I don't have the source but I've read the same while working on a paper a few years ago. There's a correlation between certain kinds of games and aggression- almost none with games like Tetris or Candy Crush iirc.
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I went to a 7-year old's CoD themed b-day party
- Thread starter The Lamp
- Start date
I don't have the source but I've read the same while working on a paper a few years ago. There's a correlation between certain kinds of games and aggression- almost none with games like Tetris or Candy Crush iirc.
Shadow Broker
Banned
Ooohhhh!!!! Ok I get it!!!
It was poorly worded but we are talking about 2 different situations.
This entire time I've been in this thread talking about good parenting that's involved with their children.
When I say involved I don't mean "hey, what are you playing? Ok keep the noise down" I mean sitting down with the child and giving them context for what's on screen and answering their questions. Making sure they know what's real and what's not and the real world consequences. Putting in the time and effort. Sorry for being mouthy but for some reason this thread is getting to me. I meant no offense.
We were on different wavelengths.
Iorv3th
Member
You are arguing about the maturity of a 7 year old here. Think about that. Is there anything you would find offensive for a 7 year old to view that they might not be mature enough to handle at that age, considering in argument that some can be very very mature (which is false from a developmental view).
I was at the movies earlier this year watching Logan when a kid 5-6 years old was in there with their shitty parents (yes they are shitty parents). The movie gets to a scene were logan is pissed off and just destroys a truck and takes out all his anger and this kid just loudly exclaims "Why is he doing that". The kid wasn't mature enough to understand the plot of the movie or the emotions humans have and why someone would be angry. But he must be 'mature enough' to watch the movie he clearly doesn't even understand.
It's probably getting to you because you are trying to defend those parents you were talking about earlier and how it's absolutely ok for their small children to watch any fucked up horror movies they want. When people tell you it's not okay you are getting angry because it conflicts with your view of whats acceptable and think that it might make you a bad person as well for believing it's ok. Why do you think your getting invested? It's defensive.
ZedLeppelin006
Banned
I want to say inappropriate but I played Wolfenstein 3D, Doom & Mortal Kombat around that age so I guess I'm a hypocrite *shrugs*
Shadow Broker
Banned
Yeah that's definitly part of it, Doc. Thanks for the observation. I'll just wait to see if that guy replies and then I'm out.
Edit: Also Doc, it seems we may be of different opinions and that's ok.
They threw the party, with themed cake and everything. They know exactly what the subject matter of those games are.
Also, don't tell other parents how to parent their kids, even if they're fucking it up. It's out of line, especially if you're not a parent yourself.
The party seemingly being military themed is what stands out to me more than him actually playing Call of Duty, although I had plenty of toy guns etc. at that age so perhaps it's not too weird.
My nephew is 10 years old and finished GTA V when he was about 8, I'm not going to try and argue that's appropriate or right, but he has also given me little to no reason to be concerned by his experience playing the game. Now that I think about it, I would have been the same age when Vice City was released, and the only influence that had on me was fostering a great taste in music.
My nephew is 10 years old and finished GTA V when he was about 8, I'm not going to try and argue that's appropriate or right, but he has also given me little to no reason to be concerned by his experience playing the game. Now that I think about it, I would have been the same age when Vice City was released, and the only influence that had on me was fostering a great taste in music.
MaverickHunterX
Member
It depends on the kid. Does the obsession end with the game? Or does it run deeper?
When I was 8-9, I got a Genesis for Xmas (when being a strictly Nintendo family) and ate up the Sonics, and Streets of Rages, and so on, but discovered the cult-classic Splatterhouse games as well. Funny thing is that my folks had no problem with that or Mortal Kombat but refused to let me rent/buy Night Trap because of all the mentions on the news at the time.
The point is that the folks knew damned well I wouldn't replicate anything i saw on screen, so I got a bit of trust in that factor, at least.
When I was 8-9, I got a Genesis for Xmas (when being a strictly Nintendo family) and ate up the Sonics, and Streets of Rages, and so on, but discovered the cult-classic Splatterhouse games as well. Funny thing is that my folks had no problem with that or Mortal Kombat but refused to let me rent/buy Night Trap because of all the mentions on the news at the time.
The point is that the folks knew damned well I wouldn't replicate anything i saw on screen, so I got a bit of trust in that factor, at least.
