@lilaliendog: Do you still live with your mom?

OGheart

"would smoke a little chronic with their pals and then...I dunno, giggle for 8 hours straight, like we did back when i was a teenager."

SO gone are the days when such an admission would scuttle your chances of running for public office.

mariospants

@Scott3D: Sheesh that's a little harsh, don't ya think?

sarcasmOD

As a newly-wed husband, I say by and far that I fear my (future) children experimenting with drugs than I do with them trying out new ways to snipe people off the street in GTA. GTA is a controlled experience, drugs (in my extensive experience) are the opposite. With GTA, I'd snap out of it after a few hours and come out none the worse for wear. With the copious amounts of drugs, I'd lose whole days, massive amounts of cash, and have to spend (usually) a few days to recuperate.

GrrSnort

It's true! It's true! The most out of control and wild parties don't involve drugs, alcohol, pornography or casual sex. All you really need is a console, TV and a copy of any GTA game!

Oh wait, that sounds like my apartment...except for the "out of control" "wild" and "party" parts.

mentok1982

I agree with the parents.

londonlad

@Jazhuis: Exactly, so parents aren't going to respond to this particular survey with concern that their kids will be exposed to it by going to a friend's house.

JRB

Little Timmy: Can I sleep over at Billy's on Thursday?

Mom: That's sounds fun. What are guys planing to do over there?

Little Timmy: Me and the guys are planing to drink some Sam Adams, then watch two girls and a cup a couple of times, shoot some heroine, have a massive orgy, then afterward play some Grand Theft Auto.

Mom: Wait a second! No son of mine will be exposed to the likes of Grand Theft Auto!

Little Timmy: Aw man!

TheDollHouse

@sarcasmOD: Hopefully you never have kids then.

Scott3D

A little chronic is still a little illegal.

It's probably a good thing all the numbers are low and that most parents actually trust their kids.

GhaleonUnlimited

Parent's these days are stupid. When I was growing up I couldn't even have a poster of a bikini model on my walls cus my parents wouldn't allow it. I couldn't watch an R rated movie cus they wouldn't allow it, hell I couldn't even watch the edited for tv movies they thought were too violent or sexual. Bad language in music or video? You guessed it my parents didn't allow it. Video games? if they didn't approve they didn't allow me to have it, borrow it, or buy it (pre highschool)while living in their house. This changed slightly when I was in high school but I still had to respect their house and their rules so adult rated material, foul language, and sexy naughty posters were still not allowed gaming was however up to me so I had to be careful not to get into trouble.

I think parents should be more involved with their kids rather than worrying about what they might see they should set the rules to avoid having them see something objectionable and take action if the kids break those rules.

lilaliendog

@JRB: Kids have the internets now, they don't have to get together to watch porno.

However, in the pre-Enlightenment days, the kid who had Cinemax in the house was the one that everyone tried to stay with overnight. Bonus points if dad forgot to re-lock the Playboy channel!

Jazhuis

Maybe most parents think that they've raised their child properly so that they don't indulge into the booze and porn but they can't stop the mass appeal of the oh so dangerous video game.

Jacktherip

it just goes to show you people are so easily influenced by the media, and "information" around them...because CNN, Fox News, and the like all release stories about kids committing acts of violence because of video games (GTA IV), they get scared....they aren't too worried about STDs, a large growing problem in teens these days, they're worried because of a couple of lone instances around the world...i'll gurantee that most of those parents have never actually read any real news besides on what's on the major networks....which is why Obama is going to win the election (had to throw some politics in there)

JohnnyV12

because polyon tits are more enticing then real ones

tripur

From my studies I have concluded you can find studies to back up any theory you have.

Also known as how I got an A+ on a 9 page paper explaining the Adult Film industry and how its existence decreases the rate of sexual assault.

Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

@Kenji-sama:

That's some good shit right there. I want in.

kumuasata

@dv8godd: Er... to "help us forget"... not "remind"...

so much for trying to be clever. :/

dv8godd

Parent are crazy. I should know, I can see the crazyness happening right in front of me. My wife and I both partook of the occasional, er, smoke when we were youngsters.

She'd now go mental if she thougt our kids were smoking. They're not at an age where its a risk yet, but they will be and she only gets more 'anti' as time goes by. She's a highly intelligient woman, I can't figure it out. People are nuts, fact.

Badben

I don't know I think GTA 4 is worse for someone than weed. No I don't think it causes violence, but weed can do a lot of good for people I think. A lot people I know became a lot more laid back after they started smoking on a regular basis. The only bad thing is some people get lazy. Depends on the person, which then again is similar to how sometimes people are affected very negatively by GTA 4, like the dozens of articles on kotaku regarding stupid kids thinking they are in GTA 4 we've seen since it came out(some of them just being a scapegoat but still).

paeper

Silly me, and I was afraid of school-yard bullying and pedophiles... who drink. (See how I almost made that relevant.?)

rezlow

Drugs, alcohol, sex, and violent videogames?

Sheesh. Those are all here to remind us of how goddamn scary everything ELSE in life is.

dv8godd

The only part of the world that's gone crazy is anyone who thinks this is meaningful. The couching of the question tells more about why "GTA" was an answer than anything else.

I don't think the majority of teenagers get together to watch porno. Rephrase the question to "Which of the following are you most worried about having an influence on your teenager?" and I bet the answers would come back pretty different.

What really needs to be banned? How about reporting of survey results in the media. That's more dangerous than any amount of Grand Theft Auto.

