming addiction (physical, social, etc) and treatment."

The forum will be presented twice, once during the school day at 10 a.m. at Newtown's Hawley Elementary School and a second time at the school at 6 p.m. Another parent forum will be held the day before, April 23, titled "Springtime Stress Management."

It's worth noting that an official report on the motives behind the Sandy Hook shootings <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129971-Sandy-Hook-Final-Report-Finds-No-Link-With-Games>found no links with video games.

Before you comment, please realize that Newtown is still a community going through a healing process and is likely still trying to find answers to why this shooting happened. It's safe to say that most of us have never been affected by an event as horrific as a school shooting and while video games do often get an unfair rap for being the cause of such violence let's try to be respectful while discussing the matter.


Source: <a href=http://www.newtownbee.com/news/news-education/2014/04/18/newtown-recovery-project-sets-next-parent-forums-s/201024>The Newtown Bee via <a href=http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/18/5627928/newtown-video-game-addiction-forum>Polygon

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[SilverStuddedSquirre]

This may be a great time for us Gamers to take one on the chin. Grieving people need to wail and pound against somebody's chest until the tears stop. Let's just let them and maybe give a hug afterwards.

We know Games aren't the cause of these tragedies, but rather something within a person which we cannot know anything about.
There is now a continuously growing set of scientific studies showing there are no links to Video games in these situations.
Gangster Rap managed to weather the storm, we can too.

 

[marioandsonic]

This may be a great time for us Gamers to take one on the chin. Grieving people need to wail and pound against somebody's chest until the tears stop. Let's just let them and maybe give a hug afterwards.

We know Games aren't the cause of these tragedies, but rather something within a person which we cannot know anything about. There is now a continuously growing set of scientific studies showing there are no links to Video games in these situations. Gangster Rap managed to weather the storm, we can too.

As long as they don't try to start any kind of anti-video game crusade, sure.

Still, I hope they at least have someone from the gaming industry there to give their say on the matter.

 

[ASnogarD]

I would of thought having a discussion about the dangers of guns would be more useful, and while its ok to say let them use gaming as a scapegoat to escape the horror of that event, it does not actually sort out the real issue.
Its like popping painkillers to remove the pain of a broken leg, and still walking about on it rather than addressing the leg, treating the symptoms but failing to sort out the cause.

 

[the7ofswords]

Anything to avoid dealing with the real issues behind this tragedy! (i.e., Things like the lack of decent mental health care or the easy availability of deadly weapons.)

I know this isn't a real threat to the gaming community, but Jebus! When are we going to stop going for easy targets and start at least looking at some of the underlying problems?

 

[GoddyofAus]

You wanna talk about patterns of behavior. How about funneling peoples grief into a laser to pursue a certain agenda.

 

[SilverStuddedSquirre]

Anything to avoid dealing with the real issues behind this tragedy! (i.e., Things like the lack of decent mental health care or the easy availability of deadly weapons.)

I know this isn't a real threat to the gaming community, but Jebus! When are we going to stop going for easy targets and start at least looking at some of the underlying problems?

I would of thought having a discussion about the dangers of guns would be more useful, and while its ok to say let them use gaming as a scapegoat to escape the horror of that event, it does not actually sort out the real issue.
Its like popping painkillers to remove the pain of a broken leg, and still walking about on it rather than addressing the leg, treating the symptoms but failing to sort out the cause.

I absolutely agree with you. These tragedies will occur less when people dissect the true causes, rather than looking for a scapegoat. It's also important to acknowledge that damaged individuals get born, and while to call them a ticking time bomb is a massive oversimplification, it is true to an extent. While an argument could be made that such violence would still occur, just with a different weapon, I submit that it would occur with less frequency for the following reason:

Guns are just TOO easy. You literally push a button to kill. It takes a MUCH deeper commitment to do violence with your hands, or even a club or knife. Also much harder to kill many people in a short span of time.

I don't know what the solution is, other than do a better job of locking up your guns.

 

[marioandsonic]

Anything to avoid dealing with the real issues behind this tragedy! (i.e., Things like the lack of decent mental health care or the easy availability of deadly weapons.)

I know this isn't a real threat to the gaming community, but Jebus! When are we going to stop going for easy targets and start at least looking at some of the underlying problems?

I would of thought having a discussion about the dangers of guns would be more useful, and while its ok to say let them use gaming as a scapegoat to escape the horror of that event, it does not actually sort out the real issue.
Its like popping painkillers to remove the pain of a broken leg, and still walking about on it rather than addressing the leg, treating the symptoms but failing to sort out the cause.

