Can’t Sleep? It’s the iPad’s fault. Study says so.

iPad Use Affects Sleep Study

Blurring the lines between Work & Home – Mobile Style

BYOD: Bring your own device. More and more, professionals are using mobile devices and blurring the lines between work and home. With the booming popularity of iPhones, iPads, and the use of laptops in corporate settings, one study showed that the average American worker works nearly seven hours a week outside the office. 80% of professionals do some sort of work past the end of the workday. This involves anything from answering phone calls and answering emails. 60% of those who work after workhours said it helps them to stay organized and nearly half said they feel like they have no choice.

One way in this impacts our private lives is that it makes it more difficult for us to “switch off”. 31% of Americans say they have a hard time switching gears from work to home. 50% respond to emails in bed, 69% said they have to check email before going to bed, and 40% send work-related emails as late as ten at night. Then 68% of us start each morning by checking our emails. 50% check before getting out of bed.

Having Trouble Sleeping? Blame the iPad!… Maybe

A recent study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center, studied the impact of backlit devices such as the iPhone and iPad at on our production of Melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that helps induce drowsiness and lower body temperature, both important to help us to fall sleep. The research shows that two ours of tablet use before bed can suppress melatonin production up to 22%. In English, that means tablet use is making it harder for us to fall asleep as it affects our ability to naturally get drowsy. It is also associated with increased risk for diabetes and obesity and some mental health disorders. The study was only done on 13 people so take it with a grain of salt, but it does bring up the question:

  • Do you use your iphone, ipad or other mobile devices before going to bed?
  • Do you feel it helps you sleep or only delays you going to bed?
  • Do you feel the urge to check email or facebook before you go to bed? When you wake up?

Share your thoughts!

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Teens Standing up to Cyber Bullies on Facebook

It’s Back to School & Cyberbulling

It’s back to school time. Many schools will be starting this week or the next. It’s the time to think about new classes, new teachers, perhaps new friends, but also a time to think about the many issues in present youth culture.

One of the biggest is cyberbullying. According to a new study, 1 in 4 kids claim to be targets of cyberbullying, nearly 2 of 3 teens have witnessed cruel behavior online, but only 10% of parents are aware that their own teens are one of the recipients. Most of these attacks happen on Facebook where a whopping 92.6% of teens say cruel behavior takes place. It also happens through other mediums such as Twitter 23.8%, MySpace (17.7%), and Instant Messenger 15.2%.

Is Standing up to Bullies Online Safe?

But what is interesting is how teens stand up to bullies more often online. 40% tells them to stop, nearly 21% ended up telling an adult, while 65.8% responded to the attacker. In the small security of not being physically present, teens respond more frequently.

However, beware, 35% of students also end up responding in person and 4.5% of the teens end up in physical fights. 15% avoided school altogether due to an online incident. Worse, 6.3% of people join in the attack.

It is important that parents are aware of what is going on in the online space because it can have dramatic impact on teens especially during the difficult and emotional years of youth. If your child is is often emotionally down or wants to avoid school, you should be aware that cyberbulling is not a simple issues to be ignored. If that doesn’t move you, know that teens who are cyberbullied are 3.5x MORE likely to attempt suicide! Now that is a scary reality.

Check out the infographic below, and let us know your thoughts. Any of the statistics surprise you?

Cyberbullying Statistics Infographic

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Apple iPhone 5 Promo Video’s Social Commentary

Watch New Apple iPhone Promo Video

I found this iPhone Promo video, hilarious, but in the same time a bit sad as it pokes fun at our media-centric culture. Although some of the lines were meant to be hyperbole, the truth in the commentary rings so true.

Don’t want to spoil it so watch it then read the rest of the post!

“People only use iphones to take photos of their food, they are sad and alone so they use pictures of their food to create the illusion of a fulfilling life…”

Ouch.

Yet isn’t that what a lot of people do on facebook? Not neccessarily with food, but with all sorts of pictures & updates?

“…these pictures look so good that no one would never imagine you lie awake at night wondering why you can’t feel happiness”

Double ouch.