JRB

If I saw a severed head in real life, I'd probably shit bricks and run for the hills...
Seeing people have sex, however, is somewhat arousing. Why doesn't the same apply for video games? This survey is all topsy-turvy!

WalkOnWater

Everyone blames the games....these parents are looking dumber by the day...

xMatt

Pot is a gateway drug for many. Sure its harmless, but a lot of people I knew started with weed and progressed to pills and then went on to hard stuff. So in a way, I understand where the parents are coming from. Its not the smoking weed part as its the "what will they do next" part.
GTA, well, kids these days are such tools and some are really dumb, so I could see where a game like GTA might be a negative influence on a kid. The parents just need to do their jobs and if their a good parent, and their kid has a lick of intellegence, then a teen could play GTA and understand its a game.

KingKevin

If I had a violent kid, I would let him play GTA4 all the time. Even if it didn't prevent him from doing crazy shit, it would at least provide some kind of defense in court.

"Can you tell the court what made you run around a crowded mall in your underpants hitting people with a 2x4 while yelling at everyone about the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White fulfilling a prophecy of doom?"

"Acid. No, wait, I mean GTA4"

sarcasmOD

@AngelMayLaugh: I'm 17, me and my friends do. Though it's not really a sleepover, more a mini LAN, with people only sleeping if they can tear themselves away from WoW.

(WoW = the killer of LAN parties)

hamandcheeseUK

100% of dv8godds surveyed were scared of letting these people breed.

dv8godd

@Shiryu: You mean severly lacking at the position your actions lead you to take and blaming everything around you for your current or potential problems isn't trying!?

Shit. Here I was thinking I'm probably ready to be a father.

karasu is my homeboy

@Kenji-sama: Thus is the way of the dance.

OGheart

You've got to keep in mind that the majority of parents that actually visit What They Play already have a major problem with their kids playing video games like GTA.

Put this poll up on a major news site or something less biased, I could guarantee the results would be different.

PepsiPerfect

Seriously, a group of guys having a "sleepover" at 17, and they're worried about videogames and beer? They're obviously having sex. Aren't the parents even a tiny bit concerned about there sprogs having orgies?

stoneagedan

Parents should be doing less "fearing" and more "doing", as in doing their job as parents and regulate the content their children see/play/do. There's no reason why a parent should worry about what their child might/will do at a sleepover, the parent's hosting it should monitor and see that nothing that isn't suppose to happen doesn't.

It seems everyone likes placing blame on everyone else these days, especially parents for why they didn't raise their children properly these days. rant over.

Innervate

@AngelMayLaugh: That's possibly the most honest inquiry I've heard in relation to this.

I hadn't gone to a sleepover since I was...10? Or 12 or something. Though it was one of those forced ones...*shakes head*

Mesren_Makai

Are "parents" even trying anymore?

Shiryu

Parents should be afraid that they themselves will corrupt thier child, not a game. I swear the world is full of nothing but pussies nowadays, and not in the good way.

Neo-Senku: The World's Finest Pervert

@offsafety: yeah, but i think they call it crashing on the couche

RET_Ghost

I think this is more reflective on what parents think their kids might be doing than what they are worried about. I wouldn't expect my kids to go drinking and watching porn with their friends, but I could definitely see them sitting around playing GTA IV and giggling for 8 hours.

tex1ntux

49% worried about pot but only 14% worried about alcohol (beer in this case). Interesting...

Gray665

GTA has ALL of 'em encapsulated, but you can't really see those activities...

But if you visit a seedy "chum..."

So why are our parents letting us make friends with criminals, when they're shocked about us playing video games?

Angryrider

@jonaswan2: My thoughts exactly.

Seriously, lock a bunch of humans in a room. Then, walk in, and place something really weird on the floor like...a silver ball with a green spatula sticking out. Then walk away and look through the double-sided mirror as they both poke it, panic, and conjure up an ol' fashion mob of pitchforks and torches.

Mesren_Makai

@AngelMayLaugh: 17 Year old guys do sleepovers?

good question.... do they?

offsafety

17 Year old guys do sleepovers?

AngelMayLaugh

What if they got high then had a couple beers while they played GTA?

.glib

GTA4 is in your malls and coming for your daughters...

aupton

Somehow I can see some parent boldly displaying this bumpersticker:

"My child knocked up your honor student but at least he didn't play Grand Theft Auto"

Sparx

@jonaswan2: Ah but so will Grand Theft Auto.

Arnold Rimmer's Garden Strimmer

Now come on, we all know that when kids get high they want to run around causing chaos, I mean they can't because the sofa is just too damn comfortable.

Ahhhh......giggling like a little school girl... I remember those days, good times, good times, I just can't believe yesterday seems like such a long time ago.

Dannon

I would be worried if my son didn't look at pornography...

francoamerica

wow, fahey, you had good stuff when you were a kid. i didn't have anything back then. and now i get goodies that nice maybe once a year, at most.. i'm envious.

loopholezero

So parents are afraid of a game "corrupting" their child instead of real-world dangers? Please tell me this is a joke...

VitFer2007

Humans always fear things they don't understand or know very little about. This statistic will change 10 years from now.

jonaswan2

Of course they do because in real life its harder to get both sex and alcohol but in GTA its just a block away

Sparx

Are parents these days connected at all to reality?!?!

RET_Ghost

Grand Theft Auto is the devil Bobby Bouche!