I absolutely agree with you. These tragedies will occur less when people dissect the true causes, rather than looking for a scapegoat. It's also important to acknowledge that damaged individuals get born, and while to call them a ticking time bomb is a massive oversimplification, it is true to an extent. While an argument could be made that such violence would still occur, just with a different weapon, I submit that it would occur with less frequency for the following reason:

Guns are just TOO easy. You literally push a button to kill. It takes a MUCH deeper commitment to do violence with your hands, or even a club or knife. Also much harder to kill many people in a short span of time.

I don't know what the solution is, other than do a better job of locking up your guns.

For parents that own guns and don't want their kids near them, this is absolutely the best solution. Put them in a safe or a vault, give it a combination that only you would know, and check it every so often to make sure no one gets in there.

 

[Callate]

Grieving is an explanation, not an excuse. Calling video games an "addiction" amounts to engaging in pseudoscience to equate engaging in an entertainment medium with drug use.

It's all well and good to empathize with people who lose a family member to the Black Plague; that empathy doesn't mean you're somehow obligated to accept their need to burn witches.

 

[shadowmagus]

Blaming video games (music, tv, etc) isn't the answer.

Stricter gun control isn't the answer.

Providing an actual way to diagnose and combat mental illness, rather then treat it like something to be ashamed of and not properly fund it.

 

[Karadalis]

They should rather hold a convention about how to not alienate kids into becomming extreme outsiders and how to stop bullying. This here just tries to find solutions to problems that had little to nothing to do with the shooting. Healing process or not, blaming the wrong thing only leads to repeated mistakes. They have to face the fact that everyone looked the other way as those two descended into the depths of violence and that no one saw or wanted to see the warning signs go off. Blaming video games is just an easy copout to a much more complicated social problem and makes people feel good about themselves cause they dont have to ask themselves if they themselves could have done something different to prevent the tragedy.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

What you need to stop doing is searching for answers in insanity. Never ask why a crazy person does the things they do. It doesn't make sense, that's why we call it crazy. How long has it been since Columbine? Do we even understand why they did what they did? One was depressed and one was probably a sociopath, but that still doesn't explain their actions.

While videogame addiction sure as hell is a thing, it's fairly rare and doesn't normally spawn anything worse than used bedpans, poor hygiene, and the cavalcade of problems that go along with agoraphobia.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm sorry, but while denial may be part of the grieving process it is not healthy to live in denial. Allowing them to pick a scapegoat for their frustrations and grief over this tragedy is not the way to go about things. That grief and frustration simply gets converted into anger and support for a false cause. If the forum was about educating parents on video games and teaching them that the majority of studies done on the subject have not found any distinct link between games and real life violence, then I'm all for it. But this forum - based on the description in the article - seems to be condemning video games as a dangerous form of recreation.

I do not deny that game addiction exists and that parents should be careful to make sure that what's meant to be a recreational activity does not turn into an addiction. However in this context all they're doing is looking to blame something, and as usual the blame falls on an easy target such as video games.

God forbid we, you know, blame the terrible person that committed the crime. No, it couldn't be that individual's fault, something MADE that person commit such a heinous act. But I suppose it's just not as satisfying to blame a cold blooded psychotic killer when that killer is already dead. After all, we still need someone/something to punish, damnit!

So lets blame the games that he played, lets blame the guns that he used, lets blame the car that he drove, lets blame the shoes he was wearing, lets blame the real estate agent that sold the house that he and his mother lived in, lets blame the universe which created the elements that formed the earth which we humans mined for resources to convert into said guns and ammunition. Lets blame everything else we possibly can except for the single fucked up individual who committed a fucked up, horrific crime.

I'm sorry if this comes across as disrespectful to those that are grieving, but I'd rather be seen as being disrespectful than to just sit by with the excuse of "Oh well they're still grieving" and let another group of people become fixated on a false assumption/conclusion just because they want something to throw their anger at over this tragic event.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I know this isn't a real threat to the gaming community, but Jebus! When are we going to stop going for easy targets and start at least looking at some of the underlying problems?

When people are motivated enough to go looking at them. People go for easy targets because they are easy.

That said, there's no obvious link between this and shootings. Videogame addiction is a thing, it's just not as much of a concern to people involved as being murdered. A lot of gamers will want to condemn anyone talking about games in a way they don't like into someone taking the easy way out and blaming games for everything instead of looking at the issue because it's the easy way out and allows them to avoid looking at the issue.

