I have played through it myself...and it almost made me cry...this is coming from a 17 year old who's played violent, gory games since I was 5 years old, but the game was amazing nonetheless. ...
FreedomFromCensorship’s profile
What My Kids Love Now
The News can stretch truths/lie to make you fear, to make you angry, and overall, to make you watch their channel and get their hands on more money. Do your own research before following the news
House Rules
Violence, sex, drugs are all common in games and media. However, the majority of kids understand the differences between real life and fantasy, so why use useless censors to block them?
When the Kids Are Asleep…
Censorship leads to only more anger and hate. Censorship is what causes you to be blind to the gory problems in dictated countries, to turn your attention away from the REAL world.
My Biggest Challenge Is:
Titles You’ve Reviewed
Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
I rate this titleiffyand give it- My highlights are:
- Easy to play
If anyone wants to know about the "Disturbing Content" scene (NO, its NOT meant to be a MURDER SIMULATION! Read!)
Game: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
I rate this titleonand give itFor the Chapter! Excellent, but not perfect RTS game.
If you enjoyed RTS games like Company of Heroes, and are a huge fan of the Warhammer 40K games, you will probably love this game. My only real complaints are that the campaign is a bit shorter than ...
Game: The Biggest Loser
I rate this titleonand give itMy concerns are:I have given up on the Wii. Games like this shouldn't even exist
Why did you make me waste my $250 Nintendo? Brawl was good...Metroid Prime 3 was awesome...Twilight Princess was cool...but lately I've seen nothing but cheap, kiddy, and/or poorly made games ...
Game: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
I rate this titleonand give itCommon Sense Media is Biased twoards Video Games (Read for details)
Tell me how a game with very little gore and nothing but some blood splatters can get a NO KIDS rating, when a movie like Zombieland, which is filled with gross-out gore and blood, GET A 16+??? ...
Movie: 9
I rate this titleiffyand give it- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Short, but enjoyable and breathtakingly offbeat.
I give this movie props in the first place for just showing us that animated 3d movies don't all have to be about cute characters dancing around in happy situations. This movie's dark, ...
Web site: Teen Second Life
I rate this titleonand give it- My highlights are:
- Educational
- User content is age appropriate
Fun to play!
I love to play this in my spare time, you can create practically anything you want, and you can buy or sell anything! Yes, there is language from others, and sometimes sexually suggestive content, ...
Web site: Omegle
I rate this titleiffyand give it- My highlights are:
- Safety isn't an issue
Fun to use when you're bored! You might get to know some interesting things
Yes, you basically talk to strangers with this, parents. However, as long as you have stressed the dangers of giving out your name and age to these people, then you're good to go. Languge? ...
Web site: People's Dirt
I rate this titleiffyand give itMy concerns are:Hey parents. Now you know what goes on in school every day, and what people say.
Imagine your high school with the rating of this site, no kids, etc. Well guess what, the things said in this forum are said every day in high schools/ middle schools everywhere. Yet, some parents ...
TV: Friends
I rate this titleiffyand give itMy Mom always wants to watch this during dinner, and for once I can agree with her! =D
It's kind of funny how my Mother considered this a family show in our house when it is meant to be an teen and up show (I have a younger brother). However, it's probably one of my more ...
TV: America's Funniest Home Videos
I rate this titleonand give itBest family show ever!
Great family show for laughs and fun. I can remember always waiting for this to be on when I was little, was one of my favorite shows. Most "violence" is comedic and in good nature, ...
DVD: Children of Men
I rate this titleiffyand give itVery interesting and action-filled Sci-Fi movie. Awesome!
If you have ever played Half Life 2, this movie's style will look very similar to you. The graffiti-lined crumbling walls, the controlled, dictated cities, and the desperate rebels all give a ...
Game: Assassin's Creed
I rate this titleonand give it- My highlights are:
- Easy to play
Once again, Common Sense Media fails at rating games properly.
Most kids over 14 or 13 cold handle this game's violence and language (trust me, kids hear the F-word all the time in middle school and up). Theirs no "real" gore, as in you ...
Comments You’ve Made
- Article:
The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)
Your Comments:One more thing for parents, and although its kind-of off topic, its something important to get around: If there is any movie or documentary you should ever watch, its "War on Kids". It shows the oppression that is going on within America against the new generation of young adults, and it might just open your eyes to what could also be one of the hugest factors of violence and depression among our young society, think twice before just blaming students and what they watch for everything: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlnwm11d6II Trailer for the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6WXl2kAG7Q : A clip of several interviews from the movie about the school system.
