Ron Jeremy says violent video games 'worse' than porn

[6souls]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...eremey-bod.jpg

Violent video games have "a much bigger negative influence on kids" than pornography, a leading porn star has claimed.

He said parents should be more worried about the harmful effects of such games.

Mr Jeremy's comments were made at a session called the Great Porn Debate during the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Las Vegas.

His comments angered gamers, who accused him of "ignorance".

Mr Jeremy's appearance at CES in Las Vegas caused some raised eyebrows.

He took time away from the Adult Entertainment Expo, which takes place in Las Vegas at the same time as the annual tech fest, to speak out on behalf of his profession and promote some practical tools.

"Studies have found that violent video games are a much bigger negative influence on kids," Mr Jeremy said.

'Very disappointing'

The remark has caused quite a stir in the games world.

"It's rather hypocritical behaviour and it doesn't speak up for pornography's merits by merely saying "something else is worse, don't look at us.

"Very disappointing behaviour from a man who should know better," said Jim Sterling of gaming news blog Destructoid.com.

Andy Chalk at video gaming site escapistmagazine.com said Mr Jeremy's remarks cannot be completely ignored.

"While I do think he's (Mr Jeremy) working from a platform of ignorance, I'm not quite as certain that the sentiment is entirely wrong.

"I wouldn't want my kids (the hypothetical ones, that is) playing Modern Warfare 2 or becoming overly familiar with Ron's body of work, but is it really reasonable to say that one is significantly worse than the other?" asked Mr Chalk.

Mr Jeremy also urged parents to play their part in preventing children from accessing adult websites.

He said the industry already does all it can to protect youngsters.

"Parents can block this stuff and need to stop blaming porn for a bad case of parenting," Mr Jeremy told BBC News.

"Parents should watch what their kids are doing online and take some responsibility. Don't blame us. We have disclaimers, age notifications and software blockers. We are doing our bit," said Mr Jeremy.

That view was backed by a critic of the $10bn (£6.2bn) adult entertainment sector.

"Parents are not talking about this with their kids enough," said Craig Gross, who is a former pastor and has set up a website to help people addicted to pornography.

"We have to have these conversations because for the most part, kids are smarter than their parents when it comes to technology. Parents need to do more parenting and be more proactive on these issues," added Mr Gross.

"Safer online"

Mr Jeremy was busy promoting the practical tools designed to prevent children from accessing pornography.

"Because we make porn, we are the bad guys. We don't want kids to watch porn but yes we recognise that it happens. We are not in favour of that," said Mr Jeremy who has appeared in over 2000 films.

Now the man voted America's top porn actor by the Adult Video Network, has put his weight and influence behind a number of software blocking tools.

These include InternetSafety.com's Safe Eyes family internet management software which will automatically block access to online pornographic content.

"We're not just all about restrictions and rules. We want the family to talk about being safer online," said Aaron Kenny, the chief technology officer for InternetSafety.com.

Coming to the aid of the porn industry is an unlikely figure in the shape of the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection, ASACP, a non-profit group that works to enforce anti-child pornography laws.

"The porn industry has gotten a bad rap," Joan Irvine, the chief executive officer of ASACP told the BBC.

"They are doing so much in order to develop technology or using our systems because they don't want kids out there watching porn, or being in it. They recognise that it isn't good for business and would lead to more scrutiny so they police themselves well," added Ms Irvine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8453043.stm

[Zilong]

It's a great thing that there are no violent pornographic video games.

*checks hard drive*

Ok, I lied

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

[Guitarman]

So god of war is far worse than a video of people taking a soft-serve ice cream style shit on each others' chests. Got it. Kind of hypocritical coming from a guy that willingly looks like mario.

[Zilong]

don't be dissing the cleveland steamer.

[Anomander]

So god of war is far worse than a video of people taking a soft-serve ice cream style shit on each others' chests. Got it. Kind of hypocritical coming from a guy that willingly looks like mario.

