Rant Times Online Article

I just read this article on Times Online.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/janice_turner/article3211999.ece

It's the paragraphs at the end the got my back up. So much so that I felt compelled to post a comment.

Read it and you'll see what I mean.

 

Just another crap ass reporter trying to make a name for themselves by enraging a group of people...

When the time comes, I plan to become famous by saying that all blonde people are evolved from Satans toenails... FACT!

 

ARGH why is it reporters seem intent on writing articles on topics they have no idea about.

 

QFT.

Yet another media bash at something the reporter is clueless about.

 

Well if you read the comments (all 260 of them), every single person essentially says "you're totally wrong, you stupid nutcake". So I have faith in mankind yet.

 

Umm.... lol?! Most games teach a lot more than most children's tv programs.

gg Jeff, Morgantown, tbh.

 

What do you expect from a collumnist?!? She appears to contradict herself most of the time anyway.

 

i didnt even let the page load completly... after i've seen the titebar with xbox = crack for kids i immediately closed it, that crap is not even wroth reading.

 

Xbox is crack for kids
…
These are Satan's Sudoku, crack cocaine of the brain. Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life.

I think Janice Turner needs some leg-over and enjoy life a bit

Not sure about you, but for me, games do have character, a plot, some drama, even some humour and definitely some life.

Unless of course Mr Gates did some deal with Satan that we don’t know about.

 

Some people really just need to try mating with the front of moving trains.

 

Thats one I've never heard before

 

So the lamest soaps teach about character, plot, drama etc. Wow, thats obviously great parenting from you! Keep your kids away from the 'Evil Plumber' jumping on turtles and make them watch tv shows filled with violence, theft, murder, binge drinking, teen pregnancy and adultery!!

Top-notch advice, she should get an award. Any guesses as to what that award should be...?

 

I didn't bother to read the article, but really, video games ARE like crack to kids.

I knew of many 16-24 yr olds who still cannot prioritize their lives. When I worked at a day camp for a few summers, there were many kids who played gameboy ALL day. Then when we went on trips to amusement parks, they hit the arcade first and stayed there the whole day except to eat. There's something wrong with that.

Video games are addictive. Heck, for 99% of us, there is nothing called a "quick game". Who really says "I'll play until the next check/save point" and sticks to it?!

In college, there were a lot of guys who chose to play games instead of going out to the mall, movie, or parties. It was their day, their night, and their weekends.

So c'mon, if a naive "journalist" chooses to knock gaming, fine. They know nothing about what they're saying and spewing garbage? Fine. But the reality is that gaming does have a drug-like hold on many people, and even mature gamers sometimes have trouble putting the mouse and their WASD fingers away.

 

With an opinon like this, you are no better than the author of the article in questions. You are trying to foist your beliefs on others. The author is of the opinon that just about anything is better than gaming, because that's probably what she did as a kid; other stuff. Well, just because you go to parties, get drunk, go to the mall, or to a movie on a weekend does not make your choice activities more worthwhile than sitting down at home and playing a game.

Some people like the quiet of gaming alone, some like to play with others, and some only play games with others and never by themselves. You, on the other hand, apparently like going out on weekends and doing social stuff with other people. I do not. And that does not make me addicted to games, I'd just rather play a video game than go out. (usually anyway, I do have to get away sometimes).

I might be over reacting, but you and the woman who wrote the stupid article need to mind their own business and stop trying to get people to behave "normally."

 

Playing alone at home or developing social contacts outdoors is a BIG difference... Not even talking about physical excercise... Every addiction is bad, and gaming sure is an addiction to some... (I'm thinking WoW here...)

Nice bashing around... but you say you don't have an addiction (which I believe) but there are people who are addicted to gaming... and as said above, addicted to something == bad...

You surely are... and NO, it's called writers freedom. If you don't like what they are saying that's your problem... You might try writing a PRO gaming article and publishing it... But bashing on an other forum member for stating his opinion will get you into trouble...

 

It was an observation. Some guys just prefered to live as hermits playing away at their counterstrike. Sometimes they went to class, sometimes not. I'm not pushing any belief onto others. It's generally accepted that being a hermit is counterproductive, especially in a college setting when one is supposed to meet people and grow from child to adult.

Who says I'm trying to force people to behave "normally". Obviously you have some issues if you think I'm trying to personally force you to adapt to a "normal" lifestyle. There's no need to be defensive.

Did I say that gaming is bad? No. I like to game. Sometimes I like to just relax and play some games to pass the time. Gaming is a form of entertainment, NOT a way of life. There were times when I let myself get too distracted by games, and it sucks.

Gaming is a pastime, a hobby. It shouldn't consume one's time. Children who game too much sacrifice many social opportunities.

In college, yes, there are tons of folk who do nothing but drink. That's not any better. They're simply losing themselves with alcohol. It's not much different. Distract one's self from reality by gaming and districting one's self with alcohol isn't really different when you look at *most* diehard enthusiasts.

Gaming is entertainment, not a substitute for real life. Too many people, but not everyone, mind you, let too many things pass on by because of gaming habits. They live off of mommy and daddy's dollar and sit there and play.

If you've got a job and game to relax, this doesn't apply to you. If you game for entertainment during slow times or for relaxation, then this doesn't apply to you. If someone calls you up and wants to hang out and you shut down the game, this doesn't apply to you. If you prefer gaming over almost any other activity, then this applies to you and you should get off your ass and do something productive.

You don't want to live a "normal" life? That's okay, it doesn't really matter because unless you've got Brad Pitt's money and looks or Fitality's skills, you'll have to toss gaming to the back burner at one point of your life or another, by choice or force.

Ever see a 10 year old sit with a gameboy for 10 hours straight? At the end of the day he's a mindless zombie and what has he accomplished? Nothing. I've seen college students and even so called adults do this as well. Gaming really is an addiction that some people don't have the power to overcome. Yea yea, I know, you don't want to overcome it. You enjoy it. This is 2008, 10 hours is a lot shorter than it used to be, right?

You know you've got an addiction when a phrase like "video games are crack for kids" angers the heck out of you.

 

I probably would have read that when the Times was a respectable newspaper. Now I just read the title, think middle England and close the tab.

 

Over-reacting? You're on gaming crack. Your comments are offensive because there's no basis for them in Stuey's post; learn to read and understand the words.

 

Maybe if Parents played more with their kids and encouraged them to take up other activities, this issue would sort itself out. I remember when I was 9, my dad use to come to every football match I played in at the weekend. No amount of gaming can bring the kind of rewards those memories bring. IMHO kids crave interaction. If the parent isn't providing it, the Console becomes a surrogate parent. Wakey Wakey parents.

 

i dunno, the author might have a point...