- Article:
The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)
Your Comments:-@nolemming Its not like my father didn't do those things with me either. I'm almost insulted that you would assume I had no childhood life, games just were apart of my childhood. It was on certain occasions that he let me play those games, it wasn't like I spent all my time in my room playing them all day, I grew up like any normal kid would, I just happened to play these games off and on when my father would let me. I didn't see these games as something serious and so connected to real life that I needed to worry about it, I was just having fun, heck I hardly could understand what was going on on the screen at that age. My life is fine, I'm hardly ever depressed, and If I am, I always try to get my self back into a good mood by hanging out with friends, or something along those lines. If I even needed to take anti-depressants, it would be from all the bulling I received through my school years, for years on end. It many not seem like something that would affect someone to the point of depression, but when you mix that with all the other problems at schools (control of thought, horrible rules that have no impact on education, useless homework, some with absolutely no connections to jobs in the real world), you really put a lot of stress on a child, which can greatly affect his or her mind. But did I give into this? No, I didn't. I stayed as positive as I could through it all, and that was all done during the times I was playing whatever video games I chose to buy for the most part. (Also a great thing that my parents taught me, to stay positive through everything). We like these violent and sexual games because their entertaining, and granted, you have people who will just mindlessly buy them for those tendencies, no matter how stupid or bad the movie/game/video was, but many of these have decent storylines and characters. Take for example the movie, "District 9". It was as bloody and gory as heck but it was an amazing and emotional movie nonetheless. I don't buy a game because it has sex and violence in it, that is not what I look for first, I buy a game because its actually fun to play, no matter what its rated, I'm not saying an "E" game can't be as fun as an "M" game (World of Goo would be a good example), there are many cases in which that is true, it just happens that a lot of "M" rated games are in fact better than others, some don't even deserve an "M" rating (Call of Duty 4, one of the best games to date, could have easily been rated T, it had no gore in it whatsoever, and hardly any blood). And of course there's so much more to life, these games are just what they are: games, nothing more, why would parents be so worked up over them anyway? I could understand being addicted to them (World of Warcraft comes to mind) but if parents and kids can manage time as to not allow games to interfere with your everyday life, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm just annoyed at the fact that so many parents still claim them as being built for mindless "murder simulating". They are just games, parts of the media that rakes in millions of dollars. I could easily live without them, as would many. But that isn't guaranteed to slow rising violence and crime levels that parents keep screaming about, I think its just more fluctuating than anything, as in at some points in history, violence was rampant, and in others, it lowered to a certain point. Did you know that beheadings were once a family outing during the middle ages? I think they still do public beheadings in certain countries in the middle east, as well. These are places where violent and sexual video games are banned, and yet, violence is still everywhere in these countries. On a random note: I wish CSM had a forum section, that would be nice.
- Article:
Don't Touch That Dial: Tips for Limiting Screen Time
Your Comments:I kind-of set my own time and limits. As soon as I get home from school, I start my homework and try to finish a majority of it. After than, I take a break and go on the internet/gaming/sleep/work out/walk my cats (yes, I'm weird...) or something to just get away from it. If I don't finish, I do the next chunk of homework after dinner until I want to go to sleep, which is normally around 9 or 10 pm.
- Article:
Let's Stop Inappropriate Movie Trailers
Your Comments:"I could not believe it. I went to see an R-rated movie..." What the heck were you expecting the trailers to be like in an R-rated movie? When I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PG-13) it had a green-band "Funny People" trailer, which contained nothing explicit other than the single word "sex", which isn't really considered explicit. I think their doing their job of separating the trailers for the most part, I haven't noticed anything in most PG trailers that would be too inappropriate (most innuendo goes over kids' heads), perhaps a mistake was made in which it was given a green-band, but then later on a red-band.
- Article:
Let's Stop Inappropriate Movie Trailers
Your Comments:(Edit: Whoops, sorry for the double-post)
- Article:
Gossip Girl Threesome Adds Up to New Low
Your Comments:The thing is a lot of teens like mature sexual actions for obvious reasons. Even those who clearly know the risks of sex as a teen and plan for it later on in life when they can support a child aren't going to be immune to it, and I see nothing wrong in that. Even if a threesome is going a bit far with the idea, its nothing new to most teenager's fantasy's that they already have. Puberty supercharges your brain and body for sex, and I wouldn't think it would be uncommon for most teens to like watching this stuff. Tell me, if you are an adult, that you hadn't had the least interest in sex when you were this age, and I would highly, highly doubt that. Sex is so taboo in America that we freak out if our children see something as little as an exposed breast on T.V or the internet, and some parents even resort to putting fear and punishments in their teens for thinking something is "hot" or "sexy", apparently nudity or sex isn't natural anymore. I can agree that its stupid that Hollywood is putting out tons of horrible movies with horrible plots and nothing but sex. On the other hand, parents should be teaching their teens that what they see is not as glamorous or easy as it might seem in the real world (along with the risks of STDs and unplanned pregnancies), and to just be wary about what they choose to watch. Just about every teen likes sex, parents need to get over it and remember their own teen years (if hopefully their parents weren't screaming at them for having the same interests).
