Step Away From The Controller

[hortez the champion of the frozen wastes]

Obama has alienated himself from the gamer crowd by repeatedly suggesting that too much button-mashing is making the kids these days fat, lazy and stupid.

I think this reporter must have misheard Mr. Obama. Because he later suggests that Obama isn't saying that gaming is making people stupid, but merely suggesting we don't do it as much. Due to the above I have the lost the last of my respect for the president.

 

[hortez the champion of the frozen wastes]

I don't really agree with this article... I mean, yes, obesity and poor health choices, along with kids spending hours of time devoted to a videogame character probably isn't the most wonderful thing of all, but it's certainly not the worst.

I agree that to some extent; kids should be active and have normal social lives. However, it's not easy by any means for kids to meet someone who has similar interests and the like if it doesn't involve some sort of video game. The term "gamer" has broadened and even become an umbrella for new sub-cliques like casual and hardcore gamers. Heck, even MMO fans of a feather stick together, and the FPS crowd will always be chatting it up about that amazing frag they got last night.

I speak as a person whom Obama is trying to jettison into the real world with only a handful of D&D manuals and a few dice as protection from the hordes of humanity. Am I particularly healthy? Actually, yes. Aside from procrastination, I've been able to easily breeze through high school, oftentimes calling on knowledge I learned from the very games that nurtured me through my youth when I was the kid everybody picked on and hated "just because".

My real-life buddies are very much alike, and it's not really our fault. We do try and get out to experience the world, but every attempt we make at getting into a party scene, or going outside to play sports, it crumbles into the same old prejudice of the First-Grade playground. We're outcasts, so we turn to one another. Because we aren't common, we connect with people online because they share the same stories as we do, and it's nice to know that you're not the only person who happens to be on this miserable little world who had their school bully beat the snot out of them just for existing.

Sure, you can send kids out to go play and the like, but chances are if they've already gotten into gaming, they're more likely to sit on the sidelines and end up chatting about their favorite titles and epic stories of pwn than to be called into the game without a roll of the eyes or an exasperated sigh that "that kid" has to be on their team.

I guarantee you that anybody who's been through what I've described probably feels the same way I do: an underlying hatred for humanity because you've become the outcast for no other reason for existing, and that videogames are a place for them to escape and live out their fantasies because the harsh reality of the world... well, sucks!

I agree that kids need to do their work and that they should at least try to keep themselves healthy enough that they don't risk having a heart attack at age 30, or a waistline of triple digits. I agree that having a close social network of friends is a wonderful thing. However, there's no say that you can't do these things alongside, or even through videogames. Brain Age, Wii Fit, My [insert subject here] Coach, and even to a lesser extent, Guitar Hero and Rock Band all have at least tried to get gamers out of their reclusive shells and into being more healthy and not speaking 1337 to the manager of the job you're applying for. They didn't exactly fail, either. It also opened a window for the old bullies and bigots that shoved us around to see what gaming really was; something beautiful and artistic, a free expression of oneself through a virtual medium. Well, in some games at least... you know what I mean.

My point is: we shouldn't force kids out into the world expecting they'll pick up a football and become the next John Elway. It's simply not going to happen. Supporting a healthy lifestyle is great and all, but name one insecure, overweight teenager who will WILLINGLY walk into a gym and struggle with a fourth of his weight on the bench press.

Sorry if I sound like I'm ranting here, but this is why the fat, nerdy gamer image was made. It's hard to let go of something where you feel you belong.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh here, but don't u think you are blaming everyone else for your problems?

"I guarantee you that anybody who's been through what I've described probably feels the same way I do: an underlying hatred for humanity because you've become the outcast for no other reason for existing, and that videogames are a place for them to escape and live out their fantasies because the harsh reality of the world... well, sucks!"

Wow,I think we should all get a grip and face challenges of life like any other human being. My point is, whether you are a nerd or not,a school kid or a full grown man working in a company, a pauper in the slums or a heiress with a silver spoon in your mouth, there will always be bullies and bigots and jackasses who will want to make your life miserable because they can. Its up to you to decide whether you allow them or not, and not use gaming as a cry teddy, period.