Iphone 5 Promo Video - Food“… it’s photos are sure to garner all the likes, hearts, pluses, pins, stars, reposts, reblogs, reretumbles, retweets, that you’ve used to replace the human connections in your life…”

Wow. Painfully true.

  • Watch and share your thoughts? True? False? Poignant?
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Colorado Theater Massacre – Who to Blame?

Gangster Squad Movie Trailer

The Blame of Colorado Theater Massacre

The Colorado Theater Massacre is such a tragic story. I am incredibly saddened by what happened and much prayers go out to the families and loved ones involved.

The alleged shooter is 24 year old James Holmes, who faces 142 criminal counts for shooting at a packed midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises. For whatever reason, motive still uncertain, he proceeded to open fire into the crowds leaving 12 dead and 58 injured.

In most circumstances as people try to make sense of this kind of senseless killing, our first instinct is to want to blame something or someone. Blame parents, blame media, blame society, blame gun-control or blame the individual who perpetrated it all. As usual, there are a lot of questions and lot of accusations, though surprisingly the outcry doesn’t seem to be as loud this time around.

Traditionally media is one of the biggest targets in the blame game. Considering this was at a movie theater, it seemed inevitable that a lot of blame would be casts on media’s influence on the young mind. However whether it is the immediate responsiveness of Warner Brothers, or perhaps of how ridiculously senseless the deed was – there seems to a lot less finger pointing over this event. Still the film industry is being very cautious and has properly shown sensitivity to what has happened by immediately taking action.

Warner Brothers Acts Quickly to Colorado

Warner Brothers, the studio who released “The Dark Knight Rises”, quickly removed the trailer for its upcoming film “Gangster Squad” which has been a trailer proceeding “The Dark Knight Rises.” This trailer features a climactic scene in which mob gangsters open fire into a movie theater. Good move. Warner Brothers also quickly removed the trailer from YouTube and other video sharing sites. It is also said that the studio plans to reshoot parts of the movie in dealing with this matter. The studio hasn’t been clear on how they plan to reedit the movie but it will be interesting to see to what extent they would go in response to this tragedy. Will they cut an important scene all together or make minor edits? Perhaps just tone it down? Either way it will cost Warner Brothers a pretty penny. They also stand to potentially lose money by pushing out the release date from September 7th to January 11th as well have already lost money canceling premieres several key global cities out of respect for the victims.

Warner Brothers also announced it was making a “substantial” undisclosed donation to the victims.

Hollywood is to Blame? Or Not?

Quotes from Hollywood:

“I think it’s a tragedy and to blame the movie business is incorrect and inappropriate…” – Geffen, Co-founder of DreamWorks

“I think it’s just an opportunistic scenario… I leave it to people who sit in rooms with diagrams and charts to try to correlate cause and effect. And I think hindsight is 20-20 and we’re not anywhere near hindsight. This is still fresh paint on the canvas of our culture and it remains to be seen. There’s a lot of healing to go on.” – Diane Lane, Actress

“If you are not raising your kids to have balance in life, that is one place we have to look at.” – Will.i.am, Recording Artist

In response to whether television companies should cut down on violence:
“We think about the images particularly that children see, and as we look at the programming that we design for our schedule — obviously, the programming that we produce is educational — but we think a lot about the images that particularly the most impressionable, and I would say that children are at the top of that list, are confronted with.” – Paula Kerger, PBS President

So Who do We Blame? What Do We Really Know?

I would hope that no one would argue that media has a huge influence on the way we, especially as children, view the world, view people, and the norms of society. Cursing, violence, how to treat other people, self-image, view of women, that life is all about one’s own happiness, that power is respected, that being cool or good looking is what matter, that living rich with comforts will bring happiness, that romantic love is the answer to all things – and so on.

I would imagine, it had some various affects on how this shooter viewed the world and the value of human life – but does that mean media is the only thing to blame for such a tragedy? No of course not. There are so many factors involved, that I wouldn’t even assume to know all that went into it. Perhaps parenting, perhaps influence of bad friends, perhaps he had a tragic past, didn’t have a father figure, grew up in a broken home, I do not know. The only thing I know is that it’s a scary thing that he became a person capable of such things. That as a baby he was no different than you and me – but there was something in him that thru circumstances and influences allowed him to do what he did. That is a scary thought and should really humble us to really be careful about what kind of things we allow ourselves (and our children) to be exposed to and the kind of things we listen to.