- Article:
Expert Interview: Nichole Pinkard and Akili Lee, Digital Youth Network
Your Comments:Pretty cool idea to get kids involved more in technology, especially when its being integrated in so many jobs nowadays. I just hope they're staying neutral on the subject of things like net neutrality and media, giving the risks and warning students, but at the same time not saying things like "games will make you violent" or "watching horror movies is going to desensitize you completely". My high school has College Credit classes for technology such as Animation and Graphic Design. It is a course where we can use Photoshop, Flash, and even 3ds Max to make things like advertisements, magazine covers, CG art, and short films. However, with all the budget cuts, the program is unfortunately not living up to its fullest potential by using outdated hardware and slow computers, some of which don't work (if we are so concerned with the education of the next generation of adults, the vast majority of funding of the government NEEDS to go to education, and to clean up the schools which have horrible conditions and over-crowded classrooms).
- Article:
Media for Babies and Toddlers Tips
Your Comments:Being in a technologically advanced family for the time during my young ages, I had very early exposure to computers, and rather used the computer more than watching TV. From what my parents tell me, at the age of about 3, I knew how to basically navigate a computer to a certain extent, and I was playing games (educational games, ones that helped me early on with speaking and very basic skills, I didn't start playing "real" video games like Starcraft or even the notorious Doom until about the age of 4 or 5). The education I had through the interactive programs helped out a lot by the time I started elementary school and in my early years of it, our school was receiving computers as a part of a technology learning plan, and I ended up being the one to help people with them more than anyone else (my teachers even pointed out as me for an example if students needed help). Not only that, but my reading level was higher than average for my age. Having your child learn the ways of technology early on in life is an advantage in this age of computers, and I'm not saying to just let them play games like Doom or Counter Strike at that age, but its a good idea to show them how tech works early on (TV I think is a bit outdated, and you aren't using your brain to think as much as you would with an interactive program on a computer)
- Article:
The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)
Your Comments:--@ bunyer " "Killing someone in a video game is absolutely nothing compared to real life." - really? Have you actually *killed* someone in real life to validate this statement?? " As quoted from doomzday below, "they are two different actions" Two. Different. Actions. I really hope you're not saying that the two are practically the same. I guess I should clarify that I'm assuming that killing and violence in real life is different for obvious reasons: Its real life. Emotion is greatly involved. You cannot bring back what you kill. Its not as simple as "pressing X" or clicking on a mouse. Read this quote from the poster below: "You see, I am something the game-haters often claim is impossible: a minor who is not a mentally handicapped idiot with a tendency to apply video game logic to reality. I am a mentally stable individual who has no desire to commit random murders. I am still appalled by real-world violence, so don't try to call me desensitized, either.": This, along with me and most of my friends, are how we turned out. "...but you are probably dodging any research showing how the threshold for violence in society is rising" But is this research completely proven to be all linked to video games and violent media? We cannot read the mind of a 13 year old boy who is playing Gears of War, we cannot completely tell if he's thinking "I wish I could do this in real life" or if he's just enjoying the game. EVEN if he goes out and say, gets in a fight, you still have to factor in several different things. What was the reason behind this act of violence? Is the reason stated completely proven with evidence? Is he taking any medication that might increase aggression? Is he mentally unstable? Has he been bullied in the past? What is the condition of his home, his family, etc? I wrote a paper in Sophomore year on how violence in the media cannot be completely related to violence in real life. 2000 word paper, complete with resources and research, got an A on it. I'll try to upload it somewhere soon. Now you might still say that kids can be desensitized to these differences of real life and fantasy, and that is in fact true. These children who are more likely to relate video games to real life will likely show sings of this early on in life (bullying others, violent behavior, etc.). However, that is where parents can help their children recognize what is right and what is wrong before the media takes over their lives. I turned out the way I did because of how my parents raised me. They taught me, and reminded me of the differences between violence in real life, and the violence in video games, amongst other things relating to it. If more parents were like this, we would have less of an issue with violence in society. I'm not saying either that every child is going to automatically accept this fact, but its not a hard concept to communicate to your kids and teens. My main problem I have with parents is that many assume that their teens are going to eventually go out and imitate what they see in their games. I could understand younger children doing this, but teens, this is unlikely, assuming they've been brought up in a good family. I've noticed this site does try to convey that idea that parents need to teach their children about how media might affect them if they don't watch themselves