FEAST

Wow. Parents keep looking dumber in my eyes as each day passes.

ViewtifulJason

So GTA will apparently impregnate you, give you several diseases and lead to an auto accident, all rolled into one. That's potent shit right there.

Kenji-sama

@LettuceD: Many people think poorly of the use of marijuana irrespective of the actual dangers as portrayed by the various pot apologists. I don't think the results would change even if dope were legal.

JRB

Here is the actual question on the poll:

What would you be MOST concerned about your under-17 year old child having indulged in while sleeping over at a friend's house?

1. Drank beer
2. Smoked Marijuana
3. Watched porn
4. Played GTA

Frankly, I'm glad to see that the visitors of a site that's clearly biased about the effects of violent video games still place a precedence on legal repercussions rather than the fear mongering they're exposed to. At least that's the assumption I have.

I'd be very curious to know if these results would change were pot to be decriminalized.

Also, don't take this as if I'm agreeing with the results. I would be much more concerned about alcohol consumption than a violent game or even pot. Porn would only be a concern depending on how explicit it is.

LettuceD

@Sparx:

growing up in british columbia canada, I actually had a harder time picking up grand theft auto.

relax_guy

Gamers are people who will suffer from this fear....

"Fear leads to anger, Anger leads to hate, Hate leads to Suffering."

RocketPunch

Lucky to be having parents with a fair amount of intellect. They are happy that I dpn't drink, smoke, do drugs, stay at unknown places having orgies and getting diseases, spraying grafitti, robbing old ladies, spraying grafitti on old ladies (a feature that is sorely missed in GTA IV) or anything like that.

The last comment I heard from my father was a sigh at not understanding the fun, followed by: "At least the physics of those people bumping of your hood looks good".

Wahrheit

Nothing else to say other than wow.

mva5580

By out of hand, I meant you don't abuse it or just flat out don't see the big deal in it. Young ones tend to do the stupid things because they have no idea about them, only that parents say "OMG NO!"

At least sit with them and say "Here's what this thing is in full, un biased detail. I'd be happy if you DIDN'T do it. Also, this other video game is violent, but I TRUST you aren't as impressionable as a mold of playdough. 'Sides, I played it. "

Mesren_Makai

After reading the posts, I'm seeing a lot of incredulous posts about GTA. Okay, yes, for me in high school GTA was no problem. It was just a game. But parents should be at liberty to decide what's right for their own kids.
If a parent doesn't want their child playing GTA, they should be allowed to prevent them from playing GTA. It's simple. What, would you prefer the law be in charge of that?

The more we encourage parents to take action, the less society will beg the government to take action. And if you're anything like me, you want the government to stay out of it.

mistersneak

There are many things I'd be more concerned about than violent video games, but I am in favor of regulating violent games so that children can't play them. But the idea of violent games being more worrisome than the idea of your children partaking of drugs and alcohol that can impair their reactions and judgement? That's a bit ridiculous.

I think the primary danger violent games poses has a lot to do with the latchkey nature of American life. A violent game isn't going to ruin the mind of an intelligent, responsible child-- especially one with a healthy family life, or even just parents that pay attention. But most of the kids I know are raised by the media, by their friends, by the city... and yeah, when you don't have anyone working hard to make sure you get the point, violent media is a bit troublesome.

wild homes isn't anything!

here's the thing. You expose your kids to some of the negatives of the world, they'll have time to comprehend the right and wrongs of it.

You introduce and watch them do something negative like...give them their first beer or (some even do the pot thing with them for the first time) or something, and they learn not to go out of hand with it in the future. Like, when you bar a kid from ANYTHING, when they come of age, they'll do ALL of that and then some, most likely that is.
At least, I've heard some parents do that with their kids, and generally they seem to grow up without that "OMG PARENTS SUCK AND I"LL ALWAYS REBEL UNTIL I HAVE KIDS" attitude.

Mesren_Makai

Best sleepover ever: porn, beer, gta and some weed

spaz33

Is it weird that as a child none of those events occured during official "sleep-overs" and more often at "crash for the nights?" I don't know about you, but I'd rather see my kids play some video games or watch some xxx (*sigh* can't believe that's one of the preferrable options) than smoke a blunt or get drunk, have some upper level interpersonal interaction and then come home with accidents or bills for me to pay... -_- Unless the host parents are assholes and make you pay for the electricity bill for the night.

Megan Fox Iz Hot! ^-^ - ph15h

I remember when I was 17 and my friends and I huddled around the computer and furiously masturbated to pornographic images. Because that's what we liked to do when we were 17. It wasn't awkward for use or anything.

digamma

@hamandcheeseUK: Yeah, the last 'sleepover' I ever had was when I was 16, and it was a glorified excuse to play Warcraft 2/N64 and pound Mountain Dew all night. Sleeping was definitely not on the agenda.

evslin

I get that a lot of people see weed as no big deal and harmless and fun times and all that, but it doesn't change that minor problem. The one where it's illegal and all.

I'm sure a parent's dream is to get a phone call from a police officer about how their child has been caught buying or selling.

karasu is my homeboy

@lilaliendog: by making those rules your parents were involved.

MisterMcThursday

Reading the other comments here will no doubt only upset me, so I will post first, before I read.

I would suggest that the parents here are citing their most immediate fears. Suggesting that the things they are worried about are the most plausible / believable things that their kid can get into. Chances are, they know their kid and they're probably familiar with their kids' friends.

