• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Violence, Sex and Insect Behavior in Video Games and Movies

Should violence, sex or insect behavior be included in rating media?

  • Violence should be rated for public consumption.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sexual content should be rated for public consumption.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Insect behavior or other inhuman behavior should be rated for public consumption.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2

Celebrity

DP Veteran
Joined
May 13, 2016
Messages
5,257
Reaction score
761
Location
VT, USA
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Undisclosed
Undesirable traits and behavior in society are often falsely attributed to long term exposure to violent, sexual and other types of behavior in video game characters.

These claims have been discredited, although there is some merit to the psychological trauma which can be induced acutely or from chronic exposure to violence and sex.

Are children who use media any more at risk for devolving into immoral behavior from exposure to sex and violence than they are by exposure to inhuman behavior?
Insect behavior, such as the "hive mind" exhibited by swarms is a good example of this. We see this type of behavior in scenes from Independence Day and Ender's Game as well as in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.

The majority of my exposure to violence in media has not been from the news, but from video games, movies and television. The ESRB and MPAA recently gained control of rating video games and movies respectively for consumption by the public. These are examples of self regulation by the industry which has been going on for over half a century. In other industries, it's evident that self regulation is responsible for narrowing much of the ethical decision making that we make in society as parents or professionals responsible for minors.
 
Is this another one of those "videogames made me do it" things? :confused:
 
There is no evidence to support anything you have stated. The MPAA also does an amazingly **** job at rating things and actually harms the medium.
 
So far we have a couple of votes for no ratings of sex, violence or inhuman behavior. My guess is that some posters in this thread, or people who have voted are looking at this from the angle of civil liberties. I doubt that deregulation of sensitive content will happen. Children are consumers now, more than ever. My question for you folks who want neither the industry, nor the government to rate media for sensitive content is: should families be the only gatekeepers for minors?

For instance, movies that are shown in theaters before being sold as video are rated by the MPAA. Businesses like movie theaters and retailers are protected from angered guardians by laws which restrict their viewers to a certain age group. Consumers are protected by knowing that age-appropriate material will segregate moviegoers by theater according to their age. Frozen 2 won't be shown to the same age group as the Lazarus Effect, nor should it be sold to the same group of young people.

Specifically, the group of people who saw the Lazarus Effect last year saw a movie rated for children 13 and older with a parent or guardian in attendance. They might see Frozen 2 next year, but the same people who see Frozen 2 next year who are now under 13 should not watch the Lazarus Effect until they turn 13.
 
So far we have a couple of votes for no ratings of sex, violence or inhuman behavior. My guess is that some posters in this thread, or people who have voted are looking at this from the angle of civil liberties. I doubt that deregulation of sensitive content will happen. Children are consumers now, more than ever. My question for you folks who want neither the industry, nor the government to rate media for sensitive content is: should families be the only gatekeepers for minors?

For instance, movies that are shown in theaters before being sold as video are rated by the MPAA. Businesses like movie theaters and retailers are protected from angered guardians by laws which restrict their viewers to a certain age group. Consumers are protected by knowing that age-appropriate material will segregate moviegoers by theater according to their age. Frozen 2 won't be shown to the same age group as the Lazarus Effect, nor should it be sold to the same group of young people.

Specifically, the group of people who saw the Lazarus Effect last year saw a movie rated for children 13 and older with a parent or guardian in attendance. They might see Frozen 2 next year, but the same people who see Frozen 2 next year who are now under 13 should not watch the Lazarus Effect until they turn 13.

My problem with the MPAA is that they are very conservative and are essentially deciding what is moral for people to see or not. They even have the NC17 rating which essentially prevent movies from advertising and therefore affecting their creators. That is only the stupid things they do with ratings. The MPAA is a cancer.
 
Where the hell were you talking about that? You claimed that immoral acts in media can harm children, there is no evidence for that.

I guess it might seem like children being desensitized by chronic exposure would be a contradiction. I don't think that desensitization causes children to go out and commit violent acts. Children, like anyone else, can form unhealthy habits which turn into addictions. Patterns of video game use which turn into chronic use might include not blinking, or not moving from the same position over a very long period of time. Of course, the physical symptoms are more apparent, but I think the psychological consequences of addiction abound.

In terms of chronic exposure, I'm talking about the activity leading to habit building, leading to addiction.

In terms of acute exposure, I'm talking more about rare conditions like epilepsy that could be triggered by video games or movies.

By the way, my initial claim from the OP:
Undesirable traits and behavior in society are often falsely attributed to long term exposure to violent, sexual and other types of behavior in video game characters.
 
You know...I was about to come in here and say that video games are harmless to children, as long as parenting is in place to teach little snowflake "right" and "wrong."

But then again, "parenting" is such a foreign concept for a lot of folks.
 
You know...I was about to come in here and say that video games are harmless to children, as long as parenting is in place to teach little snowflake "right" and "wrong."

But then again, "parenting" is such a foreign concept for a lot of folks.

So you think families should be responsible for family members and parents should implement parental controls, or does this extend to parenting children from other families?
 
Back
Top Bottom