 

[omega 616]

I know I am going to get quoted out the wazoo for this but please, save both our time and just don't.

This obviously just a scapegoat, nobody is disputing that. What I see to be the real problem is all to do with how America is set up. Mental health and health in general is based on if you can afford it and not if you need it "'cos giving to the needy makes you a commy pig!". Treating mental health should be more than "here, take these pills" ... it should also be diagnosed properly, is that kid really depressed or just a loner? If he is depressed, how about getting him to exercise (shown to help with depression) or do some voluntary work (made me feel SO much better), instead of cramming pills down him. Does he actually have ADHD or ADD or is he just an ass hole? Does the kid getting bullied need some people who are like him, so he can get some confidence or just have somebody to talk to.

Secondly and this is where I will quoted out the ass. Stop with the guns! Jesus, how do you stop people getting shot? Stop people having guns! Not only will public places getting shot up stop, no more drug wars and no more cops shooting kids with wii motes or going for wallets/phones.

I don't even understand how guns help you! Gun safety people say "guns should be locked up in a gun safe" but if you get robbed and you're in the house, how are you going to defend yourself with a gun? IT'S IN A SAFE! "excuse me Mr. Robber, I am just going to get my gun" ... "oh, yeah, no worries ... take your time dude, no rush!".

Obligatory videos


People in the UK have guns to deal with pests on the land, I think American's should have the same deal. If you live in an area where bears or some shit is a risk, then of course allow them to have something.

As gangs, you know where they live, raid the shit out of them. Instead of spending billions on "bringing freedom" to other countries ... spend a few billion on internal affairs! How about restoring Detroit? Instead of leaving it as an eye sore, make something of it! Do a cars on that ************, a once busy town turned hick town ... try spending the cost of a missile armament on a single aircraft to give the people something, instead of "I'm, not spending money their! It will go to waste!".

 

[SilverStuddedSquirre]

God forbid we, you know, blame the terrible person that committed the crime. No, it couldn't be that individual's fault, something MADE that person commit such a heinous act. But I suppose it's just not as satisfying to blame a cold blooded psychotic killer when that killer is already dead. After all, we still need someone/something to punish, damnit!

So lets blame the games that he played, lets blame the guns that he used, lets blame the car that he drove, lets blame the shoes he was wearing, lets blame the real estate agent that sold the house that he and his mother lived in, lets blame the universe which created the elements that formed the earth which we humans mined for resources to convert into said guns and ammunition. Lets blame everything else we possibly can except for the single fucked up individual who committed a fucked up, horrific crime.

You have NO idea how much I agree with this. The biggest problem with any case like this is "Not MY Baby!"

Most parents react with borderline psychopathic rage if you even tell them their child is impolite, let alone say engaging in bullying or worse behavior. I can only imagine how difficult is is to realize your child is being a Douchebag, but that's why PARENTING exists. You are supposed to learn HOW your kid is being a poor human being, and teach them to do better.

Also just a little question to the parents:

If you bought them the game in the first place, why did you not watch your child playing a few times and see if he was able to handle the content? Should you not have noticed SOME signs of unhealthy behavior if you want so badly to blame the Games?

 

[FalloutJack]

This may be a great time for us Gamers to take one on the chin. Grieving people need to wail and pound against somebody's chest until the tears stop. Let's just let them and maybe give a hug afterwards.

We know Games aren't the cause of these tragedies, but rather something within a person which we cannot know anything about.
There is now a continuously growing set of scientific studies showing there are no links to Video games in these situations.
Gangster Rap managed to weather the storm, we can too.

We're not suppose to weather the storm. Grieving and yelling is one thing, but this is a waste of time and energy. They would feel alot better if they jammed both thumbs down on the actual cause than us.

 

[ecoho]

This may be a great time for us Gamers to take one on the chin. Grieving people need to wail and pound against somebody's chest until the tears stop. Let's just let them and maybe give a hug afterwards.

We know Games aren't the cause of these tragedies, but rather something within a person which we cannot know anything about. There is now a continuously growing set of scientific studies showing there are no links to Video games in these situations. Gangster Rap managed to weather the storm, we can too.

As long as they don't try to start any kind of anti-video game crusade, sure.

Still, I hope they at least have someone from the gaming industry there to give their say on the matter.

my thought's exactly, im all for letting them work this out and using us as a punching bag to do so but the second they decide Games are the problem for this all! let stop them! then is the time I officially wont care what they went through.