What are your thoughts?

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Can We Live Without Smartphones? Statistics Says You Will Panic

iPhone 5 Smartphone Design

Can We Live Without Smartphones? Statistics Says You Will Panic

QUESTION:
How much time you spend a day staring at your smartphone?
How many of you have an iPhone but really don’t need it? Honestly.

Is it the first thing you grab for when you wake up in the morning?
The last thing you look at before you go to bed?

  • 54% of people say they do all of the above.

A study sponsored by Lookout, says that we often put more time in our phones than in real personal relationships. in fact the way we think, behave and the emotions we feel is more and more developing into a new “mobile mindset”.

“The findings establish that our attachment to smartphones is driving a new mobile mindset. Our behaviors, emotions and social interactions are impacted by smartphones to the extent that they now play an important role in our value systems.” – Alicia DiVittorio, Lookout

Smartphone Dependency Statistics

We are obsessed with staying connected on our phones.

  • 60% of respondents say they don’t go an hour without checking their phones.
  • 63% of women and 73% of men between ages 18 to 34 don’t go an hour without checking their phones.

Rules of etiquette are also changing or being challenged.

  • Nearly a third of respondents say they check their phones while sharing a meal
  • Nearly a quarter of respondents say they engage in risky behavior such as checking their phone while driving.
  • 10% check their phones during religious services

The Study also suggest we are also emotionally attached to our devices

  • Nearly three-quarters of respondents felt “panicked” when they misplace their phones.
  • 14% said they felt “desperate”
  • 7% said they felt “sick”
  • Only 6% said they felt “relieved”

How Are You with Smartphones?

So let’s discuss.

  • How much time you spend a day staring at your smartphone?
  • Is it the first thing you grab for when you wake up in the morning?
  • The last thing you look at before you go to bed?
  • Do you see us getting more and more dependent on Smartphones?
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South Korea Undisputed King of Internet Speed. Again.

South Korea Video Games Internet

South Korea Undisputed King of Internet Speed

Last year we learned that South Korea was the King of Internet Speeds. Korea owned 6 of the top 10 fastest cities in Asia and the country AVERAGED 14.6 Mbps. Meanwhile only 4.4% of users in the United States were above 10 Mbps.

So what has changed since then? Have other countries caught up? Did someone steal the throne of the internet?

Nope.

South Korea’s Internet Speed Rises

South Korea’s average internet speed is now 17.5Mbps. In other news, the rest of the world averages 2.3 Mbps.

South Korea was also 1 of only 2 countries (other being Japan) that increased in Internet Speed from Q3 to Q4 2011.

Also note that these are averages. South Korea peak in Q4 was 47.9 Mbps. Yes 47.9 Mbps. That’s like… at least a couple songs.

See the latest figures from Akamai below:

South Korea Internet Speed Akamai Statistics

Internet Speed Statistics

Some Highlights:
South Korea: South Korea’s Average internet speed is 17.5
Hong Kong & Japan: Hong Kong’s speed decreased from 10.5 Mbps to 9.1Mbps, putting them tied for #2 with Japan which increased from 8.9 to 9.1 Mbps.
United States: Average speed is 5.8 Mbps, down from 6.1 Mbps in Q3. Ranked #13.
Few Risers: Only South Korea & Japan increased in speed in Q4
Down Overall: Average internet speed fell 15% overall from 2.7 Mbps to 2.3 Mbps. 93 countries saw a decrease. 41 countries saw an increase.
New & Old: Belgium enters the top 10, Denmar falls off
Asia’s Lead: 69 of the 100 cities are based in Asia Pacific. 61 are in Japan, 6 in South Korea, 1 in Australia plus Hong Kong. 24 are from North America, 7 from Europe.

