TV News Report Warns of "Cyber-Bullying" on Xbox Live

[A-D.]

Alright, now thats fun on way too many levels.

First off, Kids shouldnt be playing M rated Games, or in fact not play Multiplayer in the sense of actually being capable of interacting with other People, or simply, keep the damn Headset off and just play. Im against "game ratings" on principle, i grew up playing games like Duke Nukem when i was just in elementary school at the time, i didnt turn out worse cause of it. I prefer thinking in mental maturity, if you can act like a adult, or at least sensible mature person in general, i dont give a damn how physically old someone is.

But more to the point, they get this now, after..hrm, well its pretty much years. I mean this whole thing didnt start with just Consoles after all, but it seems to me that they have missed the important part that the most vocal and abusive in terms of language are underage People, in fact those "8 year olds" are the ones spouting off the most. So maybe the Problem lies elsewhere?

I mean, if we take out all the underaged Players from Xbox Live and such services, i bet we could cut down on the general verbal abuse by at least 60%, if not more. Im really curious when we get the first "news" in regard to something like this, you know, parents being outraged at their kids for being a pottymouth as it were.

 

[Doclector]

Number one big problem here...Call of duty already contains swearing. A lot of it.

Then there's the fact that the worst offenders ARE gorram kids.

Then there's the fact that xbox live already has procautions against such things, with the rep system, mute button, blocking communications, and the complaints system.

Yeah, basically, more knee jerk reporting by mainstream media on gaming.

 

[Folji]

A father of several boys, Matthew Kinney, said it's important to listen to what you're kids are hearing from other players. "Don't let your kid go upstairs and close his bedroom door, and sit there and play all night," he said. "That's crazy. You have no idea what's going on, who's saying what."

dear father, please die. What is crazy is thnking you can control your childrens private gaming life. you have NO RIGHT to hear what kids are playing. it is THEIR CHOICE.

When your kid is locked in their room all night, playing multiplayer games intended for people twice their age, you're just being a terrible parent. "Their choice" or not, it's pants-on-head retarded.

 

[Creator002]

And this is why there is a big, red M15+ sticker on the game box with text that reads "gaming experience may change online".

If you're buying this for your 8 year-old without researching the game or taking the label seriously, I believe that you lose your right to ***** about the game or the online community that surrounds it.

 

[BrotherRool]

We're talking 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-year-old kids who are getting exposed to this regularly,"

More accurately : We're talking about 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-year-old kids who are exposing everyone to this regularly.

 

[w00tage]

Seeing as how the WORST players I've met online sound like 8 year old...

Maybe parents should parent their kids before bitching about others'.

This is pretty much the truth.

Also...isn't CoD (and other multiplayer games where people would have mics) rated M? I mean...why would you have your 8 year old kids playing that in the first place?

Not saying that because a game is rated M, that gives people free reign to spew verbal abuse on whoever draws their ire, but it's kind of...yeah.

Exactly. It's rare for me playing an M-rated game online to meet an adult who trashtalks, griefs and generally acts like a cyberbully. It is common for me to meet children way too young to be playing that game who do those things just because they can.

So if one wants combat cyberbullying, a good first step is to keep children off of age-inappropriate games.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Hah...I guess it never really sunk in before just how bad parenting is lately. Guess I should feel lucky to have grown up in a home where that kind of shit wouldn't be tolerated.

Case in point: My guardians took away a T rated game when I was thirteen because an adult they knew (my biological mother) told them it was full of nudity and hardcore sex. She never once told them that it was just her own copy that had this, being modded and all.

Of course they did the same mistake these "I do not care what my child does" parents make as well. They didn't read the rating for the game. Eh, guess it's just a parent thing.

Dude there are people in middle school kids who are already having sex. yeah parenting has gone to shit.

I'm pretty sure that isn't a parenting issue so much as a societal one.

 

[halobolola]

Maybe because the 18 is not just for the violence? just a small chance

 

[Bvenged]

What's this? 8, 9, 10 and 11 year olds subject to profanities and hefty insults in online games? GAMES WITH TEEN/MATURE AGE RATINGS?

and you don't like it and think it's Microsoft's fault that we, the mature community, talk maturely when your kids are in our games?

