Menu Close

CNN Blames Video Games For Men’s Lack Of Ambition

Yep, just another missile aimed in the gamer's direction. And it comes from a mainstream media source…of course.

This one's gonna get some attention. And maybe I'll address it a little later in an editorial. But for now, head on over to CNN and read the article entitled, "Why Men Are In Trouble." There's a big picture of a dude playing a video game above the headline.

It first says that 18-34-year-old men are playing games more often than 12-17-year-old boys, and claims that while women are graduating college and finding good jobs, "too many men are not going to work, not getting married and not raising families." And here's one of the quotes from that piece that's going to really get arguments raging:

"Get off the video games five hours a day, get yourself together, get a challenging job and get married. It’s time for men to man up."

Just…just…give me a second. I have to process this. When I do, William J. Bennett is going to get a relatively large – and peeved – piece of my mind.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
76 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

And this is why I don't watch CNN, they long ago surrendered to the triumph of ignorance in our society.

DrRockso87
DrRockso87
12 years ago

"too many men are not going to work, not getting married and not raising families."

Aside from not going to work, is that really a negative result of video games? Sounds more like a great way to control over-population if you ask me.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

When men have no job, and no hope of a job, what are they supposed to do? They can hang around the streets and get sucked into petty crime and stupid mis-deeds, or they could play some games, vent their frustration. Sounds like gaming wins.

As usual this is someone seeking an answer to a problem that existed long before games, and as usual the 'new' medium is to blame.

Excelsior1
Excelsior1
12 years ago

oh please. i've always hated that phrase man up anyways. listen, it's like this. people play video games becuase ordinary life is so damn boring. it's a form of escape plus it's fun. i can think of far worse things men can be doing for fun.

duomaxwell007
duomaxwell007
12 years ago

lol so we HAVE to have "challenging" jobs and be married? wow I learn something new everyday

TrophyHunter
TrophyHunter
12 years ago

Been married is my most challenging job right now :p

Snorge
Snorge
12 years ago

@TrophyHunter Amen brother, LoL!

archs13
archs13
12 years ago

well, this is flat out wrong because I became a homeowner at the age of 20. I am 25 now and definitely much wiser and thinking that i'm not going to get married and have kids in my 20s. I know what I want in life and the media shouldn't be telling us to 'get married' and contribute to the over-population of the world. Parenting is not just about giving birth, and when someone makes life, there's a chance of destroying that same life too if you're not careful as a parent.

archs13
archs13
12 years ago

i'm sorry i didnt mean to reply to someones comment lol

friction
friction
12 years ago

Lmao dude's ancient probably never picked up a game in his life, still hate how he assumes all of us want to get married have a family and a job that brings in the dough.
I for one would trade all that in to sit on a couch with my favorite games day after day 😛

TrophyHunter
TrophyHunter
12 years ago

I wouldn't trade my family but my job for sure 😀

jimmyhandsome
jimmyhandsome
12 years ago

I read this article yesterday and was furious. This dinosaur needs to realize that times are a changing. Not every man is going to graduate from college, find a job, get married, start pumping out kids, all while going to church every sunday. And he also needs to take a long hard look at how his definition of a "man" is a load of bologna.

Not to mention he completely misrepresents those statistics from the 1950s.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

You know, I don't get articles like this one from CNN. This problem has existed since the dawn of the industrial age. Especially during times of poor economy, young men end up with nothing to occupy them. When the economy does pick up it's not an instant job fix for everyone. What does he expect those unable to find work will do? I'd rather they play video games than anything else.

We saw this same thing happen in the 80's, and it wasn't videogames that got the blame then, though I can't remember what it was, I think it was gang violence (in the UK at least) and drugs.

jimmyhandsome
jimmyhandsome
12 years ago

Not to mention that articles like this are further dividing the sexes. Writing an article about how men need to "man up" and start a church-going family right after college is borderline asnine in today's day and age. Fewer people (men AND women) get married in their 20's, and the divorce rate is at an all time high.

Its hard to blame a 25 year old for wanting to go to bars and play video games with his buddies rather than get married and have a 50% chance it'll end in monthly alimony payments. Who's to say this guy isn't well educated with a great job? Men playing videogames into their 30's hardly seems like the root of this country's problems.

His article was blantantly stirring the pot for viewership/readership for CNN. And of course, videogames are in the cross hairs.

Kingharris
Kingharris
12 years ago

WAH?

So, I get married, have a kid, get a good job.

Now for entertainment, CNN, no, American Idol, No, Americas Next Top Model, no.

Well, you seen TV is mostly trash.

Gaming on the other hand..

TrophyHunter
TrophyHunter
12 years ago

Yep, TV is full of crappy reallity shows and stuff like that this days

Clamedeus
Clamedeus
12 years ago

Agreed.

