Boris Johnson slams videogames

[wraggster]

via gamesindustry (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22031)

Outspoken Tory MP Boris Johnson has declared that it's time to "garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation", blaming falling literacy rates on the rise of videogames.

In a recent opinion piece for The Telegraph, Johnson wrote, "Millions of seven to 15 year olds are hooked, especially boys, and it is time someone had the guts to stand up, cross the room and just say no to Nintendo.

"It is about time, as a society, that we admitted the catastrophic effect these blasted gizmos are having on the literacy and the prospects of young males."

According to Johnson, less and less children are enjoying reading and more and more students are arriving at university without adequate writing skills. He added, "I refuse to believe that these hypnotic little machines are innocent."

Johnson went on to quote figures stating that the number of computer games per household is higher for Britain than for any other EU country, and that 89 per cent of UK households with children own a console.

"These possessions are not so much an index of wealth as a cause of ignorance and underachievement and, yes, poverty," he continued.

"The nippers are bleeping and zapping in speechless rapture, their passive faces washed in explosions and gore. They sit for so long that their souls seem to have been sucked down the cathode ray tube.

"They become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory."

Although Johnson is not a regular commentator on videogames, he is well known in Britain for his controversial opinions on a wide range of topics. He has hit the headlines for describing George W. Bush as "a cross-eyed Texan warmonger" and Tony Blair as "a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet", and last year angered the embassy of Papua New Guinea by referring to "orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing".

He has become something of a cult figure in the UK, with some fans calling for him to become Prime Minister - but according to Johnson, there is as much chance of this happening as "my being reincarnated as an olive".

Another out of touch idiot blaming Video games when they should really be looking and education and upholding the law, always a twat trying to make a name for themselves.

[Shrygue]

That MP has better things to do than get rid of games consoles. It's simply a waste of time (and money) trying.

[Zargon]

Only way they can stop video games is to kill those that want to play them. He says that most of male teens play video games.
Translation--Boris Johnson wants to kill all male teens so he can destroy the human race!

[wolfpack]

hmm... these guys are getting crazier and crazier. i dont live in the UK, i live in the US but this still gives me the giggles

[Mc_Logical]

exactly this is just some damn MP who decides now 2 speak just because maybe its his job and he will get higher status if he pulls through this but like alot of this sort of shit never gets solved lol ppl known this 4 awhile and him saying sum1 needs 2 stand up 2 this????? lol yeah ok dude w/e u say u say that because u know it will get heard but we allready know lol ok ima idiot yes do i care NO!!! freedom of speach just like this twat , theres a thing called reality at the end of the day and hey lifes 2 short we all genna die some day anyway lol

[Hungry Horace]

a typical Tory point of view of things. the sad fact is, Johnson's party will probably still get voted in at the next electon :(

[shadowprophet]

Dont you guys see?
This isnt about some guy that cares about children..
This is abou some very selfish close minded individual that wanted to scream (WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS!!!).
Just so he can feel all important and bust a nut when he sees his name posted all over the news....
Just like jack thompson, and countless other empty shells of worthlesness out there......
This guy gets a hardy two thumbs down for not only being unoriginal, But for being a massive douche too...

[kcajblue]

why are there so many idiots trying to get rid of video games recently.

[Veskgar]

Outspoken Tory MP Boris Johnson has declared that it's time to "garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation", blaming falling literacy rates on the rise of videogames.

Parents, here is some suggestions:

Sony PSP: Mind Quiz

Nintendo DS Lite: Brain Age / Big Brain Academy

Video games are not the reason why schools are failing and kids are not responsible. Makes for a good excuse though don't it?

[sinjinn]

boris johnson is more of a comedian than a polotician.
seriously though, can he not see the flaw in his own reasonings?
has he not seen someone read a book? they just sit there and twitch . its the same thing , almost exactly . information is enters the mind through the eyes and the mind absorbs and reacts to it. the major problem he has is that he is part of the older generation. books have garnered this sort of status as being somehow intellectually superior than any other medium , but at its core all it is is information passing thru the mind. the new technologies come and change the way we absorb and interact with the information butthe principle is the same.
how many newspapers have you read? how much do u read about things that go on in the world? 10 minutes here and there , at the end it amounts to nothing. in the morning at teh train station you see people with newspapers reading the same stuff again and again. its a ritual, its soemthign to do, we all do it. at the same station you'll see people listening to music and playing ideo games. theres nothing scandalous about it .
anyway, in a couple of generations everything will be transformed. and i bet some of the gamers will be horrified by the latest newfangled stuff that is going to come out soon. and the kids will be livid. **** u gramps...go back to your video games

[MicroNut]

I wonder if this ignorant sob knows that nip and nippers is slang for someone of Asian decent.

Whom if he cares so much about numbers should
know what those numbers say about Asians , Education and Video games.

[woods05]

First of all, there is no chance that he will be able to stop video games. There is nothing he can do about it.
Second of all, he doesn't have any proof that video games can cause deficency in education.
And again, what is he going to do about it? Is he going to come to everyone's house and take away all video games?