South Korea Plan to Increase Internet Connection

Though South Korea has the fastest Internet connection in the world, it has more plans to further increase connections throughout the country. Choi Gwang-gi is overseeing South Korea’s plan to connect every home in the country at over one gigabit per second by the end of 2012. They plan to increase speeds 10x leaving them 200x faster than the average home in the United States.

“The gigabit Internet is essential for the future, absolutely essential, and all the technologists will tell you this,” said Don Norman, co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, a leading technology consultancy in Fremont, Calif. “We’re all going to be doing cloud computing, for example, and that won’t work if you’re not always connected. Games. Videoconferencing. Video on demand. All this will require huge bandwidth, huge speed.”

south korea internet campsIncreased Internet Speeds Causing Internet Addictions?

A big concern with increased internet speeds is the increase in internet addiction. Internet addiction is a huge social issue in South Korea. The country even has established “Deprograming Camps” to help the young break free from the Internet.

There have already been many tragic stories of Internet additions causing great harm. One man died in a Net Cafe after playing games several days in a row. Even worse, a South Korea couple neglected their own 3 month old daughter who died of starvation as they were immersed in a role-playing game nurturing a virtual daughter.

It’s a sad reality that as technology advances and brings greater connection and good to the world, it is also creating more harm through detachment, social awkwardness and internet addiction.

  • What is your gut reaction to the rise in internet speeds?
  • Do you think enough is being done to prevent the harms of the internet?
  • Do you have any checks or accountability for your or your family’s internet use?
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How Much Data does Your Child Use Per Month?

Mobile Data Usage Statistics

DID YOU KNOW:

  • Teens ages 13 to 17 use on average 320MB of data per month?
  • Adults ages 25-34 use on average 578MB of data per month?

A study by Nielson analyzed mobile data from 65,000 U.S. subscribers. Smartphone users using mobile internet has increased 45% this year. Take a look around. Before the iPhone revolution, who among the people you know had smartphones? Very few people I imagine.

Mobile Data Usage Infographic

Teens & Texting: Where are Thou Social Skills?

We’ve had many article here following the incredible growth of text usage among teenagers. During Q3 of 2011, female teens had reached 3,952 texts per month. Male teens were at a “paltry” 2,815 per month. It wasn’t long ago that I was fine with a 200 txt msg plan! Not anymore.

Some people argue that social networks and easy communication access is lowering children’s ability to socially connect with others. Well this latest crop of statistics show that voice minute usage is dropping among teens. it dropped 17% year over year as they opt to text as it is faster and easier. An older poll from 2011 of 500 social networking Americans between ages 13 to 21, showed that 71% of the respondents preferred texting to phone calling. Ok, confession time. I would fall in that category as well. It is indeed easier and quicker, but do you think it has an adverse affect? Will it hurt social abilities and limit experiences for children and teens who grow up texting, talking online, messaging on Facebook, and IMing on gchat. I would argue, yes it would have an effect, though it may not be obvious or all that dramatic at first. I’ve worked with enough college students and youths to know, it could potentially become a problem.

  • What do you think?

Mobile Texting Statistics for Teens

  • 45% of teens send at least 30 texts a day
  •  54% of teens say they are just “chatting”
  •  14% text in class
  •  17% text while riding in a car
  •  10% text during a movie
  • Teens Ages 13-17 average 3417 text messages per month
  • Equivalent to 7 texts per every waking hour
  • 18-25: 1,914 texts per hour
  • 25-34: 928 texts per hour
  • 95% use phone for online gaming
  • 66% use to stream music

[poll id=”15″]

Teen Cell Phone Usage Statistics Infographic

Teen Texting Statistics Infographic

Infographic Courtesy of OnlineSchools

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Is Being Hyperconnected Hurting or Helping our Children?

Children Laptop Online InternetDid you know a lot of employees of leading high-tech firms in the silicon valley such as Apple, Google, Yahoo, and Hewlett-Packard send their children to a computer-free school?

Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix. – NY Times

So then comes the questions:

  • Why would high tech employees and internet executives who are so immersed in technology not want their child to use such technology to learn? Do they know something we don’t?
  • Does the use of technology potentially hurt child development…. adult development?

SURVEY: Will Millennials Benefit or Suffer Due to their Hyper-Connected Lives?