closely, which is one of the few things I like about it. Oh yeah, and I'm 17, my profile has been flipping back and forth between teen and parent for some weird reason, and I can't change it (a glitch, I'm guessing). Are you going to assume now that just because of my age, that my argument is totally invalid? That a teen has no power or worthwhile opinions just because of the fact that he or she is a minor like many other parents assume? I've gotten over the "don't talk back" age long ago, and realized its just a way for some parents to stop their kids from proving them wrong. Although age is commonly linked to wisdom, which is obvious to understand I would never assume old people are automatically smart, especially with all the problems we have now between so many different groups, countries, minorities, etc. Oh, that also reminds me, haven't religious conflicts caused violence and killed more people than anything? Could differences in religion, and lacks of tolerance for one another's preferences and such be another reason for this rising violence? ("Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die." ~Herbert Hoover )
- Article:
Pediatricians Take on Media Violence
Your Comments:@ Mr. Hundert I can understand that violent media initiates these responses in most people, but most people can move on in life without being "damaged" by it. Say for example, when I saw a video that was circulated around the internet about a woman who was shot in Iran during the protests not too long ago, I couldn't even get halfway through it without feeling sick from the bloody, real footage, and turning it off, feeling disturbed and disgusted. And to say that we don't live in a dangerous world isn't true. Maybe a safe neighborhood, but around the world, no. Assuming we are would be like ignoring the problems of piracy, crime, and war across the world. Perhaps I was a bit upset about this decision at first, I could totally understand younger age groups needing close monitoring when exposed to media (I thought I mentioned this?). I totally understand video games are just toys, nothing more. I'm just a bit upset, because this decision is going to make some parents think that their teens are automatically going to have problems if they are exposed to violent games. I should specify that I'm "half" content with their decision then.
- Article:
Pediatricians Take on Media Violence
Your Comments:I'm ticked off, I'm tired of this. Where the hell are they collecting this information? "Exposure to violence in media, including television, movies, music, and video games, represents a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents.", what bull is that? I could understand children being affected, and I mean CHILDREN, as in less than about 10-12 years of age, but teenagers? No. Why do people think that "minors" are completely incapable of distinguishing fantasy from reality? The fact itself is shoved down our throats so often that its almost impossible not to know the difference To me, someone who has never played a video game in his/her life, then plays a game later on (around teen or later years) is going to have a harder time distinguishing reality from fantasy than a kid who has been playing games from a young age, up into their teens, because they already know whats the difference after years of playing (and hopefully, their parents have been informing them of what is real and what is fake, but that doesn't mean they censor everything, they just explain what their children are seeing). If I ever go to a pediatrician and he or she starts telling me to stop playing games because its "harming" me in his/her opinion, I'll just laugh and walk away, because ironically, games have helped me develop not only my talents in the real world, but friendships with people at school. Apparently they seem to think bad teachers, the school faculty, horrible school conditions, bullies, over-working on homework, stress in class, gangs formed by people WHO DON'T EVEN PLAY VIDEO GAMES, are not factors in anger or violence between students, oh no, of course not. Its totally all violent media and entertainment now. Schools are totally perfect places where teens and kids are not affected mentally at all (major sarcasm just in case you couldn't detect it). If you are a teen, I highly encourage you to stand against this (peacefully, mind you, peaceful protests tend to make the biggest dents in our enemies) do everything you can to fight for your freedom without violence. Teenage years are the last years of childhood, and you should not have those years taken away from you by your parents or these so called experts. Enjoy your youth for every second you have of it, because once you hit your adult years, your free time begins to drain, and life comes crashing down on you. Life goes by too fast to worry about these silly things. (Not to say adult years are completely boring, though, just that childhood is something I wish I could hold on to forever)
- Article:
The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)
Your Comments:Exactly, well said DaMan15. The ESRB ratings are not laws or restrictions, but merely a guide to what general audience would be best suited for the game. I despise one-sided parents who use it strictly and always believe what the news says about violent games=real life violence, even though the two are totally different things. Games like Call of Duty 4 do not teach you how to handle a weapon. When you shoot a gun in real life, its more than just pulling the trigger, its factoring in recoil, weight of the gun, and bullet type, amongst other things. When it comes down to it, you do not "kill" a "person" in a game, you active a script within the game's code that causes the model of the character you "kill" to be removed, that's all it really is. To me, it seems that adults and parents are having a hard time figuring out the differences between real life and fantasy!
