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

[Shinigami214]

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.

This.
Why the hell is your 8-year old playing Call of Duty?.
You think he is mature enough for violent games and realistically protrayed violence, but not to hear crude remarks?

All the above, seconded. Interesting that no mention of this is made in the news piece.

That said, online voice chat really IS a cesspool. The vileness of people online is why my Xbox Live account was dead after one month. I don't want to spend my free time with people like that.

Same.
One of the top reasons I stopped playing Halo 2 online.

The original news report doesn't mention COD specifically - for some reason the escapist writer did

Can you mention a few games an 8-year old can play on Xbox-Live and NOT be subjected to this kind of trashtalk?

I don't know, and that's besides the point.

Am I the only one here annoyed that the writer grossly (intentionally or otherwise) mis-represented a news story?

 

[The Funslinger]

To quote Kevin Allen's portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham:

"Awwww, diddums!"

 

[Risingblade]

Has anyone bothered to tell said parents or news station that buying an M rated game for your kid is the same as buying him an R rated movie?

 

[gphjr14]

Buy your kid an M rated game and risk exposure to adult language/ scenarios? Who would've thought?

Usually me and my friends are cool with kids playing MW3 till they start running their mouths, then all bets are off. We actually had a kid's parent try and lecture us, needless to say their feelings were hurt as well.

 

[Xanadu84]

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'.

Isn't that, well, exactly what this report is saying?

I'm not going to complain when a news story tells the truth. There are some horrible things being said online, and if a parent thinks there kid is mature enough to handle a violent games themes, might as well also be aware of bullying. Parents don't understand gameing quite often. That's why we have obvious marketing, countless parent friendly tools and a transperent ESRB. But the actions of other players is less predictable, and we can't expect parents to extrapolate a rich and complex community from there experience with Pong. This report is completely fair, and a benifit to us. Surely we all agree that manipulating pixels on a screen is not as harmfully as real people verbally abusing you.

Sometimes the Media gets gaming right. Bound to happen once in a while.

 

[Johnson McGee]

I thought the cyber bullying label was reserved for things like a sustained and targeted online attack that drove kids to suicide as opposed to some dirty words.


also:
"8, 9, 10 year olds are being exposed to this sort of thing"

yeah, when the sounds coming out of their mouths hit their ears on the way to the mike.

 

[SweetNess_666]

"M" rated game. Also includes: ESRB warning, content may change online.

End of discussion.

I'm right in your corner with this I mean It's 18 for a reason and any parent who let's junior play cod etc has absolutely no right to ***** and moan when little Timmy goes online and hears naughty word.

 

[Something Amyss]

I was always allowed to play games above my age rating, and I came out just fine. The problem here isn't that the kids are playing violent games when they're too young, it's that they're not being taught to handle it properly. I'm nineteen now and I STILL have reservations about swearing around family, and y'know, stabbing people is just out of order.

Also. Captcha - 'ear candy'.

I sense an ironic connection.

I was a teen before the ESRB was an industry-wide thing with big symbols on everything. I was playing stuff like Doom and Mortal Kombat and the like before they decided it was detrimental. I was graduating the year od Columbine, when shit allegedly got "real."

I don't know, I knew things weren't real on TV by the time I was five, well before my first game console. This always seemed obvious to me, but then, my parents paid attention.

 

[SweetNess_666]

Buy your kid an M rated game and risk exposure to adult language/ scenarios? Who would've thought?

Usually me and my friends are cool with kids playing MW3 till they start running their mouths, then all bets are off. We actually had a kid's parent try and lecture us, needless to say their feelings were hurt as well.

same here with me n my freinds we r cool with them as long as they don't "give it the big en" even to the point where if there cool we"ll help them out etc I just hate 8 n 9yo running there pre pubeesent mouths at a group of 27-30yos lol

 

[Grimh]

Oh wow! This is very interesting. Yes. Very interesting indeed.
How is that other thing with water going? Have we determined if it's wet yet?

 

[Taunta]

Look at all these knee-jerk reactions.

First of all, the original article never mentions COD by name. It's entirely possible that someone's gonna talk trash on a game that is totally appropriate for your kid's age.

Second of all, no one is blaming Microsoft or the entire games industry in general. They're just saying "be aware of what your kid does online". I thought it was pretty sound and reasonable advice.

Third of all, you're gamers. Of course this news is old to you. But what about someone who does not play games, and doesn't have the slightest clue as to what an ex bawks is? Does the fact that it's obvious to you make the advice any less sound? Does it mean they shouldn't even mention it? No. The government spends a shit ton of money on anti-smoking PSAs and yet people die of lung cancer all the time.

 

[Samantha Burt]

Oh wow! This is very interesting. Yes. Very interesting indeed.
How is that other thing with water going? Have we determined if it's wet yet?

