1991: Are VIDEO GAMES a Risk to Children? | Gloria Live | Retro Gaming | BBC Archive

"Children and adults are apparently spending hours and hours in front of the television, not watching Neighbours, but killing drug dealers, scoring touchdowns, and even doing a bit of plumbing." - Gloria Hunniford.
Gloria Hunniford chairs a discussion about the merits of video games. With an estimated 250,000 homes in Britain now possessing a games console of some description, and a new report suggesting that playing video games could lead to children becoming social outcasts, Gloria asks - are games bad for us?
Joining Gloria and the studio audience for the discussion are psychologist Sue Stirling, Club Nintendo editor Mark Smith, and Radio 1 DJ - and self confessed "Nintendo freak" - Mark Goodier.
Clip taken from Gloria Live, originally broadcast on BBC One, 03 May, 1991.
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[@Treguard1987]

I'd say, certainly in 2024, social media is a far greater risk to children than video games!

[@folksurvival]

Both are.

[@thebadgamer1967]

I'm 56 and every decade there is always somthing for Karen's to scream "what about the children " growing up in the 70's ,80's,90's onwards it was rock and roll ,dungeons and dragons ,rap ,heavy metal, the net, slasher flicks ,mortal kombat, GTA and now social media. The list goes on and always some new fear mongering by the media for views politicians for press and the religious nut jobs. The more things change the more they stay the same .

[@tanooki_82]

Yes! Agreed 👍

[@folksurvival]

@@thebadgamer1967 But the adults who spoke out against all those things were mostly correct to do so.

[@thebadgamer1967]

@@folksurvival for 99.9% no they were fear mongering and had other agendas, so nope,

[@TheSnowdogsShorts]

I first played a video game in 1972. It was Pong. I am 60 and still playing. Mark Goodyear was wrong, I never grew out of it. :P

[@upthebuffer1921]

Thats a long time on Pong. Have you tried Crysis?

[@TheSnowdogsShorts]

@@upthebuffer1921 You mean there other games that exist? 😝

[@ricardo34979]

Oh the moral panics of the 90s seem so tame / PG compared to the beasts we have to deal with these days from Social Media 🤣

[@plechaim]

Yes things are worse now

[@aeiouxs]

There was an equivalence I became aware of when a friend - who watched endless TV soaps - complained about her Son playing video games. Her brain arguably isn't challenged for the hours she watched her TV, barely moving ; but for her Son, playing Video Games for the same duration offered challenges of dexterity, reflex, co-ordination, logic and puzzle-solving, maybe providing opportunities of creativity (customise your characters) and adding storylines, weak as they can be in Games (Soaps hardly laudable themselves)!

[@kaitlyn__L]

Funnily enough, my grandmother being addicted to her soaps (she watched all of them - Eastenders and Coronation Street of course, but also Emmerdale, Neighbours, that other Aussie one…) was part of her argument against limiting my video games 😅 she said much the same, and also that they had no problem when I read books all day!

[@user-ub1dz8js7s]

Gloria Hunniford went back home after the show to play Doom until 3am while drinking Red Bull. That's a fact.

[@horrortackleharry]

That's not true. She had actually been banned from the server 48hrs earlier for repeated violations: all-caps rages against 'noobs' and random threats of doxxing and irl violence.

[@stephenscales353]

No its Glytch she was on. Red Bull is nowhere near strong enough if she's going to be grinding Counter Strike for 20 hours on the spin.

[@Priority76]

In 1991 doom and red bull were still the stuff of a madman's dreams.

[@roberttaylor2058]

@@Priority76 She was playing Tetris and drinking Babycham chasers

[@Question3verything]

The problem with these things is usually the people that say it’s an issue almost always have never played a video game in their lives.. video games are an art form and anyone that says otherwise just doesn’t understand the topic..

[@nocturnalstar1427]

I was one of the kids playing the NES in the background. I can categorically say that the games never affected me. And when I get out of the Scrubs, I'm gonna prove it, I tell ya.

