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Elite Veteran
Posts: 705
 
Location: Weatherford, TX | I don’t have kids. However, I have wondered about this phenomenon with ‘mass shootings’ since Columbine in 1999. Most mass shooters (except Las Vegas) have been committed by ‘kids’ between 18-28.
Now, when I went to high school, we had kids with gun racks and guns in them. Nobody shot up anyone or a school.
I was around guns since I can remember and did not touch them. We just knew they were not to be played with.
What has changed? Why should all guns or certain guns be removed from society? That will not stop the lack of empathy for others or human life. It is a societal issue.
Edited by Gator Bug 2019-02-16 5:38 PM
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16572
  
Location: Displaced Iowegian | Gator Bug - 2019-02-16 4:09 PM I don’t have kids. However, I have wondered about this phenomenon with ‘mass shootings’ since Columbine in 1999. Most mass shooters (except Las Vegas) have been committed by ‘kids’ between 18-28.
Now, when I went to high school, we had kids with gun racks and guns in them. Nobody shot up anyone or a school.
I was around guns since I can remember and did not touch them. We just knew they were not to be played with.
What has changed? Why should all guns or certain guns be removed from society? That will not stop the lack of empathy for others or human life. It is a societal issue. Personally, I think that the violent video games teach children a lack of respect for guns or empathy for those killed .....in the game, it is just kill...kill...kill .....Additionally, with all of the electronic devices and "Apps" it is so much easier to bully a young child and easy for others to join in on the bullying ..... Back in the day, you had to walk up to the person to bully them and take the chance of getting your nose broke or butt whipped ... LOL
Edited by NJJ 2019-02-16 5:42 PM
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25351
Location: Bastrop, Texas | It really is a great topic, in my opinion. I think technology in this area has advanced so rapidly that humanity hasn’t been able to take full measure of the unintended consequences. It exploded into our lives and it ended up overwhelming us. I don’t think very many people on BHW feel comfortable discussing this......just like an alcoholic or addict avoids talking about chemical dependency.
Finally, it looks like this “syndrome” is being studied and written about.
Drug addiction means being enslaved and being powerless to stop using, despite the lousy cost/benefit ratio of no longer getting much pleasure from the drug while suffering much harm from it. “Internet addiction” or “video game addiction” is very similar. Lots of us are furiously checking emails of Facebook in restaurants, in the barn, on our horse, on the toilet, and even over dinner. Even in the middle of the night, and first thing in the morning, we feel lost when temporarily separated from our electronic friends, and spend every spare minute googling, texting, or playing games. But does this really qualify us as addicts? Maybe not.....unless our attachment is compulsive and without reward or usefulness; interferes with participation and success in real life; and causes significant distress or impairment, sometimes in our friendships or marriages. For many kids, especially, their universe depends on a device.
For most of us, the tie to the internet, however powerful and consuming, brings much more pleasure or productivity than pain and impairment. This is more love affair and/or tool using than enslavement and is probably not a mental disorder. It would be silly to define as psychiatric illness behavior that which has now become so much a necessary part of everyone’s daily life and work. However I think there is a line you can cross, beyond which it becomes a real mental illness. Whether or not internet addiction is ever recognized as a mental disorder in the future remains to be seen, but I think it will. I definitely think kids are vulnerable much more than adults, particularly when their parents themselves are too consumed in their own cyber/device obsession to even notice.
Personally, my opinion is that this plays a big role in suicide and gun violence. | |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| i see my grandson 2 years placing with it absorbed ijn it but he is also outdoors rides his pony all boy i know tv was not much at our house when he grew up chorse work .. but i really think thats why so many kids are called all these things and given drugs they can not run that excess engry off and parents don/t or cant deal with but also pretty dang scary out there now | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 612
| I have a 12 year old son. It is a fight sometimes to limit his game time. He is a better kid if he spends more time outside. The good news for me is that he loves to rodeo so that gives him a reason to be outside. I read his text messages from his friends on a regular basis. The bottom line is that you have to be an active parent. You can't take the easy route and use video games and television as a babysitter. You have to be involved. | |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | RomanK - 2019-02-16 3:34 PM Bear - 2019-02-16 12:30 PM I think a lot of us shy away from looking at this problem for obvious reasons. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we are all internet/electronic device addicts to varying degrees. I’ve cut down a lot, but I think I waste too much time on social media. I don’t play video games, thank God. I think social media is the centerpiece off too many lives. Fortunately a lot of us recognize it and are making adjustments, but some people live for it. It is both a blessing and a curse. I think a lot of young people lose their lives because of devices, games, and social media, either as a direct result or as a victim. Painful truth. I totally agree. It even affects adults with divorce rates on the rise. Here is an extract from an online article I found: In fact, Fortnite is so popular it's becoming kind of a problem for some gamers. One online divorce specialist service says that Fortnite was the reason behind about 4,500 divorces a year. And some health experts have said that Fortnite is as addictive as heroin. Source: https://sciencing.com/this-is-why-fortnite-is-so-addictive-13715436....
I need to get better herione then | |
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BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25351
Location: Bastrop, Texas | I’ve never heard of “Fortnight”, except when I lived in England, where a “ fortnight “ simply means “2 weeks”. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | The rule in our house was an equal time spent off the games as on, with a 2 hour limit at one sitting. Even in the winter. You need to be diligent in this and set a timer so they can see it. A lot of whining at first but that goes away quickly as long as you don't negotiate more time! As my mother always said, you don't negotiate with terrorists and teenagers. :) No mature rated games were allowed in the house and no online gaming. | |
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