I found this hilarious. You seem to have a knack for comic timing in text, it seems.

 

[Zyrocz]

Fail at parenting?
Blame the vidya gaems!

 

[Ammutseba]

Oh bohoo, kids may be exposed to bad words. Never mind that they are playing games where the objective is to shoot eachother in the face.

 

[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.

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.

Most people are pants-on-head retarded. Instead of "you evil person you wont get to eat tonight" treatment parents should instead have time to actually communicate with their children and by doing so children will not make the choice in the first place. Things are not always what they are intended for. Some games like Postal 2 was intended as a satirical portrayal of the times culture and ended up as one of the rolemodels of "evil games".

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.

Anyone thinking that chindren are mentally incompetent should have their head examined. Children lack exeprience and comparison, however their logical apparatus works just fine. a decision as simple as it takes to pick up a videogame is certainly not something we should be developing till 24. i mean that would imply we should still be in our first grade by around 18.

I'm not going to bother to argue against your apparent stand that all children are capable of making adult-level decisions and supposedly are only not doing so because they're being "kept down by the parent". You're entitled to your opinion (which is all you have espoused here) but I suggest you try reading something other than video game sites for your worldview. You do realize that every entertainment industry - including the gaming industry - is in the business of getting people to make emotionally-driven decisions with their money, right?

 

[Shinigami214]

Look at all these knee-jerk reactions.

First of all, the original article never mentions COD by name. It's entirely possible that someone's gonna talk trash on a game that is totally appropriate for your kid's age.

Second of all, no one is blaming Microsoft or the entire games industry in general. They're just saying "be aware of what your kid does online". I thought it was pretty sound and reasonable advice.

Third of all, you're gamers. Of course this news is old to you. But what about someone who does not play games, and doesn't have the slightest clue as to what an ex bawks is? Does the fact that it's obvious to you make the advice any less sound? Does it mean they shouldn't even mention it? No. The government spends a shit ton of money on anti-smoking PSAs and yet people die of lung cancer all the time.

Thank you.

I was beginning to lose hope that anyone else had noticed that the original article this supposed news article cited as a source did not mentioned Call of Duty in any way.

Seems like everyone was too busy rage-facing about a parent letting his 8-year-old play COD in order to invalidate his concerns.

 

[Taunta]

Look at all these knee-jerk reactions.

First of all, the original article never mentions COD by name. It's entirely possible that someone's gonna talk trash on a game that is totally appropriate for your kid's age.

Second of all, no one is blaming Microsoft or the entire games industry in general. They're just saying "be aware of what your kid does online". I thought it was pretty sound and reasonable advice.

Third of all, you're gamers. Of course this news is old to you. But what about someone who does not play games, and doesn't have the slightest clue as to what an ex bawks is? Does the fact that it's obvious to you make the advice any less sound? Does it mean they shouldn't even mention it? No. The government spends a shit ton of money on anti-smoking PSAs and yet people die of lung cancer all the time.

Thank you.

I was beginning to lose hope that anyone else had noticed that the original article this supposed news article cited as a source did not mentioned Call of Duty in any way.

Seems like everyone was too busy rage-facing about a parent letting his 8-year-old play COD in order to invalidate his concerns.

It's okay, I feel much the same way. I saw your original post and was like "oh look, a light in the darkness".

I mean, given the amount of trash talking I do with my friends in games like Mario Party/Kart, I don't think it's only the rated M games that have this problem.

 

[Fox242]

The funny thing is, I've heard little kids spouting the foul language and racial and homphobic statements. I really don't care about the swearing; it's only just annyoing coming from a little kid. Hell, I started swearing when I was 11 and I turned out just fine...I think...

Anway, what disturbs me is when I hear them yelling racist and homophobic slurs. Swearing is one thing, it's rather common in any school when the teachers aren't within earshot. But using slurs like that is something that I don't tolerate out of anyone online, especially little kids. It just isn't right to hear such things from a little kid. Not to say that every little kid who plays CoD online is a foul mouthed bastard, I know a few who are mature well beyond their years in that regard, but I think that parents should be aware that their kids may be in on the act too.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

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.

I have to agree, there really are way too many youngins playing these games.

Parents really aren't paying attention to what they buy their kids; really, I don't even think most care.

Heck the other day it sounded like there was a 5 or 6 year old playing in a ME3 multiplayer round with me. I was playing a Drell Adept and I heard though my headset a little kid say, "Ooooh, who's that scary looking green guy. Dad! What is that scary looking green guy!" Then I hear one of the other players that sounded around 10 years old, "That's a Drell stupid, he's playing a Drell, stop shooting him."

And I believe I've heard younger on the other end when play Gotham City Imposters.