A recent survey released by Pew Internet Projects asked technology experts about this issue. The question: Will Millennials benefit or suffer due to their hyperconnected lives?

Child Mobile Phone ConnectedIn this survey, technology experts and stakeholders were fairly split in their opinions about whether highly connected people will end up having a positive or negative impact by 2020. The feeling is that young people who grow up hyper-connected via the internet, mobile web, and the internet will reap the benefit of being more nimble and quick-acting multitaskers. However on the other end, the same experts expect that those growing up fully connected will increase in their need for instant gratification, settling for quick choices, lacking patience, and the loss of social skills. Many expressed concerns of these trends, some mentioning George Orwell’s 1984 as well as fears of control by powerful interests in an age where distractions and quick entertainments rule.

Anyone remember this haunting quote?

” [it’s] easier [online] to be who you want to be, because nobody knows you and if you don’t like the situation you can just exit and it is over. ” – Clean Cut Media

[poll id=”24″]

Internet Connection helps with Learning & Multitasking!

The respondents were encouraged to pick one of two stances. 3% did not respond.

55% agreed with this statement:

In 2020 the brains of multitasking teens and young adults are “wired” differently from those over age 35 and overall it yields helpful results. They do not suffer notable cognitive shortcomings as they multitask and cycle quickly through personal and work related tasks. Rather, they are learning more and they are more adept at finding answers to deep questions, in part because they can search effectively and access collective intelligence via the internet. In sum, the changes in learning behavior and cognition among the young generally produce positive outcomes.

Internet Connection makes People Shallow & Lose Social Skills!

Child Watching TV Media - Hurts!42% agreed with the opposite statement:

In 2020, the brains of multitasking teens and young adults are “wired” differently from those over age 35 and overall it yields baleful results. They do not retain information; they spend most of their energy sharing short social messages, being entertained, and being distracted away from deep engagement with people and knowledge. They lack deep thinking capabilities; they lack face to face social skills; they depend in unhealthy ways on the internet and mobile devices to function. In sum, the changes in behavior and cognition among the young are generally negative outcomes.

What is considered Hyperconnected?

Hyperconnected basically means, you are always connected, a finger tip away. It is a word describing an environment where people are linked continuously through some kind of technology to other people and information.

Another survey from Pew Internet Projects show that 95% of teens ages 12-17 are online, 76% use social networking sites, and 77% have cell phones. Those in ages 18-29? 96% use the internet, 84% use social networking sites and 97% have cell phones. Over half of them use smartphones and 1 out of 4 own tablet computers like the iPad.

Want more Amazing Internet & Social Media Statistics?

[poll id=”7″]

So the same question remains.

  • Will Hyper-Connectedness of Millennials result in greater Benefit or Deteriment in the long run? Let us know your thoughts!
  • OR, at least think of a good caption for that litlte girl on the cell phone. Awesome picture!

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Twitter to Censor Tweets by Country – You be Quiet!

Twitter Censorship Content

Twitter Can Censor Your Content

Twitter has announced through it’s blog that it could “reactively withhold content from users in a specific country”. Basically, twitter is saying it has the right to remove content if it is against the laws of a particular country or if needed by special request.

This created a bit of controversy.

Is upholding Freedom of Speech important enough to break local laws?

Twitter Controversy – Freedom of Speech > Local Laws?

Freedom of information advocacy groups criticized the decision, afraid that it curbs the freedom of information and expression. Their concern is that it opens a dangerous precedent. Twitter’s response is that as they enter countries “that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression,” that they need to comply to such laws. One example is France and Germany banning pro-Nazi content. Of course, there are more controversial bans such as China’s famous suppression of information regarding Tienanmen Square, and more recently the killing sites discussing human rights issues during the Beijing games.

Google famously refused to cave into China’s censorship rules thus was never able to gain ample market share in the region. However remember China is a unique case of extreme censorship control.

Twitter has said that they have not used this ability yet, but if they do, they said “we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld”. They also admitted that some country’s views on this issue is so divergent that they won’t be able to exist there at all. China is one such country where twitter has been banned altogether due to being a source of news the government does not look kindly on.