[@ResidentBeagle]

Did you manage to get the controller working?? 🤣🤣

[@Buff_Cupcake]

It's fascinating to see how gaming transitioned from moral panic subject in the early 90's to the most profitable branch of entertainment completely dwarfing music and film. Gross movie revenue in 2023 was 33 billion, revenue from games was 365 billion. The second highest grossing film of 2023 was one based on a videogame (The Super Mario Bros Movie). Earning slightly less then Barbie and slightly more than Oppenheimer. The second most popular TV show Amazon has ever made is based on a videogame franchise (Fallout). It's just really interesting to see how something that was very small and simple has now become an absolute juggernaut of industry.

[@76ToneCrome]

American helpline: "How do I make friends in the real world ?" British helpline "I need to complete level 3 on Super Mario before my sister switches Neighbours on".

[@eemoogee160]

😂

[@FreshGreenMoss]

They got really pisseed off when I called up to ask where I could get some pirated games from .

[@stephenscales353]

Theyre shouting into the void here. In 2024 the games industry is bigger than movies plus music added together. And mainly played by adults.

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Boring

[@thebadgamer1967]

I'm 56 and every decade there is always somthing for Karen's to scream "what about the children " growing up in the 70's ,80's onwards it was rock music ,music video sex,dungeons and dragons ,rap ,heavy metal, the net, slasher flicks ,mortal kombat, GTA and now social media. The list goes on and always some new fear mongering by the media for views politicians for press and the religious nut jobs. The more things change the more they stay the same .

[@apebass2215]

Except there is a lot of current research exploring the harms from social media regarding childhood development. Mental health has drastically plummeted in teens in the years since smartphones became commonly used.

[@user-ub1dz8js7s]

5:30 That's 'Gripper' from Grange Hill and he used extortion on the school playground taking pennies off kids to buy his videogames.

[@80sandretrogubbins25]

That was Mark Savage. They look alike though.

[@merlin5476]

Why is there more youngsters Now with mental health issues than there were in the 80's and 90's ! We had loads of computer games then, but we didnt have social media.

[@brianmmacu]

"Social outcasts" While ridiculously untrue, even if it were, it would still be time far better spent than in the toxic environment of social media

[@TechRyze]

Same as reading books 📚

[@matthewwilliams3827]

@@TechRyze💯👍

[@bardo0007]

Not true really, it started with games, and moved on to other platforms that are more toxic. The chat in games can be very toxic as well

[@NCHLTII]

@@bardo0007 Games in the 1980s and 1990s did not have chat functions. That was added in the late 2000s when forums and chatrooms had already existed for years

[@simmadpaul2880]

I had a mate at school he lived, breathed and played for hours a day, everyday. His addiction Football. Everything is addictive. I played computer games as a kid and went on to be a software engineer. The presenter completely missed the fact that the young kid in the audience wrote his own programs. This attitude that unless youre a jock you're useless and wasting your time.These attitudes are still around take the news presenter who told that kid who beat tetris to go outside and get a live.

[@thenodfather]

It was a lot safer then than now without all the online hazards.

[@Larry]

Always remember Alan Tichmarsh's chat show where "are video games bad?" cam up as a topic, and it was completely one sided, Just opinions from old women who were completely clueless about what they were talking about and proclaiming how evil games were.

[@Octamed]

Fancy seeing you here. Yes I was massively into my Amstrad and Amiga, but I ended up programming and writing music. I was learning so much more from those than school ever taught me. It always amazed me when people would say it could make kids violent, when I knew that ALL the computer kids were absolutely timid, but the non-computer kids were all the actually violent bullies.

[@Larry]

@@Octamed Oh, absolutely, it's all bias from a generation who clearly never looked into the subject. Remember the speculation before that playing games could give you epilepsy too?

[@FreshGreenMoss]

Yeah . And we were all destined to be social outcasts anyway .

[@user-ub1dz8js7s]

hey you !

[@SINfromPL]

you can really tell that these women are just scared of the idea that an 8bit box is able to provide more entertainment than they ever were

[@freddie9489]

They really didn’t want Linda to say she thinks it’s great lol

[@jboomhauer]

An hour a day? Damn casuals. Btw Mark Goodier seems like a nice guy!