All the more reason why kids should get of their pale bums and go out. Like many have said here: Moderation is key.

You clearly did not understand his post at all.

 

[Gerazzi]

Yeah...
I don't like where this is going.
I'm going to buy a small island from the U.S. and set up my own government there, who's with me?

 

[insanejigsaw]

Yeah...
I don't like where this is going.
I'm going to buy a small island from the U.S. and set up my own government there, who's with me?

ME and i dont care until they put the ban on some games

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

I talked with a few older teachers about Obama and the same idea popped up with them. A bunch of new age style teaching where everybody wins and no one loses and the loss of workshop classes{woodworking, metalworking, etc} in the elementary to high school has created a serious problem for America. There is still some schools across America that still has those type of shops and they seem to create a better student than kids who went through schools that only had one written test after another. In one the student can create something and acquire skills that is useful in the outside world and in the other the student can learn how to be goth through Edgar Allen Poe.

A bunch of technical schools in NY closed their engineering classes due attendance problems. It is like no one has the motivation to do anything other than the medical, lawyers, accounting or sit in front of a computer all day. The mayor of NYC has made it a requirement for kids to graduate public schools to participate in community service {never-mind that half of us know how to cheat our way through that just like how we can cheat our way through reading comprehension tests and still being unable to read past an preschool level}. I understand the approach that he and the president is trying to reach but I don't think it's enough.

I know of a technical college that had to alter one of their basic tool understanding courses to fit in the "comprehension of rulers." Kids leaving high school were unable to read a rulers, or even understand basic geometry to pass basic technical courses that barely changed since the fifties. This college had to add to their curriculum basic math, reading & writing courses because the caliber of students they were receiving from high school dropped as the years went by. Half of the older teachers here blame the Baby Boomer generation for creating this mess. Forcing kids to participate in community service might combat this, by instilling in them to do other things than to sit a home and acquire the useless skill of sniping an pixelated enemy across the map while jumping off a ledge.

 

[robinkom]

He's right, of course. And I concur with many previous replies as well that this "Lost Generation" has grown up in this incredibly wired (and wireless) world with all kinds of info and generally are a lot of aware of things they shouldn't be thinking about yet (a lot more than I was at that age anyhow).

When I was a kid, video games only tended to fuel my creativity and imagination. On the playground, I and the other kids would role play as the characters from them... Mario, Pac-Man, etc. I wasn't pants-on-head retarded like some children a lot later on that would mimic games like Mortal Kombat and actually hurt someone. Just good clean make-believe and a lot of chasing one another. We got out activity in, everything was kosher.

There was no internet, no cell phones, no MP3 players, just healthy non-dehumanizing social interaction. There was no online-multiplayer, you wanted to play a complete stranger, you went to the Arcade for your head-to-head competition and to maybe knock a few of those High Scores down to make room for yours.

 

[Aptspire]

I'm not fat, lazy and stupid. I'm just lazy and stupid
Big difference ;-)

 

[Jenx]

I'm as gamer as much as the next nerd, even more in some regards. (For example I don't spend that much time into gaming, yet I still play weird and complex games like roguelikes)....and I absolutely fucking agree with Obama! I feel sick when I see kids doing nothing but wasting their time in WoW or GTA. Fuck it when I was a kid we had to use our fucking imagination and THAT is what got me into gaming in the first place.

 

[Jumplion]

THANK YOU Malygris! I do not understand why people are grasping and snarling at this one aspect of what Obama has been saying. People are jumping the gun so early on some of that stuff that they end up crashing through the window behind the gun. How many times have you heard your parents say "Get off the damn TV and move your ass!" or "Quit your stereo crap and come with us to grandma!" or "Stop with your gameboys, we have a roof to shingle!"? A lot of the damn time.

Obama is just using "video games" as a broad term for entertainment. He is absolutely right when he says "Put down the controller, it'll be there when you get back", there's nothing wrong with doing less video games and getting more active. Too much of anything can be harmful, and video games are no exception, and it's so annoying to see everyone's knee-jerk reaction be "OMG HE TEH AGAINZT GAEMZ!@#!" because he's right. And don't you dare make this into a political thread, it doesn't matter who says it.