Has there been any more recent studies that focus on the exponential increase in realism in visuals over the last decade? People act as if playing Mortal Kombat back in the 90s when they were kids is somehow equal to the realistic depictions (in terms of visual fidelity if not the actual results of said violence) of violence in games today. Seeing some red pixels representing blood to painstakingly rendered brain matter as you put a bullet in someone's head is much different and I have to imagine would have a different psychological response.
Nights Owl
Member
As someone who came out beyond fucked up thanks to my parents being shit at parenting, please don't think this. I have extreme anxiety and PTSD due to abuse from my siblings and other events in my life I'd rather not get into detail about, but I cannot disagree with this notion more. It has lead to me not getting a proper education, me being unable to work, and even being unable to leave my house for months at a time. Absolutely DO step in if someone is fucking up their parenting. Parent or not.
I have experienced what bad parenting does. And I wish every day of my life either one of my parents got a reality check. =/
After doing a little research (which normally in a discussion like this you would provide, but I'll humor you) this seems to involve stages at which children are able to processes information. Most of what I found suggests that this theory isn't a hard rule, and exceptions exist. What I could find also said nothing of how a child would process being exposed to a game like Call of Duty.
You completely missed my point.
Anyone fine with this is super strange especially will all that's going on in the world. I'd be uncomfortable with even a ten year old doing a themed party based on COD. Gun-shaped deserts are a bit much for any event. Maturity or not, it's not a good look. I'm not saying it encourages violence, but it's definitely celebrating it.
Sounds really elaborate, shockingly so. Did they make that cake? Or was it bought?
I don't think I've ever seen a birthday cake that wasn't just something the birthday boy/girl liked with some candles on it. But then again, I am a recluse and have been to a grand total of one birthday outside of my immediate family
.
...
About the video game thing...I do feel what we consume consumes us, although I don't think it is straight-forward how and when it does so and it'll have something to do with what the consumer brings to the consumption. I do think it is best to try and be mindful of problematic content you consume and especially enjoy and children tend to be more 'innocent' about consumption.
At the same time, I don't think CoD eats the mind of a child and turns him/her into a violent creature or anything. I'd imagine most anger issues a kid would have walking away from CoD would be similar to issues they have over-indulging in any electronic content.
Perhaps competition/frustration/frenetic, loud gameplay makes it worse than some games in a shorter time-frame?
It was said above but I think the sort of speech they hear has the potential to be more damaging, and again, that's stuff they are also likely to run into in things not-CoD. (So maybe no CoD as a subset of "no competitive, fast-paced online games with toxic voice chat communities? More so than as a military shooter.)
So yeah, I'm of two minds of "don't let your children CoD people!" Personally, if I had kids, I'd buy them platformers and stuff because that's what I liked as a kid (and still have an interest in) and I have a positive disinterest in CoD. And I do think there is something more innocuous about the subject matter of such games and also that content does inform minds. I just don't think it is particularly clear how it does so and at what sort of generality.
I don't think I've ever seen a birthday cake that wasn't just something the birthday boy/girl liked with some candles on it. But then again, I am a recluse and have been to a grand total of one birthday outside of my immediate family
....
About the video game thing...I do feel what we consume consumes us, although I don't think it is straight-forward how and when it does so and it'll have something to do with what the consumer brings to the consumption. I do think it is best to try and be mindful of problematic content you consume and especially enjoy and children tend to be more 'innocent' about consumption.
At the same time, I don't think CoD eats the mind of a child and turns him/her into a violent creature or anything. I'd imagine most anger issues a kid would have walking away from CoD would be similar to issues they have over-indulging in any electronic content.
Perhaps competition/frustration/frenetic, loud gameplay makes it worse than some games in a shorter time-frame?
It was said above but I think the sort of speech they hear has the potential to be more damaging, and again, that's stuff they are also likely to run into in things not-CoD. (So maybe no CoD as a subset of "no competitive, fast-paced online games with toxic voice chat communities? More so than as a military shooter.)
So yeah, I'm of two minds of "don't let your children CoD people!" Personally, if I had kids, I'd buy them platformers and stuff because that's what I liked as a kid (and still have an interest in) and I have a positive disinterest in CoD. And I do think there is something more innocuous about the subject matter of such games and also that content does inform minds. I just don't think it is particularly clear how it does so and at what sort of generality.
I Stalk Alone
Member
Idiots dont suddenly get a phd in parenting just because they suddenly have kids. They are still idiots raising possibly idiot kids.
Beerman462
Member
Ah the good old days before hover parents am I right!
