Survey Calls Kids Who Play Games "Little Brats"

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Survey Calls Kids Who Play Games "Little Brats"



Parents of kids were asked to rate their children after playing games as "ignorant zombies" or "aloof."

I'm sure that there are a bunch of parents out there who believe that their child's brain is now mush from having played too many dang videogames. Hell, I think my parents thought the same thing even back in the 80s. But it's another thing for a company to conduct a survey with such loaded adjectives as "unreasonable," "aloof" and "angry" and try to pass it off as truth. But that's exactly what a survey that was apparently conducted by the owners of the Warwick Castle's attraction in the U.K. did in order to convince parents to buy tickets for their new Dragon's Tower, which ties into the BBC series Merlin. The Dragon's Tower launches on April 14th.

"This will be an exceptional visitor attraction, completely in keeping with our reputation as Britain's ultimate castle and designed to wow visitors young and old," said Tim Harrison-Jones, General Manager of Warwick Castle.

The problem is the survey, which asked 2000 parents about their children's behaviors after playing even a half hour of videogames. The children were all aged between seven and fifteen years old.

Here are some of the findings of the survey:

6 out of 10 parents limit game playing because of the effect it has on their children.
3 out of 10 said that they witnessed a change in behavior after the children played games.
4 in 10 said that it was hard to get them to do "anything."
1 in 4 said their children became "ignorant zombies."
1 in 5 said their children became "little brats."
28 percent claimed that their children became "lethargic."
49 percent claimed that their children became "unreasonable."
1 in 6 said that their children became "aloof."


"A large percentage of youngsters stick themselves in front of games consoles at every opportunity and for a long period of time," a spokesman from Warwick Castle said. "This is contributing to few kids playing outdoors, getting fresh air and it's impacting on their school work and creativity."

Even if all of this were true, is the answer really to go to a castle and pretend that you are a knight for a few hours? ... Wait a second, this Warwick Castle place looks pretty cool [http://www.warwick-castle.com/warwick-castle.aspx?menu_id=22&menu_option=1]. Maybe I should shut up and cooperate with them and the Daily Record to get these parents to take their kids to the Dragon Tower.

It sure beats going to a football match, amirite?

Source: Daily Record [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/2011/04/11/too-much-computer-gaming-will-turn-your-kids-into-ignorant-zombies-study-says-86908-23053791/]

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Rayne870

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Nov 28, 2010
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Parents do have to realized they need to be involved with their children and keep an eye on this stuff. kids don't play with sticks and dirt enough these days.
 

Seives-Sliver

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Jun 25, 2008
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Ha! I honestly think that videogames have the same impact as playing outside and doing other activities, a child that plays outside is also likely to think work, chores, and being obediant is fun, while a child that plays videogames see that being forced away from their game to do some task a parent gave them for no pay or rewards is dull and they wouldn't want to cooperate. I would go as far as to say that some children that play videogames will do better in real life than the ones outside, they realize that life sucks and that they need to try hard to make everything better, but the flipside is all the arguments that come with that, such as them becoming 30-something year olds that still live with their parents and whatnot.
 

antipunt

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Jan 3, 2009
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That hawk in the video is clearly attacking the children.

Doesn't anyone CARE?

D:
 

Telasro

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Apr 29, 2010
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49% claimed their children were "unreasonable"??? Have you been around ANY children in your life? Gaming has nothing to do with that, young kids are naturally unreasonable (for the most part) and blaming it on video games is probably the stupidest thing I have ever heard of...
 

GiantRaven

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Dec 5, 2010
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I bet you could put a child in front of a television playing kids TV and get those same kinds of stats.

edit: Also, if this is your method of advertising your attraction, essentially slandering your competition, then you come across as quite petty in my book.
 

manythings

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Nov 7, 2009
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What is a change in behaviour? How is that something to automatically consider bad?

A lot of kids love to go out and play usually with THEIR FUCKING PARENTS but they are too busy watching tv to bother.
 

Nickolai77

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Apr 3, 2009
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Ah, Warwick Castle's tower. When i went they had it as a haunted tower, and it was pretty awesome- scary too i should add. About 2/3rds of the people whom went in left early because of it. They also have a trebuchet there, which i've seen them shoot. (They only throw the stone 300m though, probably for safety reasons.)

Anyhow- i can see the business rationale behind getting parents worried about kids spending too much time on video games as a means of getting the parents to spend money at Warwick castle...that's business for you though.
 

RatRace123

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Dec 1, 2009
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I'm sure that children who are "little brats" after playing games were exactly the same before even picking up a controller.
Kids aren't perfect little angels who become twisted and evil and stupid after playing games; they just naturally act that way, it's part of being a kid.
 

Kyogissun

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Jan 12, 2010
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>Do survey about kids playing vidya gayums
>Be an unofficial and non-scientific source for the study
>Claim credible findings
>????
>PROFIT!!

I mean it's really sad and pathetic that this place thinks it needs to pointlessly target video games. Oh and let me be clear, THEY WERE ASKING PARENTS TO OBSERVE BEHAVIOR WE'RE ALREADY AWARE OF.

Leave it to these guys to think that this 'survey' was necessary. It just shows that the 'majority' of children easily succumb to the appeal of video games and, being children themselves, are unable to control their desires to play said video games. So... parents need to go to their child and 'pull' them away from the games. THEN if they don't cooperate, you take matters into your own hands and cut them off physically.
 

Zechnophobe

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Feb 4, 2010
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Ohh yeah, this sounds like a great study all right. Poorly worded questions? No control? Obvious market bias? What could go wrong!
 

disfunkybob

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Sep 9, 2008
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Solution to problem: force your kids to stop playing their beloved video games and make them watch BBC's Merlin. Then as an additional punishment, take them to the place that convinced their parents to take away their beloved video games.

Later the parents realize the folly of their ways, finding out that their kids are jackoffs and video games were the only thing keeping them out of their hair. Remember back then? Yeah, life wasn't a complete nightmare back then.
 

Harveypot

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Feb 20, 2011
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What the fuck have kid's reactions to games got to do with Merlin and towers?! Why did they think that would help? I don't know many people who would say: 'Right. You can't play games. What can you do? I know! Go to a castle!'

The Fuck?
 

SteewpidZombie

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Dec 31, 2010
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Wow, and I thought that always getting sent to my room and told to shutup and watch TV as a child were my parent's fault...NOPE! I'm apparently just a mindless zombie who chose to stay in his room because I had the gall to actually get sent there by my abusive father who wouldn't let me play outside with my friend's. Gee Wiz, that sure turned around my whole view of video games. I guess now I should go out and visit a f**king castle while acting like a knight for several hours! OH! What fun I'll have being laughed at by the rest of my peers and made to feel a outcast! All thanks to that wonderful survey for turning my life around!
 

MisterM2402

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Nov 19, 2009
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The parents are just trying to shift the blame from "bad parenting" to something else.

Also, Warwick Castle isn't as badass as the ad says - I've been there and it's just "OK", I guess.
 

bl4ckh4wk64

Walking Mass Effect Codex
Jun 11, 2010
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Yay! Politics have come to entertainment!! Seriously, I would have hoped that the whole "degrade that other party" would have stayed in politics, but I'm afraid I was hoping for too much.