 

[FinalHeart95]

snip

Well yes and no, honestly i think that as a gaming community we tend to hype up if not embellish all the "blame video games" stories that come out, maybe cos we normally get so little attention. Are games the scapegoat? Its possible, though thats not to say other negative factors havent been brough up ad nauseam such as fast food and lack of physical education in schools. As for the family thing, i clearly remember Obama making points geared towards strengthening the family nucleus. Sure we arent the only country with the obesity problem, but, like everything else our actions are magnified on the world scale because we pride ourselves in being the most important country. Yes this issue has many sides to it and tackling just one wont solve the problem. Honestly though the rest is up to the individual. It should be enough that we get a warning about the state of our children, the rest is up to the parents (both of them).

This, and also games are more relevant these days than say television or music. You have a better chance of finding a kid playing his xbox rather than watching TV or listening to music. That's just the way it is.

 

[similar.squirrel]

I agree wholeheartedly.
I doubt games companies care much about the well-being of their consumer-base, aside from the mandatory epilepsy warning screen.

 

[BoilingLeadBath]

To paraphrase some things, and then address them:

1) "Sedentary recreational activities, in excess, cause obesity"

In theory, yes, in practice, no; exercise does increase metabolic needs (both directly and through the requirements needed to support the increased muscle mass)... yet, though we get more exercise in recent times than 40 years ago (this is well established), our obesity rate is higher. Thermodynamically, the only explanation would be increased consumption - which, again, is well supported.
It's not surprising that a society that likes to blame the dopamine-agonists (cocaine, nicotine, opiates, amphetamines, in roughly that order) for the addiction has something of an unbreakable addiction with a powerful dopaminergic drug, quickly metabolized food, but it is the problem.

2) "We can crackdown on gangs effectively"

Well, yeah, China showed us this... then again, and this is a false dichotomy, I think I'd prefer the gangs to what China had to do.
(Far more effective methods are available, (think "defunding") but we'll have to wait a while for the downfall of the economy to make them attractive...)

3) "We can eliminate the gangs by separating them from the host"

Propose specific programs so we can laugh at them.

4) "Women are identical to men!"

Yeah, whatever... fathers having a significant role in raising children, beyond contributing genes, is about as young as the Holocene. That's a mere 10,000 years or so for evolutionary pressures to teach men parenting skills, although they had an advantage (serial monogamy being closer to the goal than any of the r-type mating strategies)

And, guess what - there are significant aptitude differences between men and women.
I don't get it anyways... effective child-bearing is what makes humans humans. How the fuck is it an insult to suggest that someone should preserve the foundation of our culture?

 

[randommaster]

Nice article.

This has been discussed previously, but it's nice to read something that is organized coherently instead of forum arguments.

 

[AgentChunk]

The thing is I play video games all day, but I also run xcountry. In about an hour I have to run eight miles. So I spend most of the day up in my room in the dark playing TF2 then go out and run in the dark. That's how nerds exercise properly.

 

[Suikun]

Snip.

Well, I can't disagree that it isn't the most wonderful idea to immerse yourself in a world other than our own for extended periods of time and the like, but hell, you can't deny it is quite a bit about our childhood.

Look at the bullies and popular kids in grade school, they're still the same people come high school. The outcasts are the same way, unless they did something so drastic that it put them in another group.

YES, you can say that it's partially the kid-getting-picked-on's fault, but that's like blaming someone for getting cancer because someone thought it would be funny to put a radioactive isotope of plutonium in their mattress. Nature vs Nurture, I suppose, but you can't deny that if you spent your entire childhood being the brunt of everyone's jokes, you'll either turn to a medium to ignore that (i.e. videogaming) or become one of these new-age emo kids who immerses themselves within their despair in a desperate attempt to get attention and sympathy.

EDIT: Well, there is a third (possibly fourth) option, but neither of them are particularly a good idea... Columbine, Virginia Tech, et cetera are things that I'd really not think to encourage kids to do. And yes, you can tell kids to stick up for themselves, but when it comes to get to physical abuse, around the time when the apathetic teen doesn't take the psychological abuse anymore, then it's hard to say "Oh well, they're just big, dumb idiots," and brush it off like it's nothing. END EDIT

So, which would you rather America be? Wrist-cutting, drug-overdosing delinquents who spend most of their day whining on their Facebook that nobody loves them, or a quiet gamer who spends their time doing the equivalent of reading a book or watching TV, just on an interactive, virtual scale?