[@80sandretrogubbins25]

Funny how Mark Goodier sounds different when not speaking in his "radio voice".

[@paulr4279]

Duck Hunt made me the Man i am today 😂

[@danorthsidemang3834]

A veteran of the Contra Wars, ah jolly good.

[@stephenwilliams926]

NOW THATS WHAT I CALL MUSIC !

[@craigcharlesworth1538]

What a weirdly fair and even-handed piece. Most stuff around this time was literally about how video games were going to turn kids into mass murderers or zombies, so this actually comes across as fairly tame by comparison.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

David Beckham spent hours kicking a ball about. Became a millionaire football player. Stephen Hendry hit balls about for hours and became a millionaire snooker player. Steve Wozniak spent hours playing with electronics and built the Apple 1 and Apple 2 making him a millionaire. Bill Gates messed about with code for hours which made him a millionaire. People watched hours of TV back then and then appeared on general knowledge quiz shows. This was the 90s when adults like Gloria and others spouted bollocks about video games they just didn't understand. Its why the fear of the crap game that was Night Trap happened. She ignored the kid in the audience wrote his own programs. Ignores that some games are/were educational (Its where I learnt the rules to American Football was from Madden on the Mega Drive). Capitalism 2 eventually appeared on the PC and was so good, ended up being used in American universities business classes to teach students the fundamentals of business. Now we have Capitalism Lab. Seems to be if you don't "follow the sheep" you're deemed a fanatic, as she put it.

[@danorthsidemang3834]

I actually thought they meant watching their literal neighbors like voyeurs.

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Not the brightest are tou

[@danorthsidemang3834]

@handsoffmycactus2958 No I'm actually not British (i.e. all of my teeth fit inside my mouth)

[@richard-davies]

What's the difference between someone playing video games or someone reading a book for hours, both activities your on your own and not interacting with the world or anyone else and both can make you a social outcast. What about people who spent hours every day sitting in a chair and watching soaps, now that's mind numbing. At least with video games depending on which ones your keeping your mind active, thinking, problem solving, working as part of a team and keeping your reflexes up. I've been playing since the NES was pretty much new and still heavily playing PC games today. Met some nice people along the way as well if you play games that actually requires you to interact with others and work as a team.

[@TravelHonestly]

Gloria’s hair spray was responsible for the hole in the ozone layer!

[@utterutternutter]

You could probably have the same debate today and still be none the wiser. Some young people spend huge chunks of their time gaming now and mental health issues aren’t exactly decreasing in number, would it be better for them to play face to face or outdoors?

[@ktsmells]

As opposed to TV and Newspapers which certainly didn't skew the minds of boomers.

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Why do you use the term boomer? You’re using it in a derogatory sense. Becoming older is a privilege denied to many. Think about it soft lad

[@TerrorTerros]

Proud 'social outcast' here! 😂

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Soft lad

[@swaneknoctic9555]

I was 10 at this time and was addicted to video games. Spoilt little brat when I look back, had them all. NES, SNES, Master System (1st model), Game Gear, Philips CD-i (granted not a dedicated games machine).....Never owned a Mega Drive or Game Boy but did various swaps with my own consoles. The games were harmless then as the graphics weren't advanced enough to make them realistic, it was only years later they started putting ratings on games as the graphics improved greatly.

[@marksargent2440]

I had a commodore 64 it took ages to load up a game called robot cop and James pond. Then I got my hands on a PlayStation 1 and loved playing Tomb Raider and Mario and metal gear solid I had a few different play stations up to the ps4 what gone wrong is the games cost a lot new but going into the old video store to rent them out for a week was the fun bit now its a different era gaming is

[@hopebgood]

My mate won a Playstation 1 when they first came out and we were blown away by the quality of the games after playing the crappy old Sega Mega Drive. My faves were anything Resident Evil. Metal Gear Solid was amazing but disappointing when you found out that disc 2 wasn't as big as disc 1. Tekken , Gran Turismo, Wipeout 2097...happy days. I now play Star Trek Online. That's fun too 😀

[@georgebailey98]

2024: Is the BBC a risk to children?