Things like pornography and GTA are comparatively easy for kids to get their hands on. Further, parental values differ more greatly on things like porn and games. Some parents take a "boys will be boys" approach, where that won't usually apply to something illegal like alcohol.

As for pot taking the vast majority of parental concerns... well... that one's tricky. I mean what I said about the other concerns being the "accessible" ones; I mean, there's a reason why parents weren't saying "I'm worried my child will murder another child." It's not plausible to them.
But with pot, it's not only illegal for minors, it's illegal for everyone. Why is it a more popular fear than alcohol, even though it's theoretically harder to get a hold of?

I don't know. I do know, however, that as a parent, I'd be more worried about my kid getting into pot than alcohol. Maybe it's just the loser stigma that's attached to it in adult life, compared to the "cool guy" stigma attached to it in teen life. I just wouldn't want my child to feel like they need to be a part of the loser, slacker, "rebel" crowd.

mistersneak

"So son, you didn't drink any beer at that sleep-over, did you?"
"No, but we did play GTA. Man, it was awesome!"
"... I have no son."

Well, I guess at least this isn't South Park, where parents would have to be worried about them coming into contact with "Backdoor Sluts 9".

DwerG

I have to laugh. So parents are more concerned about their children watching fictional characters partake in the "bad" behavior than the child doing it themselves?

ThisIsSick

Yay! Beer, drugs, and sex are such non-issues these days! The fact that parents are more concerned about a video game speaks volumes about how overstated some other problems are, such as underage drinking. Everyone should be happy because now people get to have more parties until beer, drugs, and sex get back up to being more important than a video game! =D

In all seriousness, the questions were probably loaded and parents wouldn't be so upset if CNN (in particular), NBC, and Fox News weren't pissing and moaning over every game they don't like, from something as tame as Mass Effect to as wild as GTA. I think we all know GTA isn't exactly a game that promotes upstanding values, but it is just a video game. People don't seem to make the distinction between real life and video games as often or as clearly as they should.

Besides, if I were a parent I'd be much more concerned about WoW or another MMO after seeing how people in college playing those things spent all their time! GTA would be welcomed!

BigDragon

You know... a lot of parents these days are from my generation and I just have to ask - WTF is wrong with you people???

I didn't think anyone from my generation would grow up to be this stupid.... well - then again...

goddessakasha

@TJH518: Well, over the counter medicine can kill you alone if you take too much of it too.

And if you take enough sesame seeds alone, watch out!

Society gives you PLENTY of things you can kill yourself with legally. It's a matter of how stupid you are to do it. Y'know, guns, homemade ingredients for poison and bombs, etc...

Mesren_Makai

@spaz33: I lol'ed hard

tshack

The only thing my parents were ever worried about was Alcohol. And who wants to play Video Games drunk anyways?
It still amazes me that Alcohol actually kills and yet its legal. And when I say kill I mean able to kill by consuming it alone. There are two things in this world I love, and thats my pot and video games. No one has the right to take those away!

TJH518

Did you know that 0% of parents are worried about their children being killed by space-based lasers while at a friend's house?

HAHA STUPID PARENTS THINKING THAT GTA IS MORE HARMFUL TO THEIR KIDS THAN SPACE LASERS WHAT A BUNCH OF RETARDS

Navigator2001Plus

@AngelMayLaugh: men's do sleepovers???

I can hardly remember an all guy sleep over, the ones I ever had also included some female friends. Going to puerto vallarta, forgeting you room keys and crashing on another room with some girlfriends its the sheet!!!! (man, high school graduation trip, 'll never forget you)

KristenBal

"A little chronic is still a little illegal."
Does that really concern you?

vaterunser

No! Bad games...corrupting...me. Bad for me...
I mean, screw the time we all heard of the likes of Ted Bundy, statutory rape, and heroine! GTA is evil! Sure, evil things existed before like Nazis, but GTA IS THE EPITHANY OF EVAL. RUN AWAY!

...But then again, there does exist a thing called 'bad parenting'.

Mister_CrazyGuy

So uh... One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is actually legal for 17 year-olds to do... (Rated M for Mature 17+)

Somewhere along the line underage drinking sort of fell off the radar, which is crazy considering the severity of being caught with more than .01% blood alcohol as a minor driving.

People got funny priorities...

art_zombie

Well, I'd consider the source of the article before going too crazy over it.

Also, as I've stated before, this a generational thing. When the "gaming generation" becomes the dominate adult demographic, you won't see nearly as many parents agreeing with this sort of crap since many of the adults will know how to navigate around a console, understand ratings, etc. etc.

Of course that's going to take time, like five to ten years probably, so until then we're going to have BS studies like this.

I find it pretty funny that most of the parents today seem to forget that they had to deal with the same crap when they were younger with whatever it was that was the "boogeyman". Those parents who had to constantly argue that the song Helter Skelter doesn't turn you into another Charles Manson or watching "Taxi Driver" doesn't turn you into a killer are the same ones that fear that GTA is a "murder simulator".

