Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence
By William on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:35 AM PST In Gamer Life
The following is a quote from the organization known as ‘Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence‘:
Video game addiction is without a doubt, becoming this century’s most increasingly worrisome epidemic, comparable even to drug and alcohol abuse. All the while, the video game industry continues to market and promote hatred, racism, sexism, and the most disturbing trend: clans and guilds, an underground video game phenomenon which closely resembles gangs. Parents NEED to be aware of the hidden dangers.
I hate to burst their bubble, but I decided to come up with a list of what I think the most worrisome epidemics are in this world. I am sure it will shock some of you, but video games aren’t on that list.
- Last year, there was an estimated 39.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Every day, 16,000+ children die in the world from hunger related issues.
- 1 billion people in the world live under the international poverty line.
- Over 26,000 U.S. troops have been injured in the Iraq war.
- Iraqi civilian casualties are somewhere between 50,000 and 600,000
And those are just a few I could think of off the top of my head. I’m sure I could find hundreds or thousands of problems in this world far more pressing than anything related to games.   The last time I checked, the Halo clan I am in is friendly and doesn’t resemble a gang in any way. Sure, we like to t-bag people, but that’s as dangerous as we get. These wacko groups really need to get a grip on reality and possibly focus their efforts on real problems. We have a real issue in the world today with people not understanding the real priorities in life. These types of people tend to latch on to whatever group accepts them and they attack innocent groups such as gamers who are just trying to have good, clean fun.   I’m not really sure what to say to these groups other than “get real “. As a gamer, I take serious offense to uninformed groups like this one. I’m an addicted gamer, but also a productive member of society and the kind of guy who would do anything to help someone in need. I have also found that most gamers tend to share those same qualities with me.   Gamers will never get rid of the special interest haters, but we can at least attempt to expose them for the frauds they are.
I tell my Mom all the time on how bloody my games tend to get, but she doesn’t really care–doesn’t even mind that my 13 year-old brother also watches me play the games. But then again, she IS a violent person herself. And considering that computers play a key role in our lifestyle, violence in games is very much commonplace. People whom think that ‘violent games are the cause of all our problems in the world’ are nothing but ill-informed simpletons, being the most polite phrase I can think of off the top of my head.
Games are like movies…they simply imitate life. If people really want to end violence in entertainment, they’ll have to end violence in real life first anyway. I do think kids should limit the amount of violent entertainment they are exposed to, but that shouldn’t prevent adults from making the decision to play games. Most gamers are over 21 anyway.
I always preach individual responsibility and parent who don’t want kids playing games should simply not allow their kids to play. My parents always monitored what I was doing and kept certain things away from me. I don’t think parents and groups have the right to attack gaming as a whole for any problems that arise from a very small minority of videogame players. I truly support an open and free society where adults can make their own choices about things. Do we really need more government regulation? I think we have too much as it is. If this debate continues, we are simply inviting the government into our lives even more.
I LUV BEING A GAMER dude u really r right, give those mothers Postal 2 for just five minuste to play with then see the effect bieng a gamer is the best thing that ever happened to me put aside the upgrading of my comp once in a while lol!
First off, Not being offensive in any way: But to them, like religion, Gaming is a scapegoat for their problem. They believe that they can blame gaming for teenage violence, gangs, and other formalities. But in reality…all of those things have been on this Horrible planet since before games were invented, Even guns ladies and gentlemen. I’m a gamer and I’m proud to be one. If anyone has a problem with that then they’re probably expecting an answer, so here it is: It’s my life, not yours, SO be kind and stay out of it.
I agree Yuri. It’s human nature to blame whatever is on the surface or things that are easy to target. For them to compare clans to gangs just makes me laugh in some ways and I also feel sorry for them in other ways. How can you be so misinformed?
The funny thing is that the truth is always hard to see for these people because they want an easy fix to a complicated problem.
Oh, how I long for the days when heavy metal, Dungeons and Dragons, and the evil weed were the century’s most increasingly worrisome epidemics.
Have to admit, though, referencing clans and guilds as the most disturbing trend in gaming is make-my-day funny. The great thing about so many fringe groups like this one is that they’re so prone to saying things so utterly outrageous that it completely destroys their credibility before they’ve even left the gate.
Oh my god, it’s so scary when people decide to make groups to play games together with. Next they’ll be taking on church bowling leagues.
Ok, so there are people that get into the stuff at extreme levels, but people that can’t distinguish the difference between pixels changing colors and actual human beings definitely shouldn’t be playing video games. However, those people are going to end up being deranged and violent no matter what.
Ummm I hope you guys realize that Mavav isnt real. Penny Arcade exposed them nearly 5 years ago. It was a student project.
The Comic
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/12/30
The PA News Post
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2002/12/30
The Student Webpage
http://a.parsons.edu/~dyoo/2002-3/interactivity/mavav/
Its now just a satire blog.
Crusty hmmm.. well now I know. I thought their statements were a little out there. It’s still fun to talk about I guess. There actually are plenty of real groups out there with the same opinions.