[@ucup33]

Some programs yes, yet we can choose programs that we wanted to see

[@fburton8]

Bring back Magpie!

[@bardo0007]

Don't worry, Jim'll fix it !

[@deadpool3982]

The stars were in 1991

[@stephencaldwell252]

I'd chuck social media down the toilet. Can't put the genie back in the bottle but more harm than good

[@secretagentbloke]

As soon as he finishes on Fortnite in a few hours, I’ll ask mine.

[@1979jon]

Ive played video games for over 30 years, nothing wrong with me

[@unnamedchannel1237]

The kid that couldn’t start the game was extremely frustrated

[@michaeljohnson5365]

i had a Atari 2600 around this time

[@peterainsworth8026]

Ironic to see the NES featured. In the UK it never took off.

[@dean6816]

What planet were you living on? Can you not remember SEGA vs NINTENDO?

[@peterainsworth8026]

@@dean6816 No. That only became a thing with the SNES vs the Mega drive.

[@dean6816]

@@peterainsworth8026 well according to wiki. the NES and Sega master system sold more units than SNES. I was 12 in 1990 and remember choosing between a master system or NES.

[@plechaim]

I knew people with a NES back in the day it definitely took off

[@peterainsworth8026]

@@plechaim I had a NES too so I'm not speaking out of bias against Nintendo. Mattel distributed the NES in the UK and made a right mess of it. Towards the very end of it's life cycle another company took over and came out with a TMNT pack to moderate success, but as I say this was VERY late in the day.

[@dean6816]

WTF is a "switch off factor"?

[@velavideoentertainment]

When technology innovates, there will always be mention by news outlets of the potential of anti-social behaviour from consumers. The Walkman was no different a decade prior. Typical of a time where gaming (specifically Nintendo) was seen as a popular toy for children and the literal baby boomers telling people to go outside! Poor man wanted to play his Nintendo but the wife got in the way XD

[@Disco-Terry]

Quite a nice fair respectful discussion.

[@ResidentBeagle]

I’d love to have one of those CRTs!! 🤤

[@deadpool3982]

I have 3 😁

[@andywatts8654]

Try saying Duck Hunt without swearing

[@victoriaharbach5968]

I bet Gloria hunnifond is not fan of gamesmaster

[@djdrwatson]

This is 1991, just wait till the internet comes, along with mobile phones, iPads, social media and TikTok... Although playing computer games sharpens reactions, it's very questionable if kids today are cleverer than they use to be due to computers and computer games. Kids nowadays have *VERY* short attention spans. They're also fatter as they aren't active enough. They spend too much time looking at screens and eat junk food. There is/was a condition called Nintendo thumb or 'Nintendinitis', a repetitive strain injury (RSI) caused by game playing for too long. I do remember getting blisters on my thumb from playing 'FIFA 99' non stop on the original Playstation back in the day! 😂😂

[@ryanparker2696]

Some video games turn programming, strategy and problem solving into a game. Kids are 100% smarter these days.

[@lukemitchell1975]

The kids now are glued to their phone 📱

[@dafunkester]

Gloria had great legs.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

"PINBALL" IS NOT DEAD.

[@fatherofthenoo]

If ONLY they were still like that. The developers were selling an experience only. The games were designed to be entertaining and nothing more; Because publishers had nothing to lose or gain if a person spent minutes or months with a game. But now, they're designed to keep you addicted and pouring more money into them post-purchase. Publishers are actually quite open about this practice because trying to create addicts isn't illegal! Why do you think nicotine exists.

[@snowymatrix]

The kid at the end, all the reports are useless and they don't know anything! Also I might go outside if it's a sunny day but I'm not promising anything! Gloria's little comments to the boys were also hilarious! 😂

[@Paul-zs7rd]

As long as video games don't become too in depth, virtual worlds etc...and........damn!

[@purefoldnz3070]

in 1991 the UK was still living in the 1988

[@thomsboys77]

What?

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

What, soft lad

[@BDKool]

What's the BBC's alternative to video games? Kids watching Jim'll Fix It?!?

[@NCHLTII]

It really depends on the type of game you play

[@crunchinjelly]

The most ridiculous part of this segment is the two kids playing the NES… I didn’t know anyone who owned one.

