Posts Tagged ‘video games’
Parents’ fear of violent video games
I saw this on the yahoo mainpage and it caught my eye. Particularly because I’ve done research on this very subject. I found out recently that in order to graduate from a university, the title “university” means that you know how to do research. That’s why at UCI, we have to take an upper division writing course that makes you do a research paper. The class I took was People in Society, which is practically any social issue you can think of.
The thing that parents are fearing more for their kids, is the violence in the video games they play. No doubt being heightened by the sensationalize media takes on school shootings. In the bigs ones, like Columbine, and Virginia Tech, the shooters had a history of gaming, and being male, gaming has to do with killing something. They’re not rushing home to play Barbie fashion dress up, or Cooking Mama, or Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
The demographic research on this is, however, that video gaming and violent titles are played nation-wide, but school shootings are not. They are still more prevalent where gun culture is high and places were kids are pressured to blend in with everyone else.
Here is the link to download my paper if you want to read through it. It’s 15 pages in APA format. It’s not all just about school shootings, actually. The paper is about the effects of violent video games on adolescents…how submersed kids can be, how influenced they become…even good effects. Since it’s in APA format, and a research paper, there aren’t any opinions in it. APA format was pretty hard -__-”.
As for kids still being able to buy violent games, it’s like getting into an R rated movie. I forgot if I posted about this in my blog, but I was as EB games one day, and I overheard a grandma and her grandson at the counter.
Grandma: We want uh….a Grand Theft Auto 4? <looks at grandson to make sure she said it right.
Salesman: Oh yeah, lemme get that……okay, just to make sure, the ESRB rating states warnings for blood, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of alcohol, use of drugs. Is this okay?
Grandma: <looking back down on her grandson> Is this it?
Grandson: <nods up and down with bright eyes>
Grandma: <shrugs> okay, yes.
Yeah, that was pretty easy. Here I was, standing there, almost smirking at the kid’s situation because he surely was going to get a little lecture for wanting to play a game that boasted partial NUDITY and had the word “sex” in there somewhere. But the grandma didn’t even seem fazed by all of that. This was right after I had finished my second draft of my paper too, and I was a bit shocked.
Maybe the only way to solve this is to make sure people show proof that they are mentally stable to be able to play violent video games. In fact, we should all show proof we’re mentally stable all the time. Make it a patch and stick it on our heads.
There’s nothing to fear! I’m mentally stable!
Feminist Mama
A wow friend sent this to me and I found it funny.
I actually do enjoy Cooking Mama. Her bad accent doesn’t annoy me and I like using the wii to “cook” the food. Did I ever think that this was demeaning to the female gender…not really.
I think less people, men and women, would pick up this game if it were called “Cooking Papa” and a guy was cooking it. It’s the same reason why there are more male players who pick female avatars in WoW than female players who pick male avatars in WoW. Cooking Mama just might be more universal than Cooking Papa. If you really want to get down to it, it could be called “Cooking Parents!” and you could either choose the mama or the papa to cook with.
As for Doctor Mama, we have the Trauma Center series which I have and have played. I just can’t finish the last “boss”. I like sewing up people and extracting tumors. It’s the weird worm virus stuff that is hard. Educated Mama would be like Brain Age? And Executive Mama? What is that…sit in a chair and order people around? Do we really need girl versions of these doctor and and academic games? mmm. Given that “Mama”‘ has a strong accent, I’m not sure I would chose her to be a role model anyway <: P.
Uh oh! Not goooOd. Try a leeettle hada!
Wii Fit!
I got the Wii Fit the day it came out. Actually, I thought the Fit came out on Tuesday…because don’t all new things come out on Tuesday? DVDs, games, music…whatever. So on Wednesday morning, the 21st, I went out to Target at around 9:20 am. The store opens at 8 am, but when I woke up, I thought “If they don’t have the Wii Fit, then they don’t have it and I won’t get it today. I will leave it all to fate and destiny…”. So I got there, and what?? There is one, single, lone Wii Fit left on the shelf.
And I grab it up.
Oh and what?? There is a Wii behind the glass case. A real Wii out in the wild, how rare, I think. Even the packaging is different and Nintendo is marketing the console as “Wii Sports” and complements the packaging of the new Wii Fit. I think, “wow…so the Wii is now going to be marketed as Wii Sports, and this is the Wii Fit. How appropriate”
In the middle of my pondering, a guy walks up to me, looks at my bundle of joy wrapped protectively under my arms and says:
“Is that…the last…one?”
Me: a half cringe and a half smile “yeeah…I think so….”
Inside, I am triumphant and I can hear my evil laugh “mwahahahhahahaa”. I quickly walk away.
I love unboxing almost as much as I love the product. How can objects so amazing be packaged into cardboard partitions. It is almost as if the cardboard is protecting the object from itself because it is just that amazing. The parts must be separated, because as complete, its real power awakens.
The outside looks so pleasing. I’ve always been a fan of green and white.
Handy pictures tell you what is inside! The max weight is 330lbs. That’s important!
I wonder what qualifications you need to be the engineer of packaging.
The extra feet are in case if you have long carpet that inhibits the balance board to stand on its own 4 feet. The feet give the board extra height to overcome the carpet.
mMmmMm….red warning plastic wrap.
Not completely accurate, but based on my ability to balance, the fit still placed me as around 60 years old.
The Fit has been fun so far. I like the step dancing (which can get tiring if you really get into it). The hula hooping and skiing games are fun, and yoga is hard!