TV "Supernanny" Jo Frost has jumped on the 'blame video games' bandwagon that the London Evening Standard and the Daily Mail started in response to last week's UK riots. Oh good, another self-absorbed, self-righteous "expert" telling a nation of downtrodden youths exactly what to do. Brilliant!
Sensing an opportunity to get a bit of exposure for herself, Supernanny used tired and already-debunked 'facts' to support the theory that video games make people violent. This, in an opinion piece published on the Express website on Monday.
"With hooded youths in pitched battles with police, all reason gone and high on destruction, I felt for a moment as if we had stumbled into a real-life violent video game of the kind that so many of those involved are addicted to," reads the sensationalist tripe.
"These horrific games where points are given for burning, shooting and killing, where the graphics are so realistic you believe that they’re real scenes of carnage, where those who play fantasise they have the power of life and death, are so brutal they completely desensitise anyone taking part," Frost continues.
She then bores the world with a vague "research" statistic that young men apparently become highly aggressive and lack empathy in normal situations after 15 minutes of gameplay. Strangely, no details on exactly what this "research" was and how recent said studies were wasn't mentioned at all. Guess the readership of the Express was just expected to accept such claims as fact for whatever reason.
Frost later focuses her attention on a constructive response to the tragic acts of the last couple of weeks, stating that "I do not believe in a nanny state. What I believe in are parents taking responsibility for their children." If only she realised that before wagging a misguided finger at the games industry, her article would have a bit more credit.
Sensing an opportunity to get a bit of exposure for herself, Supernanny used tired and already-debunked 'facts' to support the theory that video games make people violent. This, in an opinion piece published on the Express website on Monday.
"With hooded youths in pitched battles with police, all reason gone and high on destruction, I felt for a moment as if we had stumbled into a real-life violent video game of the kind that so many of those involved are addicted to," reads the sensationalist tripe.
"These horrific games where points are given for burning, shooting and killing, where the graphics are so realistic you believe that they’re real scenes of carnage, where those who play fantasise they have the power of life and death, are so brutal they completely desensitise anyone taking part," Frost continues.
She then bores the world with a vague "research" statistic that young men apparently become highly aggressive and lack empathy in normal situations after 15 minutes of gameplay. Strangely, no details on exactly what this "research" was and how recent said studies were wasn't mentioned at all. Guess the readership of the Express was just expected to accept such claims as fact for whatever reason.
Frost later focuses her attention on a constructive response to the tragic acts of the last couple of weeks, stating that "I do not believe in a nanny state. What I believe in are parents taking responsibility for their children." If only she realised that before wagging a misguided finger at the games industry, her article would have a bit more credit.
Comments
ghoti 17 Aug 2011 12:00
1/3
She should go back to shouting at other people's children and then waltzing off into the sunset of no-responsibility.
gingineer 17 Aug 2011 14:42
2/3
if the kids were addicted they would stay indoors and play the games and not go rioting!!
that said i do think games like GTA could be damaging to underage players. so in some ways she may be right, but for the wrong reasons. the problem here is the parents not controlling what their kids play.
that said i do think games like GTA could be damaging to underage players. so in some ways she may be right, but for the wrong reasons. the problem here is the parents not controlling what their kids play.
Ryan550 17 Aug 2011 15:39
3/3
So was it this fat mess of a super nanny that ended up eating her own s**te in South Park or was that a different one....?