Same way with alcohol and drugs. I bet the majority of parents drank underage and at least tried a little weed. Of course when they did it they "knew what they were doing", but their kids are "out of control" (a phrase used to describe EVERY generation for the past, like, 100 years) so God forbid they ever try it. Jeez, give your kids a little credit. Part of the reason they are so rebellious is because you don't trust them and that ends up creating some resentment.

deadjesterx

lol Its all the parents from the 60s trippin out with their massive loss of brain cells

Bodabo

OK now I understand why the number of teens with VD is increasing year after year.

thefremen

This seems a little odd. If the survey was done by only parents of 17 year-olds, those kids are gonna be old enough to buy GTA on their own in a year (or less). I could understand this coming from parents of younger kids (I have a few nieces and nephews and I never play GTA in front of them [oldest is 13]), but 17 year-olds. I would be a lot more worried as a parent about drugs and alcohol from a 17 year-old than a violent video game. 17 year-olds should be able to tell the difference between virtual reality and acutal reality.

mikeko10

My usual response to the nonsensical "GTA, BAD" line of thought:

When I was growing up, I watched plenty of cartoons. Looking back on them now, I can't help but appreciate how absolutely violent they were.

Wile E. Coyote and Tom from Tom and Jerry are great examples. Every episode both Wile E. and Tom were getting abused or beat the shit out of in various interesting ways. Tom would get repeatedly pummelled by a baseball bat wielding dog, Wile E. would ride a rocket off a cliff to imminent death or into a mountain.

No one made a big fuss about them. Why? Because parents who were worth a damn made sure they told their kids the truth: "These are cartoons. Animated characters. You can't do the same things in real life because you'd die and you won't come back or you'd get really hurt."

And so it goes with Video Games. If parents were worth a damn they would just shrug off these "violent video games" and do the exact same thing: "These are video games. Animated, computer programmed, characters. You can't do the same things in real life..."

I would be much more concerned if my stepson started drinking or abusing hardcore or prescription drugs than I would be if he went to a friends' house and played some GTA or any other M-rated game because I've drilled it into his head that video games have very little in common with reality.

Besides, I already found his porn stash. And like a good Dad, I directed him to the internet so he could save his allowance instead of having someone buy overpriced, overrated titty mags for him. :P

Captiosus

im sick of parents butting in on our fun. yeah if your kid isn't 17 plus then don't let him or her play M rated games. but if your kid is over 17 then bugger off.
im glad my parents have always understood that IT'S JUST A GAME
thoughs 2 kids who claimed that gta4 made them go steal a car are bulling they know what'll happen if they use that excuse.
you should be worrying WAY more about your kid doing crack or X. cuz you know what parents? that WILL kil your kid, that WILL destroy your kids life.
with video games, hell if your kid gets good enough he or she can join the MLG and get paid for playing games.

digital_hazard

Parents are idiots these days. They are all so scared
sh!tl3ss that there little baby, 17 year old males???, is going to play a video game. WTF is wrong with people. Start teaching your kid properly at 12-13 on how to take care of themselves, how the world works, how people will take advantage of you, that there are bad people out there, what will happen to you if you become one of those bad people, etc. Then maybe they won't still be children by the time they are freaking 17 years old. Hello, they could be drafted into a war at 18 or just signup and volunteer to go themselves, get blown to pieces for their country. Does anyone think there is absolutely any difference mentally between a 17 year old and a 18 year old??? You don't really grow up mentally until mid-late 20's. Until then you have basically the same attitude from 16 on. If a video game is going to turn your kid bad or make him do bad things, you've already FAILED as a parent.

Daleon

Isn't alcohol more dangerous than MJ? That's what they told us during a drug panel in high school many years back. Its mass availability as well as the wide acceptance of over indulgence made it the most dangerous drug in their opinion. I agree.

But that wouldn't be pointed out here because that would mean that parents would have to be accountable for their alcohol consumption as well ...

DARTH_TIGRIS

@AngelMayLaugh:

No. Maybe if there's a reason for it, like a project for school or something, but almost never for parties.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

As a parent of a 5 year old, I think the biggest fear is the unknown. GTA is unknown to them. While some parents have probably done beer, porn and we end up doing well in life. So Parents won't be that afraid when their kids do beer and porn. GTA is unkown and something they never played. So the unknown is usually the biggest fear for anyone.

blitz64

Why are they so worried over a seventeen year old playing GTA?

SolidEyeSystem

Parents always have irrational fears, in every generation. Rock, death metal, pornography, Stranger Danger, you name it, parents fear it.

All this says is that parents haven't changed at all from when we were growing up.

I blame Dr. Phil for emasculating fathers, Oprah for masculating mothers, and Them for what they say. I blame parents for not being parenty enough, children for not being children anymore, and Perspective for being completely absent from the discussion.

gblock

wel...speaking as a 17 year old I know people who do drugs and act like morons. I know violent people and they are morons. I know people obbsessed with sex and they...well they usually fall into one of those other two categories. And as for GTA players...they fall into all categories at my age but the majority of the GTA players I know are under the age of 10

Kenzo287

Some people are just fucking retarded.

tooji

This is just sad on so many levels.
@DARTH_TIGRIS:

You would be correct. Marijuana is safer than Alcohol. For one you don't become so impaired as to completely lose control of what you were doing. In the history of Marijuana usage (I kid you not) there has never been one noted death from it. You can't overdose on it, since you'd have to smoke your body weight and by the time you tried to, you'd of already passed out. It's safer than cigarettes, especially if you use a bong (particularly with ice) because it filters out the bad stuff and you just get the pure THC and the Crytal from the plant, and on top of that it can help with pain which is why they prescribe it to sick patients. Why it isn't legalized yet I do not know.

kylo4

I gotta say, when I play GTA multiplayer, I'm pretty freaked out by all the voices of really little kids playing the game. I'm well aware that there are a great deal of parents out there that aren't, well, parenting, but to actually hear the voice of twelve year olds playing GTA at two in the morning... It's extremely depressing. And on top of that, hearing the incredible amount of racism spewed over the GTA multiplayer voice chat... I don't know... Maybe junior would be better off with a beer.

gimplonius

Oh man, even if I didn't have parents back in the day that educated me about the dangers of drugs and drink, all I had to do was watch my fellow students and how they looked and acted after a weekend of partying. Best anti-drug and drink ads I could think of ^_^.