Questions to Ponder about Twitter

  • Is Freedom of Speech being violated considering this Local Laws of other countries may differ?
  • Should we demand Twitter to uphold Freedom of Speech, if it means ignoring Local Laws if other countries?
  • Is Freedom of Speech a right that goes beyond Laws, a higher right that everyone deserves?

[poll id=”30″]

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Top 10 Fastest Rising Google Searches in 2011

Google Releases Zeitgeist 2011 Search Statistics

Google has released it’s Zeitgeist 2011 statistics. Google Zeitgeist highlights the top search trends of the year. I also see it as a snapshot into our culture because it really highlights recent fads, what sparks our interest and what grabbed the most attention. Whenever I see these lists, it’s a mix of excited curiosity and a bit of sadness over what grabs the most attention in our society. Take it as you will. Here is the top 10 list with some notes and comments for reference.

google zeitgeist search rankings 2011

Google Plus IconTop 10 Fastest Rising Google Searches in 2011

1.) Rebecca Black [WHY?!!]
2.) Google+
3.) Ryan Dunn [He was the main daredevil in the show jacka**. Died this year]
4.) Casey Anthony [Mother was found not guilty of first degree murder charges of her daughter Caylee]
5.) Battlefield 3 [Video Game]
6.) iPhone 5
7.) Adele [Singer]
8.) 東京 電力 (TEPCO) [Japan’s Nuclear Power Plant Evacuated after Quake.]
9.) Steve Jobs
10.) iPad 2

Considering all the tragedies that happened this year, you would think such things would be higher on the list, but Rebecca Black? Really?

Couple more top 5/10 lists for those interested.

Amazon Kindle FireTop 5 Google Searches – Gadgets

1.) Amazon Kindle Fire
2.) iPhone 4s
3.) Sidekick 4g
4.) HP Touchpad
5.) Spb Shell 3d
*6) iPad 2
[case you were wondering]

Top 10 Fastest Falling Google Searches in 2011

1.) Myspace [it has traffic to be falling?]
2.) Hi5 [oh I hate those spam friend emails!]
3.) Mebo
4.) Nasza Klasa
5.) Netlog
6.) Baidu
[Largest Search Engine in China.]
7.) Wer Kennt Wen
8.) Meinvz
9.) Hotmail Correo
10.) Delta Airlines

Top 5 Clean Cut Media Searches

Only because I know you are dying to know this…
I’ve also linked to the article driving the most traffic.
Note that these statistics favor postings that came earlier in the year since the data is cumulative.

In 2011 (search queries grouped by category).
1.) YouTube [YouTube Statistics – The Ultimate Time Suck]
2.) Chalk Art [3D Chalk Arts in the Streets Part I]
3.) Michael Jackson [Michael Jackson Death Causes Social Media Explosion]
4.) Social Media [Social Media Statistics Video]
5.) Clean Movies [Clean Family Friendly Movie Reviews & Ratings]
6.) 9/11 [Sept 11, 2001 – World Trade Center, Remembering 9/11]
7.) Art [Amazing 3D Building Chalk Arts]
8.) Photoshop [France to Regulate Airbrushed & Photoshopping Pictures]
9.) Facebook [Change Your New HTTPS Facebook Privacy Settings Now]
10.) Nickelback [Nickelback – Savin’ Me Music Video]

  • Any of this shock you or surprise you?
  • Any thoughts on this list?
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Did You Know Your Children Can Buy M Rated Video Games?

M Rated Video Games Mature 2
All the Things a Child Needs?

Did you know your kids may be able to buy M Rated Games?

Did You Know: Selling of video games is self-regulated. This means video game merchants can decide to check ID, not check ID, or just sell any rated video game to any age group. Based on a Federal Trade Commission study, about 20% of minors were able to purcahse mature video games on a national average. One nationwide chain was high as 50%.

US Supreme Court Rules – No Restrictions

Couple months ago, US Supreme Court ruled that, YES, game merchants should be allowed to sell violent games to kids. The US Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association formerly Schwarzenegger v. EMA) deciding that the 2005 California law that prohibited sale of violent games to minors as unconstitutional. The SCOTUS ruled in a 7-2 vote. The original California Law was enacted to limit the sale of violent games to minors.