That's pretty strange... and inappropriate imo. I have two 8 year old nephews who I play video games with from time to time and they're both very innocent still. They play games aimed at their age demographic. I can't imagine them playing a game like COD or GTA and it not having a negative impact on them psychologically. Children are only children for a short while. I don't see what the rush is to expose them to graphic violence and mature content.
To be fair gaf seems to be way on the liberal side as a whole! I totally agree with you though. I had real army men and GI joes with fake guns that looked real. I also grew up in a different era then most im guessing.
I'm not sure how violent video games effect kids. I played them myself when I was little, and watched a lot of violent films I guess, and so did the kids I grew up with, so I can't say my parents were any better in that regard.
However, playing online with stranges at that age is worrisome, because online communities are crazy and not good enviroments.
However, playing online with stranges at that age is worrisome, because online communities are crazy and not good enviroments.
my nephew is 19 now, but he played GTA4 with me when it came on in 2008. His mom (my sister) was ok with it. She taught his ass right from wrong as a parent should and taught him its only a game.
I already said that it accounts for exceptions, though. Biology is complicated and there's a lot of variation between individuals, the brain is no exception. It serves as a good general guideline to child development however, and I think it's telling that just about everyone's kid is "mature for their age". The theory exists for a reason, and there's plenty of documentation on it.
My point is that children's brains are literally not fully developed, and the degree to which they can process information, at age 7, is not enough to handle media realistically depicting murder, genocide, and warfare.
A common test for children at this age or below (I've done it myself with a 7 year old earlier this year for a paper) is to take ten pennies and lay them out in two rows of five. Ask them which has more money, and they will commonly say that they're both equal. You then space the pennies on the bottom row further apart so that the bottom row is longer - ask again, and most commonly children in that stage of development will say the bottom row now has more money.
https://youtu.be/GLj0IZFLKvg
The kids in this video look younger than 7, but that stage of development does typically end around age 7. It varies from child to child. Do you think it's appropriate to expose any of those kids to the content in CoD?
Edit - I played Mortal Kombat 3 and watched the Matrix and Rambo when I was a kid and didn't turn into a gun nut (obviously), but what if I had? I'm not saying that it's going to fuck up the psychology of every single kid- it would probably be a small minority if anything, all I'm saying is that you won't know the effect it has on a child until it's already too late.
I also hate the USA's military and gun fetish and I think that exposing kids to it proliferates its normalization.
IdreamofHIME
Member
I had a Mortal Kombat II sticker album when I was a little kid. Good times.
Naked Snake
Member
My 7 year old nephew has been dreaming of owning and playing CoD or GTA. It's from seeing his older cousins play them. I gave him a Wii and 3DS and he enjoys playing on those (but loves his iPad more), and he's been asking his parents for a PS3 or PS4 for over a year now I think, and it looks like they will cave in to his request soon. I'm not sure if they'll allow him to play M-rated games, and even though I don't encourage or approve of that, I doubt it would harm him to be honest.
I don't think that kid is ever going to actually shoot anybody, most likely, but it's still kind of mortifying that he's even thinking that in the first place.
thesonovabeach
Member
I just saw Bowling For Columbine for the first time and this would fit the movie perfectly.
It's just there are so many games that have positive or age appropriate messages and themes, I don't see what the point is in letting a child play a game that depicts mature or violent things in a graphic manner? I haven't played GTA4, but if it's anything like GTA5 there are a lot of other issues there besides violence that a child at age 7 or 8 could have trouble processing. Drugs, prostitution, sexism, etc. And then there's the online community aspect now. I'm sure it's possible for a child to play those games and turn out fine with the right parenting, but why not just stick with media that doesn't come with that baggage? 7 years is very young and children are still learning right from wrong at that age, as well as shaping their view of the world.
prag16
Banned
No. My son's 3rd birthday was Thomas the Tank Engine. 4th birthday was dinosaurs. 5th birthday was baseball. For his 6th birthday he wants Star Wars (and he'll be Chewbacca for Halloween before then).
I somehow don't see making it to CoD level by 7. But maybe he's just a filthy casual nub that needs to get gud.
The OP is right. It's completely inappropriate for a 7 year old's birthday party to have a Call of fucking Duty theme.
There's playing, and then there's this. Did you have a Doom themed birthday party with hell demons BFGs giblets and dismembered body parts, at age 7?
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
Terminator has an actual story and was not a mindless dumb shooter game.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
COD has stories and sometimes they go above and beyond typical COD stories. It's just that COD stories are based off or inspired by real life events happening in our world instead of fictional robots time traveling. There's a kid out there who's favorite action hero is Soap.