[cador]

Another out of touch idiot blaming Video games when they should really be looking and education and upholding the law, always a twat trying to make a name for themselves.

I find it ironic that your criticism of Boris Johnson is grammatically incorrect, thus proving his assertion that video games cause illiteracy ;)

[dejkirkby]

Boris Johnson is atotal idiot. He single-handedly slated a whole city before having to give a formal apology, he has become obsessed with being on television, fronting a program called "Have I Got News For You" several times. He is just an attention-hungry buffoon, with little more to do than cause controversy and blame someone else for the failings of politicians on the youth of today.
Britain is in the midst of a education crisis and it seems politicians are looking for easy targets to blame instead of doing the right thing and looking in a mirror.

[homebrew1973]

Boris Johnson is atotal idiot. He single-handedly slated a whole city before having to give a formal apology, he has become obsessed with being on television, fronting a program called "Have I Got News For You" several times. He is just an attention-hungry buffoon, with little more to do than cause controversy and blame someone else for the failings of politicians on the youth of today.
Britain is in the midst of a education crisis and it seems politicians are looking for easy targets to blame instead of doing the right thing and looking in a mirror.

99% of politicians are how you describe them ;-)

A good thing to do if you see him or his colleagues is laugh at them, tell them they`re just different masks on the same face and that they`re greedy, selfish corrupt liars and you`ll never believe them then watch how much they shrink....

[Dave the Rave]

I agree with Mr Johnson on this one. Is it also a coincidence that the levels of child obesity are higher than ever?

[NeoXCS]

A game is still essentially doing the same thing as a book usually, they are telling stories. Books may give you help with grammar and such, but who is to say games aren't helping you learn something. I myself have learned many words I never would have not playing games. Some games are puzzle games challenging your memory and your problem solving skills. These in essence are helping you learn and develop your mind further than even books can. Why cant everyone just relax and stop whining about video games being such a blight on the world? :p

[robman84]

Obviously if kids spent *all* of their time doing sedentary activities (videogames, TV, reading books) then yes they would become obese and socially inept. The point is that they don't *just* do those activities, and it is up to the parents (I am one) to restrict the amount of time kids spend stationary and encourage them to get out and do excercise in a social environment.

Last time I checked, home videogames had been popular for about 35 years, TV about twice as long and books a fair bit longer still...

The reasons for dropping literacy and numeracy rates are bugger all to do with any of the sedentary activities and everything to do with the education reforms that started in 1988.

[Amethyst]

Sinjinn and NeoXCS, you're both kind of missing the point of his rant.

Neo: "A game is still essentially doing the same thing as a book usually, they are telling stories. Books may give you help with grammar and such, but who is to say games aren't helping you learn something."

Sinjinn: "Has he not seen someone read a book? They just sit there and twitch . It's the same thing, almost exactly. Information enters the mind through the eyes and the mind absorbs and reacts to it."

He's blaming video games for the rise in illiteracy, something a good book may help mend. In a way I agree, too many people game more often than they read or write. But I could also blame television, art, socializing, work, and physical activity.

Sure, it is possible for a video game to teach, but traditional studies are much more efficient and responsive.

"These possessions are not so much an index of wealth as a cause of ignorance and underachievement and, yes, poverty," he continued.

Unless he is referring to the bank bomb that is PLAYSTATION 3 (just kidding), I will assume this is a summary of his "butterfly effect" logic train. If a kid plays video games then he won't read as much as he should and will not attend a proper university. Therefore he will not be able to achieve a successful career and in the end we will have more burger-flippers.

If I may add; poverty makes for higher birth rates. Video games are making babies.

The "butterfly effect" is fun. *farts against the wind*

"The nippers are bleeping and zapping in speechless rapture, their passive faces washed in explosions and gore. They sit for so long that their souls seem to have been sucked down the cathode ray tube.

"They become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory."

What the f'ck? He goes from angry politician to master wordsmith during the blink of an eye. I guess he twice cracked that thesaurus to prove his intellectual superiority. :rofl:

[samidgley]

You've got to love a bit've Johnson though.

[goity]

Text adventures made me illiterate

[VampDude]

videogames taught me to read!

it's true, thou many games when I was 6 did'nt have much dialogue games like Faxanadu (nes) taught me to read as I played and I was actually "above my reading age"

I disagree with what that nut-bar said, videogames have'nt done me any harm. unless being taught how to read by videogames is a crime WHICH IT'S NOT, the only people who remain dumb after playing videogames have no future and should be banned from videogames unless they admit that they are dumb before pickingup that controller!

[Ennohex]

No way! This guy is cool, he makes video gaming sound like poetry. :P

Games drew me to the Internet, the Internet broadened my vocabulary, the kids of today are reading more because of the Internet.
Go blame something else. Like bad parenting.

[scottyboynow]

Uhh, just like that Anti games bloke a few weeks ago that was on the news. Can't remember his name but the whole Anti games thing is his job. Feel sorry for his son.

[Anonymous D]

I have 6 consoles and emulators I must be like 10% of that 89%.