65 girls pregnant at one high school: video games to blame?
65 out of 490 young ladies who attend Timkin High
School in Canton, Ohio are preggers, and video games may be to blame, according to a local Ohio newspaper, which
had this to say on the subject:
Whose fault is it that more than 13 percent of Timken's girls are with child? Some would say fault-finding isn't a fruitful exercise, but in this case, it's critical. Suspects range from movies, TV and video games to lazy parents and lax discipline. Only one thing is sure: Schools don't impregnate children.
Hey, I'm just a blogger and not a doctor, but I thought for sure that games can't impregnate children either. In fact, if my wife's reaction to my gaming habits are any indication, games are a very effective method of birth control.
[Via Blogdex]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
phantomprophet @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
It was the Hot Coffee mod!!!
I swear, when are parents going to stop bitching and start parenting?
Steven @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Ah, it's just another "let's blame everything else but the parents" game.
Since the schools are teaching "sex ed" maybe those girls just couldn't wait to try out what they learned in class.
vladimir cole @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#2 (Steven): I'd wager that the pregnancy rate is actually higher for those who had not yet attended sex ed. A good sex ed course teaches about birth control. In Ohio, though, they may preach the conservative agenda of abstinence, which studies show is not effective at preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies.
But honestly, if these kids were playing games after school, their hands would be too full to employ them in the use of getting knocked up.
White Rose Duelist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
vladimir cole
Your hands aren't the part used for making babies, either. Although my wife and I haven't tried playing and playing at the same time, so I can't say for sure how effective that would be.
Michael @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#4 Vladimire Cole, sex ed is faulty, no matter what, the only thing i ever remembered about it was a video about a guy dressed up in a T cell being chased by a guy dressed up as the AIDS virus, that and images if diseased genatalia, there was NEVER anything about our bodies taught to us. Sex Ed is faulty and should be taught by parents, NOT by the school
GameFam dad @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Darn that Grand Sex Auto! Get Jack Thompson on the phone! Stat!
Joe Honker @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I think this can all be explained with a graph. Statistics is the devil my friends.
http://www.venganza.org/piratesarecool4.jpg
Andrew @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
"Since the schools are teaching "sex ed" maybe those girls just couldn't wait to try out what they learned in class."
Umm.. no. Effective Sex Ed tends to reduce pregnancies and make kids more aware of STDs, safe sex, and to promote abstinince.
I'd blame kids getting access to pornography, it makes them hornier.
John Kepler Lewis @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Anyone notice the mascot?
It's THE FRICKIN TIMKIN TROJANS?!?!
How bleedin' ironic is that?
Smooth T @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
"In Ohio, though, they may preach the conservative agenda of abstinence, which studies show is not effective at preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies."
Studies? STUDIES BY GOD!!! SOMEONE'S DONE STUDIES SO IT MUST BE TRUE!!!11
Give me a break. How about actually linking to some of these supposed "studies" rather than a vague appeal to authority...
vladimir cole @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/pdf/abstinence_eval.pdf
"There do not currently exist any abstinence-only programs with strong evidence that they either delay sex or reduce teen pregnancy."
"It is also the case that taking an abstinence pledge might delay the initiation of sex among some groups of youth and under certain conditions; it might also decrease their use of
contraception when they do have sex."
steve @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
"Hey, Im just a blogger and not a doctor, but I thought for sure that games cant impregnate children either. In fact, if my wifes reaction to my gaming habits are any indication, games are a very effective method of birth control."
:D
georges @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Sex ed tends to reduce teen pregnancy, not increase it.
Sanitarium @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Like the guy said, "One things for sure, schools don't get girls pregnant" But video games and music and movies are to blame, not the influences they come direct contact with such as:
-Parents
-Older (slutty) girls setting examples
-The actual people who impregnate these girls
-Catholicism (for not supporting condoms and birth control)
-The girls themselves
-Peer pressure
-Possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol
But what do they have to do with anything? Clearly, movies, music, and video games are to blame here, I see no other logical explanation.
Steven @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#3, #9:
Do your studies show that "safe sex" is safe 100% of the time? No, they don't. You know why? Because condoms aren't always 100% break-proof. I know some people that have had it happen.
Shannon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
So I'm the only one that got that #2(steven) was joking with the Sex Ed line?
Shannon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
OK, maybe he wasn't and is just that irrational.
Giddieon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Loved this artical ver well written....
This is simpley the best line in it...
" In fact, if my wifes reaction to my gaming habits are any indication, games are a very effective method of birth control."
Well said...
Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I'll bet anyone that the only sex ed these kids got was some dumbshit "abstinence-only education" class consisting largely of misinformation and thinly-veiled Jeebusism.
Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
"Do your studies show that "safe sex" is safe 100% of the time? No, they don't. You know why? Because condoms aren't always 100% break-proof. I know some people that have had it happen."
Like that guy. A fine product of modern abstinence-only education.
Because everyone knows that kids won't fuck each other as long as nobody tells them about condoms. Yeah that's the ticket.
Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Hilarious. Yeah, $50 says the preggers are all part of the 'in' crowd. Kids are having sex in high school like crazy, and I really do not see how games are to blame. I've never once gotten any suggestions to go fuck someone by playing a game. If I did, it's the type of game that guys with girlfriends don't play. I can understand blaming movies and television, since they advertise using sex left and right. Video games are already purchased before you play them, so there's no inclination to sell via sex.
Sure, you can have sex in GTA, but cmon... "Hey Rosie, I'm feelin low on health, wanna go park in an alley and bounce my car with me?"
Rediculous. Also, if you've driven through Akron, Ohio before... you wouldn't be the slightest bit suprised by these numbers. Girls get pregnant becase they like to fuck and/or their boyfriends have access to roofies.
robotplague @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
490 female students, thats a small highschool. It's a known fact that smaller towns often suffer from drug addictions and teen pregnancy. Mainly due to the fact it's probably a shit town and theres nothing else better to do. In California, the town of Tehachipi (which BARELY makes it on most maps because it's so small) has the highest concentration of teen pregnancies, mainly because there really isn't a whole lot to do. So teens are more susceptible to "experiment" with sex and drugs.
Plum Smuggler @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
i kind of disagree with the whole "blame catholics and their lack of birth control". if a girl is a strict enough of a catholic to NOT use birth control, dont you think she'd also be strict enough to not fuck some dude and get pregnant? call me a dipshit, but i think if shes gonna not use protection due to religious reasons, shes also not gonna hump her boyfriend silly.
secondly, i dont think you can blame any kind of sex ed for this. from my own experiences, i think you can really just blame horny horny girls. kids are getting hornier nowadays for whatever reason, be it movies, games, or diet (i dunno, maybe red #5 makes you wanna fuck). sure the parents can try to stop them, but also from my own experiences, you only need that parent to be gone for 20 minutes in order to get around that whole issue. it all just comes down to smart people making smart decisions, and since this country is full of dipshit kids, youre gonna get some pregnant ones.
add to that that some kids who are slappin genitals are too embarrassed to buy condoms (shit, im 23 and still dont buy em in public), then youll see why they dont use em. kids should know that you can order them online for very cheap...but then again, theyd need a credit card, and i think their purchase from cheapcondoms.com or something MIGHT make their parents suspicious.
where was i? oh yeah, blame stupid kids, nothing else. we cant stop kids from fuckin, but at least we can supply em with rubbers and/or birth control!
Cooper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I'm turning this story into a cafepress shirt.
Maury Povich episode?
"Mario you are not the father! Luigi you are not the father! Toad... you ARE the father!"
Sean O. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I saw that article... I can't believe anyone could try and blame this on videogames it stands out on the list of things to blame as particularly rediculous... violence maybe but teen pregnancy? I'd blame it on stupid people: parents and teenagers namely.
PEZinvaders @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I saw no mention in the article of Teen Queen Britney Spears' recently acquired bun in the oven. Those girls have probably "grown up" with her as an idol, and since she pretends to be both little girl and adult woman, it's not a leap for them to feel they too are ready for the next step.
When that many girls get pregnant it's not the fault of their sex ed class, it's a fad. That actually happened in my high school-- and we had a very informative, effective health class. But then one day it was popular to be a mother, and there was a wave of pregnancies.
Ian DeBoer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Are there really still that backwards ass of places that people believe this kind of crap? It sound like the lady who wrote it was just bitching about everything she doesn't like about teenage behavior without any real idea of cause and effect. It's a fact that boring small towns= increased teen drug/alcohol use, increased teen sex. But more importantly, if the writter of this article is any indication of the highly educated adults that populate the town, I'm surprised they haven't burned any one at the stake yet.
Robert @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I think it is worth noting that almost half the students who go to this school are black; black teenagers have a higher rate of pregnancy than whites. Hence, this problem has nothing to do with video games but with black culture, as people like Bill Cosby have pointed out. Cosby claims that "..in the African-American community, we have staggering percentages of dropouts, teen pregnancies, and incarceration of young males, and we fail to acknowledge the epidemic. This epidemic can only be cured by a focus on parenting and education". If more people could admit to the facts, blacks could work to solve the issue instead of blaming video games, racism, and everything else instead of taking accountability for their actions. This is yet another example of how American society refuses to face facts.
OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Damn you Hot Coffee! The other day I just heard the words Grand Theft Auto and I ran out and stole a car.
OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Damn you Hot Coffee! The other day I just heard the words Grand Theft Auto and I ran out and stole a car.
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I guess I see this differently than others.
I see 65 girls that are going to need alot of support. They are at a tough age, and none of their decisions are going to be easy. I hope everyone involved is responsible and respectful.
This news really isn't about gaming. Any responsible decisionmaker with any knowledge and insight can see that this is a social issue that goes beyond media. I also think that blaming is a poor strategy for helping the people involved, or preventing this from happening in the future.
The kids can blame the parents, the parents can blame the social system... we can play the blame game all day. However we will do nothing but anger everyone with this approach.
What is the real issue here? Are we maybe a little insecure about our gaming lifestyle and feel the need to defend against every blip on the radar?
.oO(save the good ammo for the level bosses)
Screw Abstinence @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Hillary was right: abortion is a sad, even tragic choice to many, many womyn. But as any abortionist will tell you, planned pregnancies don't put food on the table. You can't fuel up your Ferarri with living babies, baby! That's why I was proud to spend my Thursday night at Seattle's first annual Screw Abstinence Party and Charity Abort-o-thon. Hosted by NARAL, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping abortionists out of the poor house, "Screw Abstinence" promised to be fun for the whole family - and it did not disappoint. More than a thinly veiled singles event for people who would otherwise never get laid, Screw Abstinence was a plethora of informative displays, talented performers, and exciting thrill rides - and all for a good cause.
While the Giant Scaling Wall of Dildos and other areas of the event were geared strictly towards adults, I had the privilege of operating the amazing "It's a Lousy World" ride for the kiddies. Both fun and educational, It's a Lousy World was a leisurely gondola ride through a stylized Reproductive Health Clinic, while a menagerie of animatronic fetuses sang a joyful song in 16 different languages about how splendid it was to be aborted, rather than shuffled from foster home to foster home all their miserable lives.
Screw Abstinence also entertained the kids with a wide array of colorful, costume characters. Making a special appearance at this year's event was Back Alley Betty, a gaunt, gnarled old crone and a dead ringer for Ann Coulter. With a Bible in one hand a rusty coat hanger in the other, Betty wandered the crowd, screeching scripture at unsuspecting tots. Along with Partial Birth Abortion Pete, Betty has drawn some criticism for being too graphic for small children. But she paints an accurate picture of the bleak future these kids will face should they fail to exercise their Right to Choose.
For the teens, there was the "Kids are Going to Do it Anyway" booth, where young boys and girls were encouraged to explore their sexuality in a clean, safe environment away from the prying eyes of their fuddy-duddy parents. Unlike what Bush and Co. preach in their abstinence-only sex-ed programs, our young people must learn that human sexuality is a beautiful thing and experimentation is healthy and completely natural. Do we demand that monkeys remain monogamous? Do we ask dogs humping in the front yard to hold off until marriage? Of course not. So why do we ask it of our own kids?
Because Christian Fundamentalists have spent the past two thousand years turning casual sex with complete strangers into something dirty, that's why.
Archealogical evidence suggests that cro-magnon man, although primitive, had a highly progressive concept of human sexuality. A typical cro-magnon male would copulate with 100 to 200 partners in his lifetime, and had no weird psychological hang-ups concerning buggery. It's a shame that Christians have regressed our culture to a state that predates even prehistoric man.
Indeed, with all their right-wing mumbo jumbo about abstinence and monogamy, it's a wonder that conservatives haven't forced more abortionists out of work. Hopefully, with the help of NARAL and other organizations like it, we'll see to it that they never do.
Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
hey jc, no one said these teens were bad off. They could all be engaged to men who are going off to join IBM and make good money to support the family.
Or maybe if you aren't obsessed with money, you could look at it as they're going back to the roots of life. Having a child, living with their parents, raising generation after generation under the same roof. If they chose the life, you can't feel pity for them. Poor choice or not, there's no pity for being an idiot.
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Chris, no offense, but I don't get what you are saying. Are you commenting on my "65 girls are going to need support" line?
Please clarify...
White Rose Duelist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Way to cut and paste a whole piece, there, #31.
Alkaiser @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Anyone try getting this guy on the phone and see just what exactly in sam hell is running around in that redneck head of his?
His phone # is listed at the end of the article.
Sicker @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I did it.
I'm sorry.
And tired.
epobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
There is one thing the abstinence crowd has going for them that is inarguably correct: the kids who don't have sex aren't going to produce kids of their own. That simply cannot be argued against. The trick is convincing a teenager that there is light at the end of the tunnel and holding out has some value in the long term. The problem is that most teens are very bad at thinking in the long term. Especially if their circumstances already seem pretty hopeless. I'd be curious to know where those pregnant girls stood academically in that school. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them weren't already at high risk for dropping out. If the kid didn't have an upbringing that instill real respect (not to be confused with fear) for adult authority, nothing said during the high school years is going to have much effect.
