CDC video game probe
p2p news / p2pnet: Two American senators want the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate video games.
No, this isn’t a spoof.
The CDC describes itself as one of the 13 major operating components of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.”
Now Joseph Lieberman and Hillary Clinton, “longtime foes of the video game industry took a first step Wednesday toward a future government crackdown,” says CNET News.
They’re demanding a, “sweeping study” of the “impact of electronic media use” to be organized by the CDC, says the story, going on:
“Even though the legislation – called the Children and Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA) – does not include restrictions, it appears to be intended as a way to justify them. That’s because a string of court decisions have been striking down antigaming laws because of a lack of hard evidence that minors are harmed by violence in video games.”
The act, “authorizes new research into the effects of viewing and using electronic media, including television, computers, video games and the Internet on children’s cognitive, social, physical, and psychological development,” says Lieberman on his web site. “The bill now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.”
CAMRA, “establishes a research program on children and media within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which will work in coordination with the National Institutes of Health (NIH),” he states.
“It directs CDC to contract with the National Academy of Science to examine the role and the effects, both positive and negative, that electronic media have in the lives of children, and to set research priorities. The CDC will then issue grants over a period of six years to researchers to examine the impact of media on children and adolescents` ability to learn and their social, emotional, physical, and behavioral development.”
CNET has Marv Johnson, legislative counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, saying, “Down the road when – if there is some sort of finding that there is harm in this – then we’re going to see calls to regulate speech because of the potential harm. That’s where there’s going to be a problem.”
CAMRA would provide funding to, “investigate the cognitive, physical and socio-behavioral impact of electronic media on child and adolescent development – everything from physical coordination, diet and sleeping habits to attention span, peer relationships and aggression levels,” says the story, adding:
” Television, motion pictures, DVDs, interactive video games, the Internet and cell phones would all be fair game.”
Also See:
CNET News – Senate panel OKs video game study, March 8, 2006
March 10th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
fukng roll on
March 11th, 2006 at 12:26 am
So what’s the bet that if these guys discover that tv advertising is bad for kids, they’ll be quietly shut down before they can “do any damage”?
March 11th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
“So what’s the bet that if these guys discover that tv advertising is bad for kids, they’ll be quietly shut down before they can “do any damage”?”
Now there is an interesting thought, one that got my mind going. If I had to guess, I would say that all forms of advertising, be it at the movies, on television, via the internet and e-mail, and all the other means used to target advertising at children specifically, would most likely end up being the leading cause of harm to youths. We live in a world where we are thoroughly bombarded with fear from the mainstream media that will do anything for ratings, and consumerism from a capatilist industry that has never had any morales. They go hand in hand, no doubt about it, and the impact this must be having on the kids that are growing up in this era, and era of global communication where everyone is connected, certainly cannot be good, and it’s doubtful that there is anything else that can compare. It definitely wouldn’t be video games, I know that much. It’s the system that is currently in place that makes youths want such games in the first place that needs to be analyzed. Some may not agree, but Marilyn Manson is a smart cookie and is the one who made me realize the link between fear and consumerism back when he was interviewed in Bowling For Columbine. If I had to pick one single reason that I thought had the most impact on how screwed up kids are getting these days, I would peg it as this without a doubt. Will be interesting to see what comes of such a study should it come about, and what the fallout will be from it if any.