(Note: Please don't come in and say "well, I'm an emo kid (scene if you prefer), and I don't do that stuff," because then you're either A: lying your ass off, or B: part of a distinct minority in that clique.)

 

[Tears of Blood]

To say we become physically unhealthy from playing games too much, I can believe that.

To say we become mentally unhealthy, well... From purely an intelligence point of view, I totally disagree. From a sanity point of view, some points can be made.

A lot of people say that games turn your brain to mush, and that's just simply a lie. Nobody ever got stupid from playing games. maybe if they let it consume them. Refuse to go to college or do homework because of them. But I've never played a game where I wasn't using my own mind, exercising it.

It may be a naive opinion, but I think games can teach you games and are a fair form of mental gymnastics.

Obviously, moving your hands isn't good exercise. I'm not saying that, but I hate this "Games make you stupid" argument.

But I do agree with Obama. Maybe not the article writer, though. I think people should go out and make friends as much as possible. Do things other than games and television and such. But, there's a clincher here. Sometimes, you just can't help it. Sometimes you're socially inept and it's not because video games made you that way, it's because you simply aren't liked by others. It has certainly been this way for me. I have dropped my games every chance I have gotten in order to do social activities, and they always go awry for me. Had a girlfriend once, but I have never kept a friend for more than a few months.

Quite frankly, some people like me are simply lost to society. We can't make friends. This is just what I believe, it could be totally unfounded. I try to prove it wrong all the time, but it always rears it's ugly head.

 

[Grand_Poohbah]

"President Barack Obama has been enjoying an extended honeymoon with voters. With no major gaffes in his first six months in office and the world, crumbled economy notwithstanding, maintaining a stable if somewhat tense holding pattern, there's been little reason for voters to begin questioning their pick for the nation's top banana."

I couldn't read the rest of the article after this point. I was too busy laughing my ass off at the joke in bold.

 

[Kiutu]

Obama: Get outside more and play less video games.
All other politicians: Video games cause crime and murder and should be banned and done away with.
Hillary Clinton is an anti-game crusader, Obama is not even close.
It does annoy me him saying these things, but he does not worry me like Mrs Clinton.

 

[lizards]

i will call anyone a retard that says video games make people mass murders but i have to agree why would the kids want to go outside and throw snowballs? they can just throw grenades at eachother in an online snow map for halo

 

[lizards]

To paraphrase some things, and then address them:

1) "Sedentary recreational activities, in excess, cause obesity"

In theory, yes, in practice, no; exercise does increase metabolic needs (both directly and through the requirements needed to support the increased muscle mass)... yet, though we get more exercise in recent times than 40 years ago (this is well established), our obesity rate is higher. Thermodynamically, the only explanation would be increased consumption - which, again, is well supported.
It's not surprising that a society that likes to blame the dopamine-agonists (cocaine, nicotine, opiates, amphetamines, in roughly that order) for the addiction has something of an unbreakable addiction with a powerful dopaminergic drug, quickly metabolized food, but it is the problem.

2) "We can crackdown on gangs effectively"

Well, yeah, China showed us this... then again, and this is a false dichotomy, I think I'd prefer the gangs to what China had to do.
(Far more effective methods are available, (think "defunding") but we'll have to wait a while for the downfall of the economy to make them attractive...)

3) "We can eliminate the gangs by separating them from the host"

Propose specific programs so we can laugh at them.

4) "Women are identical to men!"

Yeah, whatever... fathers having a significant role in raising children, beyond contributing genes, is about as young as the Holocene. That's a mere 10,000 years or so for evolutionary pressures to teach men parenting skills, although they had an advantage (serial monogamy being closer to the goal than any of the r-type mating strategies)

And, guess what - there are significant aptitude differences between men and women.
I don't get it anyways... effective child-bearing is what makes humans humans. How the fuck is it an insult to suggest that someone should preserve the foundation of our culture?

holy shit man welcome to the escapist

high 5