Teen pregnancy in general is down quite a lot from when it was the favorite movie of the week subject. It is those small hotspots that skew the numbers, much like a very small portion of Los Angeles County produces most of the homicides.
How video games could be a factor is a mystery to me. Is there really a game out there that can pointed to as promoting teen sex? As mentioned, the time boys spend playing is time not in pursuit of or getting sex. Has any game ever been noted as getting girls players in the mood? If so, I haven't heard of it.
In my teens, there was an endless number of movies with 20-something actors playing teen-agers having great times including lots of nudity and sex. By some claims those should have completely brainwashed us into thinking teen sex had no repercussions and should be avidly pursued. Yet the occurrance of a pregnancy in any of the area high schools was a very rare thing, almost below measurable. There may have been some abortions but just about all of the women my age who speak of such place it at a much later point, when they were adults.
Teenagers left to their own devices are programmed pretty much for just two things, sex and fighting. This makes for lots pregnant girls and gangs in places where teenagers are adrift.
Vagabond Artist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
"If my wifes reaction to my gaming habits are any indication, games are a very effective method of birth control."
More truthful words have not been spoken here.
I believe this to be a universal truth.
hazmat007 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I'm from a very small town in ohio and i can tell you this. my county had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state for a while. why you ask? not because of video games. because most of girls that were prenant were on welfare or just complete white trash. that and the fact that about the only fun thing to do there was to drink and have sex.
Peepers @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Good news for the military. More "voluntary" recruits.
scott @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I blame the MMO, Secondlife. Or maybe those vibrating controllers.
Matt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Wow, let's play the blame game, c'mon parents, what happened to the old birds and the bees talk, what happened to the teaching of contraception instead of abstinance. This political correctness is killing America. No it's not that Janey didn't know about condoms, and no, the video game didn't tell her to have sex with Billy, it's that she didn't know how to use them right because no one taught her, no one taught her about safe sex, just not to do it. I say it is not a video game's fault, nor is it a movie or TV show's fault. Parents, stop pointing the finger and parent. It's not just a label you can use as a soapbox, it's a responsibility.
Carbon43 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
good points all around especially from epobirs, although If I might correct one point there is one game (an import thats hard to get) that "gets girls in the mood" Its called Rez, and here is a good link to it http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2002/10/26/sex_in_games_rezvibrator.html
other than that excellent points.
dark zephyr @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
i didnt know that videogames had testicles
i thought they were just electrical stuff
AvariceTheProud @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
OH MY GOD!!! How The hell can these people keep on blaming TV, movies, and video games on their uterly crapy parenting. Please if someone that thinks that video games tv and movies get people pregnent please walk out into a busy highway.
Amber @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Jesus, that is the most ignorant piece of tripe I've read in a long time.
Greg @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Hey I knew the world of porn was getting high tech, but wow. I guess they do have virtual reality porn with controller's that are monster cocks that spew their money inside and all over our little girl's faces. You know this does not surprise me with all the dumb fuck's in the world. It is not bad parenting, ignoring your kids, TV, movies, video games (what the fuck), or God. Well will parents, people in government, the people who work within any church (ministers of any denomination), and fundamentalists realize that they were young too and wanted to fuck. Of course, they did fuck whether they admitted it or not. Since the dawn of human beings there has been fucking and pregnancy. Fuck sakes, these kids just got pubic hair, first hard-ons, and first time wet pussies. They want to fuck. Everyone did when they hit the horrible years known as adolesence. The kids are pregnant because they were stupid about it and did not use a condom or birth control. If you are too stupid to fuck and not pay attention to any sort of risk then you should learn responsibility the hard way. So these stupid fucks blaming video games can fuck off because when they were young they wanted to start fucking their brains out, and oh my fucking God they still wanna get off, shoot their wads, and please their pussies.
Thank you those who listen.
Fuck you ignorant bastards.
Yours truly Greg
aliasd @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Mabye it's one of the teachers!
chiefff @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I tend to agree with Vlad in that the games aren't having sex with the girls. For those of you who want to blame the parents, I doubt that they are having sex with the girls either...although this is Ohio so who can say for sure.
If you want to assign blame for the girls getting knocked up, I think you have to blame those that are actually doing the knocking....the girls and boys from the school. Sex ed is a joke these days and the kids wouldn't listen to the parents if they tried to talk about sex.
The only way kids can really learn about sex is through games, Skin-O-Max and experimentation. If you take away the games and Skin-O-Max, that only leaves the last/worst option.