Crabba
Crabba
12 years ago

Exactly.

Stabs88
Stabs88
12 years ago

Straight upp

Fane1024
Fane1024
12 years ago

You're all wrong. Despite the prevalence of reality crap, TV has *never* had as much great content as in the last ten years.

Gabriel013
Gabriel013
12 years ago

Having videogames to relax with has helped me to stay focused at work and earn promotions to get where I am today.

I'm not in a relationship but that has nothing to do with games and I have absolutely no interest in raising a family. Whole damn world is populated enough as it is.

Twistedfloyd
Twistedfloyd
12 years ago

Yeah, so everyone should get married and have a family. There are plenty of people who might not want to do that. There are plenty of people that are gamers and have lives and challenging jobs and families. But this sounds like someone just saying that video games are the cause of all of humanity's problems. And that everyone should get married and have a family which is absurd because there are plenty of people who might not want to do that.

I do, but I'm not just going to throw my PS3 out the window and be like well I guess I gotta go be a business executive somewhere and screw my secretary, then get a wife out of nowhere and have unwelcomed children. Sounds like the damn American dream right there (sarcasm).

There are plenty of women who game as well, moron. God, the thing I can't stand about these things is that so many people who belittle gaming haver never played video games before. They've seen a trailer or watched someone play. Or if they have played, their exposure has been minimal.

There are plenty of great games out there that enrich the mind, or are pure escapism.

There are plenty of great stories and meaningful experiences to be found in games. Hell, as silly as it sounds playing MGS-MGS4 back to back to back to back having never played them before, quite frankly saved my life in 2008 and inspired me TO BE SUCCESSFUL and want to control my own destiny. It was the first thing that began to get me out of a major depressive funk and changed the way I live my life.

So to this person, I say F U C K you and your BS. Sure video games eat up time, sometimes we all play too much, but they're not the cause of the world's problems. They're a fun and sometimes meaningful source of entertainment that narrow minded individuals such as this "gentleman" can't seem to wrap their head around.

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
12 years ago

I would sure like to know what his hobby is.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
12 years ago

You probably don't want to know.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

Gambling – high stakes. No, really.

jimmyhandsome
jimmyhandsome
12 years ago

Obviously, guys. REAL MEN blow thousands at Fox Woods on booze and blackjack.

Gordo
Gordo
12 years ago

His hobby is Murder…

(Please someone get the reference!)

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

Mr Wong – Detective?

Or perhaps something to do with American Psycho?

I will admit, it rang a bell, but I had to google to get a specific reference.

Gordo
Gordo
12 years ago

Sorry, didn't say it with enough accent!

Adam Sandler song:

But there’s a problem
It’s not your average problem
But it’s a pretty big problem
His hobby is moyda
His hobby is moyda
He’ll eat a hamboyga
Then commit moyda

Classic!

TrophyHunter
TrophyHunter
12 years ago

I'm married, I have a son, I have a decent job and I play 3-4 hours every day so, is anything wrong???

AcHiLLiA
AcHiLLiA
12 years ago

Nope.. And the good thing about gaming, it decreases stress.

Clamedeus
Clamedeus
12 years ago

Depending on what game Lol xD Just don't play Dark Souls. >.> Lol

Gordo
Gordo
12 years ago

Reduce stress?

I thought that was the "other thing" that gentleman of leisure like to do with their hands!

I'd like to raise a toast to "taken one for team me"…

Cheers!!!

nogoat23
nogoat23
12 years ago

Dear CNN,
Can I have a job, also…will you marry me?

gumbi
gumbi
12 years ago

I have a good job, a house, a wife, and two kids (2 and 4 years old)… and I LOVE video games! Love'em!

I play as often as I can. Granted, I don't get to play as much as I used to, but boy I sure used to play a lot. All that video gaming I used to do doesn't seem to have affected my ambition any.

And lets not forget, some people have no desire to have a family and a trophy job. Some people are genuinely happy with what they have. Is that really so bad? This doesn't mean they suffer a lack of ambition, they just have different ambition.

I'm in no way condoning the lazy unemployed leaches who live off our hard earned tax dollars. But is it anything to be ashamed of to be happy with your warehouse job, or your retail job? And to have the freedom to go home after a days work and chill out on the couch with some vids?

And seeing higher graduating rates and employment rates among women has nothing to do with men playing video games. That's just ludicrous. It has everything to do with the strong push for equality and the simple fact that times have changed. In today's society women are capable, and expected, to be career driven. In in many cases, to support this trend, women are given a lot of breaks to help them emerge into markets that are predominantly run by men.