As for the "devil" rock n' roll, well the big band in the middle-late 70s was KISS (yeah, hard to believe now) and I was totally a fan. My mom had no problem and actually bought some of my albums for me. However, I remember one of my friends (a church-mate), after our church group spent the afternoon annoying the neighbors proselytizing to them ^_^ we went to his house for refreshments. Saw his mom's stack of 8-tracks (gospel, country) and asked what music he listened to (gospel, country). He asked what I listened to (KISS, Led Zeppelin, etc). His mom walks in. "I'm surprised your mother allows you to listen to that music" (My mom was also a church teacher). I replied, "Well, my mom trusts me to make my own decisions on what I listen to". Next day, on the church steps, he meets me and says his mom thought I was a bad influence and he couldn't pal around with me anymore. Eh. A little upsetting at the time, but he couldn't disobey his mom and I certainly wasn't gonna renege on my principles to satisfy his tightass mother ^_^.

Now on the subject of GTA, frankly even though I would think the game was inappropriate for children, I would have much less of a problem with them engaging in fantasy violence than real violence, and my mother, if she were still alive today, would likely agree with that.

relic1980

Weed probably is safer than GTA, though that isn't saying much.

proust

what's so bad about a couple teenagers looking at porn?

ReconToaster

Poor GTA is the witch for our medieval society...

last_emp

@relic1980
Yeah, watching people from my high school act like morons in stead of me has definitely been way more influential than any anti-drug ad. They should seriously just take a video tape of a teenage party getting busted by the police, and use that as an ad instead.

ashman512

The survey is skewed.

This is because their respondents are all visitors to What They Play, a website with a parental focus on gaming. The results from this shouldn't be applied to the general population.

If this same survey was done on sites called What They Chug or What They Suck, the results would certainly be different.

kftgr

I wouldn't worry about porn cause I'd know it's gonna happen.

I wouldn't worry about beer cause teens can't stay conscious long enough to drink enough.

I wouldn't worry about weed cause... well it's weed.

I wouldn't worry about video games cause... well come on, they're video games, I'd prefer that over weed.

I WOULD worry that they'd be bored enough to go out and wreak random havoc with whatever flammable shit they could find.

Cause that's what boys do when they don't have drugs, tits, games or booze to occupy themselves.

And there were plenty of times when we were bored...

Absent Blue

I'd have to say the most important thing for a parent to do is to not put a blind eye on things. I remember my parents teaching me very early on what they thought about things like drugs, alcohol, and sex. Parents need to advance more on these topics as the kids grow older. Too many kids' parents try to protect their "innocence" rather than showing them what the world is like, and teaching them to make good decisions. And honestly, GTA is rated M. If you're kid is playing it, why the hell did you buy it for him?

ashman512

@kylo4:

Yeah I should use ice with bong...it must take out a lot of negative physical side-effects.

Yeah, it still surprises me 49% on pot, 3x more then alcool has a fear...sure we might has done so weird stuff when we first got high, but leagues away from when being drunk.
Especially if I would think about my teenage daughter...
Would I rather see her smoking weed with friends or getting drunk, you knows how girls get when drunk!

You wanna know why it's not legal? I say it's probably because a lot of people do money with that at the moment and they have representatives up there. If it would become legal, after 10-15 years most people would see that it's less a threat then alcohol.

GodKiller0

@Wahrheit:

Now there are some parents with priorities.

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

So the lesson to kids with media-hyped, crazed, out-of-touch parents is:
* Rainbow Parties - OK!
* Binge Drinking - AWEsome!
* Football jocks greeting unlucky high school froshes with foreign-object-sodomy hazing rituals - Hoo RAH!
* Playing dress-up with Dad's clothes - Sure!

But playing video games? Clearly the tool of Satan.

Trai_Dep

Sex, Drugs, and Grand Theft Auto.

Welcome to the future, folks.

Deft_One

GET THE GRAND AUTO THEFT AWAY FROM MY CHILDRENS

Rubezh

@tex1ntux, PepsiPerfect: Both valid points. I originally had the same knee-jerk reaction as most in this thread (GTA worse than drugs and booze? WTF?), but you two seem to have the right idea.

It's also important to keep in mind that parents probably feel that they've raised their kids to "do the right thing" in regards to "saying no to drugs" and not drinking. They probably also feel that their kids have greater access to violent video games than drugs or alcohol (which is debatable), so they see video games as the greater threat.

Parents are familiar with booze and drugs. Violent video games? Not so much.

Silent Predator

Kenji-sama
So GTA will apparently impregnate you, give you several diseases and lead to an auto accident, all rolled into one. That's potent shit right there.