Leland Yee Senator

California Law of 2005 Law Banning the Sale of Violent Games to Minor

California Senator Leland Yee introduced the original law banning the sale of violent games to minors in 2005. It held a $1,000 fine for any infractions by retailers. He wanted to regulate the video game industry due to various connections between violent video games and aggressive behavior in children. Similar laws passed in other states. This law was challenged numerous times and eventually show down on June 2011.

 

Why Rule Against Restricting Minors from Buying Violent Games?

One reason the Supreme Court ruled against this previous California law was the consideration that the definition of “violence” was too vague. The video gaming industry defended themselves by proclaiming that even Super Mario Brothers could be considered “violent” and so how is anyone to deem what is violent? On the opposite end of the spectrum was discussions over games such as “Postal 2” where the player can urinate on non-player characters then set them on fire.

Other reasons that were considered was whether the state government should have any rights to implement such restrictions and whether it conflicted with the first amendment.

Are We on a Slippery Slope? Standards Changing?

Ques: If we are allowed to sell M rated Games to kids, why stop there and sell M Rated Movies?

Outside of the ruling here is a question. Are we going down a slippery slope?

Over the past 15 years, I’ve seen the definition of “PG-13” change dramatically over that short period. Standards change over time, little by little.

Forget the arguments about first amendments or the rights of the government for a moment. If we don’t place boundaries on limiting what a minor can purchase, are we heading down a slippery slope? If selling R rated video games is ok, why not R rated movies? Something will have to eventually give. If M rated video games are ok, why not adult movies? How can we say yes to one and not the other? If someone demands these things, how can we argue? Who has the right to determine where the line needs to be drawn? Why?

In the movie industry, we’ve already seen that “line” shift dramatically. There was once a time PG-13 would be completely safe to take your children. Not anymore. Standards have changed over time. Plus who is to say where the line is? It’s concerning when the video game industry seems to have the most say. Is this a subjective matter?

  • What is your opinion on this?
  • What are your thoughts on the continual changing of our standards in media?
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The Teen Choice Awards Chooses R-Rated Movies?

Just a discussion starter. So share your your thoughts below…

What are your thoughts on the fact that three R Rated, raunchy comedies earned multiple nominations at the TEEN choice awards?

Hangover Part 2 Movie
Sneaking into the Minds of Unaware Teens

R-Rated Nominees – The Hangover Part II, Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher

The three R rated movie in question are “The Hangover Part II”, “Bridesmaids” and “Bad Teacher”. The Hangover Part II earned a six nominations, while Bridesmaid and Bad teacher were nominated for best comedy. Remember this is the TEEN choice awards for 13-19 year-olds voting for what they consider the best movies, shows, and music of the year. Anyone under 17 must still be accompanied by an adult to watch these movies due to their content. The Hangover Part II and Bridesmaid have been one of the more popular movies of this summer. The Hangover centers around a Drunken Bachelor party romp where the characters can’t remember what happened.

Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Movie
What is the Meaning of This? That's Evil! - Voldemort

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” led the pack with twelve nominations including best sci-fi fantasy film. TV Musical “Glee” follows with nine including top TV Comedy. The Twilight Saga swept the awards last season, but expects to face stiff competition from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”, “X-Men: First Class”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” and “Super 8.”

Something is Just not Right

So I pose the question again.

What are your thoughts on the fact that three R Rated, raunchy comedies earned multiple nominations at the TEEN choice awards?

I think, it’s a testament to how much our standards have fallen in terms of what is considered appropriate and not appropriate for our teen’s consumption, let alone public consumption as a whole (including adults!). I bet for most reader, this news doesn’t seem like big news at all. Is there anything that can be done or will our standards just fall lower and lower? Did you know the US Superior court overruled a law, saying it is ok for stores to sell Mature Rated video games to children? Also I remember just a mere 10 years ago, what passes as PG-13 today would cause a riot even though it was Rated R. It’s a slipper slope folks.

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