I'm sorry, but they have a ratings for a reason. If you don't like it, then go away.

 

[w00tage]

A father of several boys, Matthew Kinney, said it's important to listen to what you're kids are hearing from other players. "Don't let your kid go upstairs and close his bedroom door, and sit there and play all night," he said. "That's crazy. You have no idea what's going on, who's saying what."

dear father, please die. What is crazy is thnking you can control your childrens private gaming life. you have NO RIGHT to hear what kids are playing. it is THEIR CHOICE.

It's their choice? How are they supposed to make these choices? Children are by definition mentally incompetent. Not only are they almost completely ignorant, their bodies are still growing their decisionmaking apparatus until they're around sixteen (the process actually ends around 22-24, but it's mostly complete at 16). That's why in the absence of parents to make childrens' decisions for them, legal guardians are appointed to do the same.

Re "private gaming life" .... please look up the word "compartmentalizing", and then, for your own sake, stop doing it. It's not a good thing.

 

[Dastardly]

TV News Report Warns of "Cyber-Bullying" on Xbox Live

In a lot of ways, kids aren't defined by their influences, but rather by the relative weight of those influences. Your kid is only going to be defined by violent videogames or bad language if that makes up the bulk of his/her influences.

If that's the case, the problem isn't with the medium in question. It's that a child is being allowed that much unsupervised time with that medium.

Now, of course, a parent can't sit and watch every moment a child plays games. There should be a way for parents to trust their kids. That's not the problem (though a lot could be solved if parents actually read warning labels).

The problem is that these kids are allowed to spend this quantity of time with the "bad influences," and that parents aren't doing as much to counterbalance this by putting the kid with positive influences. If parents continue to allow themselves to be a "neutral influence," and all of a child's fun time is occupied by "bad influences," what do they think is going to happen?

You know what, parents? Limit the time they play, more than the content. Put them in activities. Force them if you have to. (They're eight, what do they really know about what they want or need anyway?)

 

[Shinigami214]

snipzorz

If the writer who penned this news piece based his information on the news report included in the OP, the article is misleading.

The news report never mentions Call of Duty or any other game specifically, but simply referred to online games in general (i.e. "experts warn ... if you let your child play online games through xbox, playstation, or the computer")

Meaning that the focus on COD that everyone is raging about in the thread is not only unwarranted, but unfounded. It might have been the game he was complaining about, but we don't know for sure.

If unintentional, the slip is indicative of shoddy journalism, imho. If intentional, its unethical sensationalism to drive up traffic to the website.

 

[Johnson McGee]

This just in, watching the news may expose you to tech stories that are 10 years old.

 

[Yeager942]

I've never bought the whole "cyberbulling" fear. The tools to stop it, the mute and ignore button, is right there in front of the player the entire time. JUST PRESS IT and the bad people go away.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

To people in the report survey - Maybe then don't let your 8 year old child play an 18+ rated game.

Nevermind that the most vocal gob-shites online are the young brats.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

More like cyber bull-s***. It's called muting and blocking. There isn't s*** anyone can do to you if you don't want it done. Unless you're offended by teabagging. In which case you should stop playing FPSs.

Also, 'internet expert' Aftab, how exactly does one steal a password through the chat system? I'd really like to know.

My opinion on cyber-bullying in general is that it's only an issue when 'victims' don't use what's available to them.

Lastly, 8, 9, 10, 11 year olds shouldn't be on an M-rated game, parents. I know they would be anyway and I think they should be able to be (which they are)...but you cannot pull any BS when you are going against the reccommendations stamped on the box. You may be stupid but you're not about to tell me you're colourblind and illiterate as well.

 

[the7ofswords]

"We're talking 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-year-old kids who are getting exposed to this regularly."

Ha! Who do they think is spewing all this nonsense? Mostly it's kids in the same age-range!

Also ... they do know they're talking about a "Mature" rated game here, right?

Ultimately it's a parent's decision what they feel their kids can handle (individual kids develop in different ways and at different rates), it's not like there isn't plenty of warning right on the box that this game isn't really intended for young kids.

Some day, when my kids' generation starts having kids of their own, maybe we can finally bury this idea that all video games are for kids!