I agree some parents are just stupid if your kid behaves bad and you think its because of GTA4 beat his ass and take the game away simple

supercr3w

marijuana isnt even that bad for u wtf?

maraxusofk

And I really hope no one buys this "gateway" drug bullshit. You're caving in to what you're being told; at least think for yourself, if you're not willing to experience for yourself. I've smoked for 7 years and I'm not the least bit interested in cocaine, heroin, meth, etc... just like anyone with the slightest bit of competence in the make-up of those drugs and basic bodily health.

supafrench

Speaking as a parent AND a gamer: All the other parents are in fact insane on this topic. I can not tell you how many times I have had to debunk the GTA hysteria in my neighborhood. I have a 4 year old and a 14 year old and the 4 year old just doesn't get to play, and I realize it is MY JOB to keep it away from him. My 14 year old is very adult for her age and realizes right off the bat, "this is a game, I realize that I can not go out and steal a car and expect to successfully evade the cops."

Any parent who can not come to this same realization my 14 year old did is in fact a dumbass.

axiomatic

Okay so people say the results are skewed because it's on a gaming-related website. That would hint towards the possibility that GTA's percentage is higher than it would be to the general public, which is a fair assumption. But look at what won by a landslide.. fucking pot. Unless the only dumbass parents out there are the ones who would visit this website where the survey was, I'm losing all faith in our species. We're so scared of a plant that grows naturally on this planet, because some dumbshits in Washington say we should be. Don't get me wrong; there are dangerous drugs out there, but marijuana is not one of them. Drinking alcohol in excess, taking some legal prescriptions in excess, and/or using the extreme drugs regularly all would kill you before marijuana could. Go ahead, try to overdose on it. (It even sounds stupid to say.) You'll just end up passing out, loving life and whatever it is you were doing prior. :D

supafrench

@KingKevin: Pot is a gateway drug for many. Sure its harmless, but a lot of people I knew started with weed and progressed to pills and then went on to hard stuff.>
That's a bit of a bad logic syllogism.
Addicts smoked pot. My kid smokes pot. Therefore, my kid will become an addict (because he smoked pot).

Trai_Dep

This just in! Parents are stupid! Oh, wait a second...

Seriously though, this crap always bothers me, someone needs to form a group to go door to door and categorically call people on their stupid bullshit.

Is pot anywhere NEAR as dangerous as cigarettes and alcohol? No.

Is Grand Theft Auto going to make your kid go out and kill people and steal cars? If they DO, you may HOPE that's the case, because the alternative is facing the fact that you raised a screwup with no morals and serious mental problems and didn't do anything about it.

Is the school giving your kid condoms going to make them have sex? Hey, if they're sexually active, it's going to happen either way, I guess you'd rather they didn't use protection.

The stuff most parents think lately defies all logic.

My favorite are the parents who do stuff like keep their kids off the internet, making them technological and intellectual cripples, because there's porn and shit out there. Hey, could be worse. They could be watching reality shows and MTV. Which do you think is more likely to turn your kid into a WHORE?

Shielding your kids from the world instead of better arming them does nothing but make it easier for them to get taken advantage of when they step out into the real world.

Good job there. Keep up the good work, the human race didn't need to exist for more than another hundred years anyway.

TheBakachan

Look past the header, and you'll see the point of the argument:

"While researching for Grand Theft Childhood, parents we spoke with in focus groups often bemoaned the fact that they didn't know how to use game controls - and felt unequipped to supervise or limit video game play."

Parents become concerned when they are not present with the child, or, in the case of GTA, the price of admission (learning the controls) is too high. The poll is not saying that parents are afraid of games as much as they are afraid of not knowing what their kid is doing at a particular time.

boopadoo

@axiomatic: Huzzah to you!

Ra is on House

It's funny that 37% say that they are most offended by a man and a woman having sex in the game, but only 16% chose pornography as their top concern.

anabbeynormality

if i had kids i rather they stay home playing GTA than getting involved with any of that other shit. If parents actually did, I dont know PARENTING, there wouldnt be any fucking problems now would there?

MINIBOSS

As the Parent of a 14 yo Girl and a 13 and 11 yo Boys I feel the vast majority of parents FAIL miserably at parenting and rather ignore their children while blaming anyone and anything for their children's behavior, it's pure laziness and the whole retarded "It takes a Village to raise a Child" mentality as to why it's gotten so bad.

z0phi3l

I let my kids come home with easy girls with stds, 40's, and the house to themselves for days on end, but I won't let them play those video games.

Gam3r

@OGheart: no i don't I own my own house, not rent, own.

@MisterMcThursday: I agree my comment was an example of how it was for one person growing up (myself) and how I feel parents 'should' be involved, no disagreement there. I just think that parents these days are too lazy or simply don't want the hassle of being involved with their child's lives and instead want to be a friend first and a mother or father last.

lilaliendog

@DARTH_TIGRIS:

Anything can be more dangerous than anything else if not done in moderation.

Down a bottle of Vitamin C pills and you can be in a world of hurt.

EnigmaNemesis

Fear mongering at it's finest.

EnigmaNemesis

I'm sure others have noticed this, but... the poll surveyed parents of children who are, by ESRB standards, allowed to play the game. To me, that just makes the whole idea of the poll more ludicrous than I first conceived.

If the individual playing a GTA title is 17, then what does it matter? Their actions aren't going to be affected by a video game; their actions will be of their own volition, something they are entirely responsible for.

As far as I'm concerned, 63% of those involved in the polls have their heads on relatively straight, those who were concerned about marijuana/pot/whatever and alcohol use. But really, even though they say they're worried about it, it means nothing if they do nothing to prevent it from happening. Unfortunately for them, as long as teenagers have minds of their own, they will drink, and they will smoke, even with whatever rules and restrictions that may apply to them.