Laughed so hard I cried.

In all seriousness, this is retarded. People were doing fucked up things long before video games and porn ever came out. Sure, there are people that may not be able to understand right and wrong, but I seriously doubt a video game is the root cause of that.

[Charismatic]

Are you sure they were doing these things before porn came out? Porn is actually ancient, unlike video games.
PERHAPS PORN IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!

[Gargoyle]

Surprised no one picked out this line yet:

Now the man voted America's top porn actor by the Adult Video Network, has put his weight and influence behind a number of software blocking tools.

I lol'd

[xopher]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlSIqJpXI5A

Harrison's sister is hot.

[Takedown3]

sex is natural killing people and ripping there head of isnt.

sure he's defending his industry but you tards just cant see the forest the thru trees.

porn isnt better for you then most games but there are a slew of games out there that are certainly worse then regular ol bang n screw porn

[Qalbert]

Bullshit. For ever study citing violent video games causing violence there is one that says the opposite. There is no definitive proof of any sort of direct, causal relationship between the two. In fact, for many people, myself included to some degree, 'violent' games are an outlet for frustration that, if not released, could lead to actions far more severe than playing an FPS. Whether the frustration manifests in something small like yelling at someone, or more seriously as physical abuse, if games let you blow off steam and avoid those sort of situations that's a damn good thing.

[Tyrath]

The only really definite problem in all such cases are bad parents. Bad parenting is what will lead a 10 year old to take bad lessons from a violent video game. But a damn 10 year old shouldn't even be playing overly violent games in the first place. There rating system is there for a reason, just as the porn blocking softwares are mentioned in the article.

If parents would start taking a more active role in what their children do online and what kind of video games they play, this wouldn't be such a huge issue. Instead they let their kids run wild and then when something bad happens, they look towards media to find a scapegoat.

[dejet]

sex is natural killing people and ripping there head of isnt.

sure he's defending his industry but you tards just cant see the forest the thru trees.

porn isnt better for you then most games but there are a slew of games out there that are certainly worse then regular ol bang n screw porn

And I am willing to bet pong is better for you than porn, so what?

[Wulfgang]

That youtube video was great. I think the correct argument is that neither porn nor violent video games are bad; Ronnie J probably just trying to take heat off his industry by shifting it to an easy target.

[Qalbert]

Hypocrite much?

[Kaisha]

Hey look it's Jack Thomp-oh wait.....

God, what do you think the rating systems are for? If a game is too violent, it won't be rated for such an age group by a given country's standards. Bad parenting at that point if they allow their kids to have access to content they deem they're not mature/old enough for.

[Sylvrdragon]

sex is natural killing people and ripping there head of isnt.

You're wrong. You know what "Survival of the Fittest" means right? Animals have been killing every bit as long as they've been fucking. I'm not just talking about predatory animals hunting for food either. Plenty of animals won't hesitate to kill members of their own species if they are in competition for food or mates or to protect their young. Humanity has just gotten a bit more in depth with it. Humans still kill for a REASON, you just have to follow the chain of events back a bit farther sometimes to find it.

[Kerberoz]

sex is natural killing people and ripping there head of isnt.

Your spelling makes me feel more homicidal than any violent video game.

Yeah, violence is totally unnatural. None of that existed before evil humans came and invented it. Now go eat your soy burger and try not to think of all the field mice killed by harvesters.

[Takedown3]

survival of the fittest you say?

when was the last time you killed someone to get your vidya games. the line at walmart must get really long to go that far.

[Takedown3]

The only reason porn is so bad because the leaders of the country(ies) you love have drilled it into you minds for decades going back to your grandparents. Larry Flynt would like to have a word with you.

y'all are pretty conservative for a board like this, if anything porn and vidya's need to be broken down into equal genres

god of war 3 = scat
mw2 = anal fetish/fucking/stretching
bayonetta = straight fuckin
bowsers inside story = softcore lesbians
the sims = gay millitary