Demoskinos
Member
Eh, wanton murder is fine just as long as he doesn't see a titty. /s
As a bachelor with no kids, I agree with you both.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
Cod stories are all as simple as stories can be, and mock real life events were real people lost their life.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I say let him enjoy it before they're telling him he's too old to enjoy it.
Hell, if they can do something like this:
then a 7 year old can have a CoD birthday party. I only say that because theyre marketing this shirt from the popularity of Modern Warfare.
He just can't buy the game for himself unless he's 17 or with a parent. Remember birthday parties at the arcade? I never had one, but I remember seeing them all the time. IIRC the birthday package came with tokens. You could have this brightly colored party and then go off and shoot some enemies in the head with a replica gun. That's what is enjoyable. I think we don't have the arcade influencing kids anymore, so things like CoD has really impacted gamers and kids alike.
Hell, if they can do something like this:
then a 7 year old can have a CoD birthday party. I only say that because theyre marketing this shirt from the popularity of Modern Warfare.
He just can't buy the game for himself unless he's 17 or with a parent. Remember birthday parties at the arcade? I never had one, but I remember seeing them all the time. IIRC the birthday package came with tokens. You could have this brightly colored party and then go off and shoot some enemies in the head with a replica gun. That's what is enjoyable. I think we don't have the arcade influencing kids anymore, so things like CoD has really impacted gamers and kids alike.
Don't care about the COD game playing, it's the COD themed everything that bothers me especially because other people are bringing their kids their to be exposed to this....
EDIT: ITT people are discussing "playing" the game when the big issue is having a theme party of the game. Could you imagine a GTA themed party for a 7 year old?
EDIT: ITT people are discussing "playing" the game when the big issue is having a theme party of the game. Could you imagine a GTA themed party for a 7 year old?
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
The Treyarch games have small splashes of blood after you kill someone and sometimes their arm or legs come off after they're hit with an explosive weapon.
Rndom Grenadez
Member
How can people not realize how inappropriate this is. Also playing the game is one thing (though I wouldn't let my daughter or son play the games either) but having a cake with guns and grenades is absurd. OP it's very inappropriate.
All i know is my nephew is a damned fine kid. He's going to the police academy soon, doing his criminology work right now in college. we couldnt be more proud of the dude. He doesnt do drugs. He's got his head on straight. I wont say he doesnt drink, but lets be serious, most of us did when we were young even under the 21 age. I know i was all kinds of smoked out and drinking and a few other things at his age! lol I partied like a rockstar for quite a few years (clean now almost 20 years).
Like i said, its up to the parent if they think their kid can handle it.
TheGameshark
Member
I played the first halo when I was 7. Thought that shit was the coolest back then. Idk other than the cake I don't really see the problem.
As the parent whose daughter was 7 last weekend I'm conflicted about this.
On the face of it CoD isn't suitable for a 7 year old. The game is rated M, has extensive violence that can be bloody, but not excessively so (IIRC CoD isn't a gib-fest)...so to some extent MP CoD could be seen as an extension of war-based imaginative play. SP content...well, language & themes are adult, but IIRC there hasn't been a torture scene or something like No Russian in the SP games for a while.
Personally I won't let my kids play CoD/GTA etc until they're in their teens at the earliest, but when it comes to this kind of thing familial context is more important than just taking a single event & extrapolating.
Really not sure about the cake tho.
On the face of it CoD isn't suitable for a 7 year old. The game is rated M, has extensive violence that can be bloody, but not excessively so (IIRC CoD isn't a gib-fest)...so to some extent MP CoD could be seen as an extension of war-based imaginative play. SP content...well, language & themes are adult, but IIRC there hasn't been a torture scene or something like No Russian in the SP games for a while.
Personally I won't let my kids play CoD/GTA etc until they're in their teens at the earliest, but when it comes to this kind of thing familial context is more important than just taking a single event & extrapolating.
Really not sure about the cake tho.
i had a toy box full of toy guns and grenades as a kid. They also used to even let us have them real chinese throwing stars. We used to throw them at a wooden wall. Parents all ok with it, no one ever got hurt by it. We had BB guns at that age that we were able to shoot. It was a great time. They used to let us drive our bikes around town just had to be in before the sun went down.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
COD stories are not played for laughs, unless it's Black Ops 3 where you're laughing at how there is no story.
Brainiac 8
Member
When I was a kid, we had Contra on the NES. Times change, but what kids like don't.