Ravenhood

@dv8godd:

Too much Vitamin C can result in Iron poisoning, since it enriches iron absorption in your blood.

My point was, that anything, even things we consider healthy can have adverse effects if not moderated.

EnigmaNemesis

@EnigmaNemesis: LOL... though probably not the best example.

As far as I know, Vitamin C is actually one of the very few things that humans can't overdose on without really trying. We rid ourselves of all the excess our bodies don't need every time we take a leak.

It'd probably be easier to choke to death on a quantity of C supplements than to actually OD on the vitamin itself.

...

Unless something new has come to light on the matter?

[puts down the chewable vitamin supplements]

dv8godd

@kylo4: Your right. Except about the bong stuff. Adding water and ice, don't really do all that much. Especially ice, it's just there to cool the smoke, it's not really filtering out much tar and other bad stuff. A vaporizer is actually alot cleaner on the lungs.

The big thing about alcohol vs weed is that alcohol is physically addictive. Alcoholism & addiction problems are passed on threw your family. People can become very reliant on pot, but it's much more mental. Alcohol gives you withdraw if you are a alcoholic.

The legal reasons behind weed are mostly moot. It's just ancient myths mostly, views about how it promotes antisocial behavior. It's interesting because i'm willing to bet that a bar that serves pot, but not alcohol will have less problems with property damage, fights, and other crap that alcohol establishments have.

Why weed isn't legal really confuses me. We have alcohol and cigarettes, both addictive, and have high health risks. They both are taxed. Weed can be taxed as well. It would lower crime, provide safe product, and be a huge source of money threw taxes.

But back to the point, parents just need to stop blaming others for their lack of time spent with their kids. Only reason person at fault is the parent. If your 17 year old kid is actually influenced by GTA, then there is many more problems I would be concerned about.

On another note, why didn't anyone give a shit about postal 1 when that came out? That was a seriously brutal game, postal 2 wasn't nearly as dark and sick as the first one.

sereal

@z0phi3l:

/agree

EnigmaNemesis

@EnigmaNemesis: Ah... so it's not the "C" itself... it's the Iron. Gotcha.

No, brother... I got your point and completely agree with the premise... it just struck me as funny considering what I (didn't) know about Vitamin C... that's all. :D

dv8godd

Beer is internationally accepted as alright in moderation, and sex is natural and essential to the continuation of the human race.

This article means nothing.

Sooku

God, too many parents and adults are just breathtakingly ignorant these days, at least it seems.

kremytu17

@dv8godd:

I know ... just having some fun sounding smarts!

EnigmaNemesis

Let's all get wasted on GTA IV and submerge ourselves into a world of crime tonight. Because it just happens like that.

Noble-Asthmatic

It's time for a game developer to come out with a very realistic and graphic video game based on the Old Testament of the King James Bible. Parents could really become unglued that their kids would be exposed to wanton sex, incredible violence, the hands of a "Jealous God", nudity, pedophilia, incest, etc. Just don't tell them that it is based on the bible, and let parents freak out about all of the "moral decay". How about Joshua and his 'ethnic cleansing" at Jerico? (in which he wiped out "every living thing, men, women, children, even animals) in the name of "his God".

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Human nature hasn't changed since the first appearance of man.

bornonce

Sometimes I wonder what parents used to do in there free time, you know, before they were parents. <_<

MrMister

@FEAST:

That just made my day.

Bricked

I will continue to post this link on every story about over protective parents I read.

It's not healthy for the children!

[www.theage.com.au]

FunkyJ

@MrMister: Heh, heh. Ditto. :|

マンゼクスSythe

@Gray665: That's what those "above the influence" commercials will do to people. Ironic that the commercials themselves are influencing people. LOL.

Pablos102030

So parents are more worried that their kid is playing with virtual hookers and drinking virtual booze than looking at real porn and drinking real beer? WOW.
And they're more worried about pot than beer? Propaganda sells.

Super Bunny Princess

LOL I didn't do anything else for quite a while than watch pornos, drink beer, play GTAIV and smoke ganja... I am the perfect friend of YOUR little girl. :P

Rammy

It's stupid how people worry more about games hurting their kids' brains instead of their kid smoking from a bong every day.

fuzzy343

I'm not sure I get the drama on this actually. If the choices were to worry about Beer, pornography and GTA I think I would've picked GTA aswell. Arguably these weren't the three choices of course, and I would personally have picked something along the lines of "I hope they won't die in a fire."

Still if I think back on some of the silly things my parents worried about in the same context, it would've been a thing like us watching Aliens. :p

I am European of course, and we tend not to make a fuss about violence before we make a fuss about beer and sex.

anduz

@ViewtifulJason: Such is the painful reality...

Bitten_Dead

It's funny, all the pot smokers defend themselves by saying "Beer kills man..." Yeah, since smoke in your lungs only adds to the time you are able to breath under water.

mjidoman

@francoamerica: Yeah actually... I would be too...

Bitten_Dead

haha old people

FlapDangerous

Incompetent parents leads to having incompetent children. The cycle continues with the hypocrisy and just plain ignorance.

HannibalKing

This pretty much shows 2 things:

1. Parents have failed their duty and rely on government to raise their kids.

2. ESRB ratings are meaningless to mass (read: ignorant) public.

gencid