I'm in IT, when I was in college there were 2 girls in my class. Yeah, just 2. And they both had their tuition/books paid for, straight up, paid for by gov't programs for women in IT. Years later, I'm still paying off student loans. Now tell me this isn't incentive to get more women into college and into the workforce.

Qubex
Qubex
12 years ago

Feck that… what must I "man-up" too… slavery in the corporate world. A "no life" full of misery existence… bills and debt… complications…

No thanks… keeping mostly to myself – with a few quality friends (and you guys at PsXeXtreme), playing on the console and saving my money has saved me ass compared to many others around the globe…

So they can go and shove their manlyhood somewhere else…

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"


Last edited by Qubex on 10/5/2011 12:04:01 PM

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
12 years ago

At Ben D.

The real reason for "articles" like that is that in most cases actual TV Show viewership and TV news viewership is going down.

The reason?
Folks tired of the trash on TV are turning in greater numbers to the one thing with no ads.

Yeah its the good entertainment value in Video Games that are killing off the mainstream TV shows numbers.

CNN blames video games for lower viewership numbers.

There.
Fixed.

Hmmm todays to do list:
Visit public notary
Lawyers interview
check on new contract for commercial power
pick up kids from school
pay kids private school
go see public accountant
get parts for one of my vehicles
fix my sons netbook
edit and print out some documents

and time permitting
visit dentist
buy camera tripod

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
12 years ago

The real reason is the Daily Mail effect. The viewers of these News channels falls into certain key demographics that are getting older and more conservative (small 'c') with time. the spin, bias, leaning and editorial policy reflects this. This is the kind of story you find in the UK's Daily Mail. All it does is confirm the views of the target audience making them feel good about themselves.

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
12 years ago

I got home from work and my kids were glued to the TV and I asked them what they were watching and my Son says waiting for Rave Master thats going to be on in a few hours.

I went huh????
Nope!
I found the entire series on the Bay and after MKV2Vob did its thing I then placed the entire 51 Rave Master shows on my Sons PS3

And I said thats Daddy TV where there are no ads!! just PS3 entertainment.

So my kids started watching the Rave Master shows on the PS3 and asked for Meerkat Manor and I am searching for that.

My point is that the PS3 is entertainment when YOU want it and not when the TV station gets tired of showing ads.

Clamedeus
Clamedeus
12 years ago

I can't stand ads on TV's honestly. I don't care what they are advertising, if I want something I'll buy it. Or research more into it on the internet. I barely watch TV, only when playing games though is when I watch it. :p

Dreno
Dreno
12 years ago

This is a bunch of crap. Its a slanderous story aimed at the most over used complaint about gamers and gaming in general

"oh if you play games, your lazy and uninspired, blah blah blah"

i myself am living proof to disredit this story. No I'm not married, but I've been with the same girl for going on 5 years, she also happens to be the mother of my 1.5 year old son.
And I have a job, granted its not the best paying job in the world, I still earn money for my labor in which I use to pay bills such as rent, electricity and gas. I buy food for my girl, our son and my self. That to me sounds like I'm your average everyday tax paying money making child raising blue coller american.

These reporters should get a clue about something before they attack it. Maybe get some insight from actuall gamers and report everything they learned instead of trying to blame someone being "lazy" on gaming because it just happens to be said persons no1 hobby. Isn't that just a coincidence

Besides this kind of reminds me of racial profiling, only minus the racial part. So I guess just profiling.

Jawknee
Jawknee
12 years ago

I believe the pussification of men has more to do with anti-male policies and men hating femenism than it does with videogames. Once again, CNN = Epic Fail. The role of what it means to be a man had been greatl diminished over the last 30+ years.


Last edited by Jawknee on 10/5/2011 12:57:21 PM

Underdog15
Underdog15
12 years ago

Betty White has an amazing quote…

"I don't understand why people say 'grow some balls'. Balls are tender and weak. People should want to grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding!"

This "man up" stuff is childish enough, as is. And Betty makes a great point. lol

FxTales
FxTales
12 years ago

Lol that's an awesome quote. I had a chuckle there.

Jawknee
Jawknee
12 years ago

Betty White is disgusting. Lol

79transam
79transam
12 years ago

I have a job, been married for over a year, and expecting a child in January. Oh I also play video games thank god I have not allowed them to turn me into a degenerate

Jawknee
Jawknee
12 years ago

Congrats! I just had my first. Kids are awesome!

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
12 years ago

For sure! Congrats!

79transam
79transam
12 years ago

Thanks guys, super pumped about it, it's a boy so I am sure in 10 years I'm going to have to tell him no to COD MW 15 haha

Fane1024
Fane1024
12 years ago

…like COD will exist in 10 years. No chance.

76
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x