[@FreshGreenMoss]

It came late to the uk . We were too busy playing football while our cassettes loaded to notice.

[@MrTwinbee]

It didn't come late as much as the UK had such a vibrant home computing scene and the NES struggled to fit in

[@t3hOutlaw]

My uncle had one.

[@deadpool3982]

@@FreshGreenMoss not the main reason it did poorly, they made a deal where it would only be sold in Boots in the UK for some reason

[@worldVHS]

Wondering what they'd think of today's society

[@greenhowie]

Video games made me question the government and stop paying my tv licence. They are so wicked ooooh.

[@user-hd9nc7zp1v]

Only GTA and Call Of Duty. It inspired Copycat behaviour in America. Sims 4 is great for creative people like me with Autism. It's like Lego when you build and customise in a way. Video game movies are big business now. Arcades were extremely popular in 1980s and 1990s with Space Invaders, Pac Man, Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong.

[@upthebuffer1921]

If computer games affected us as kids in the early 90's we would have all ended up running around places eating magic pills

[@Aerojet01]

Some of those people had a very outdated view of the world. In a nutshell, video games are a form of recreation. During their time, they were probably playing board games, puzzles, table tennis, trainsets etc.. all forms of recreation. The concept is very similar. The difference is the advances in technology has made our entertainment more interactive. At 47, I see the same trend with AI and people scared of progress and change. Moderation is the key.

[@TimLee-lk9pf]

Gloria was a stunner

[@TheRidgeChannel]

Yes. Look at us now

[@user-rd8mt8yv5r]

I was 13yo when this clip must of came out. I love video games still to this day and will continue to play them till the day i die. Back in the 90's/80's video games were shorter and we never had a massive back log of video games to play that went on for 100+ hours like the games do today. My day when i was a child/teen was waking up, going to school, then come home play video games for a hour before i would go out meet up with my mates and go on adventures, exploring the outdoors, climbing trees and making dens ect... Then maybe i would play another hour of video games before i went to bed on the night. Kids today spend way more hours playing games online ect. This is not a Gen X problem its a Generation Z problem. Also the Boomer Generation were addicted to soap operas, like East Enders, Coronation Street, Brookside ect. Im sure that garbage rotted the minds of the Boomer generation more then a kid/teen back in the 80'S/90's playing some video games.

[@davidcarrol110]

By 1991 the 8-bit era was on its way out. The Sega Megadrive and SNES was far more in use. BBC programmes were still in the late 80s.

[@JackMortimer-lu6wv]

The NES was still the latest Nintendo console here though (SNES wouldn't be launched until April 1992). Even so, the NES still had a good share of the market as a budget console into the mid 90s.

[@RWL2012]

and on the Sega side, not everyone could afford a Mega Drive. The Master System continued to be popular for a bit in the UK.

[@bardo0007]

Innocent games for 12 year olds, just wait 20 years kids and you will have nightmares. 😆

[@TechRyze]

It’s about as dangerous as watching TV.

[@fburton8]

At least there’s active engagement with video games.

[@NCHLTII]

I'd say TV is slightly worse

[@davenz000]

1990 Computers are devil tools. 2024 computer programmers rule the world.

[@danorthsidemang3834]

Your point being

[@altt-check1-2]

A nes was more healthier than today evil dangers we have to put up with

[@danorthsidemang3834]

Just the natural progression from one level of evil to the next. That's what video games teach us to live with and accept.

[@TheNinjaMarmot]

Wow. No arguments, everyone expressing their views without being chastised for it. I'm surprised how Gloria managed to do this without being triggering.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

thx god fir social media to be a next drug

[@folksurvival]

Time has proven the answer to this question to be yes they are.

[@andrewsouthward2461]

😂😂😂

[@MorgueOfficialMusic]

Two words: Tik Tok

[@douglasharley2440]

yes, video games are definitely bad for children, _especially_ males.

[@MorgueOfficialMusic]

No they're not

[@douglasharley2440]

@@MorgueOfficialMusic yes, they are. lol, just look at _yourself!_ a mental child, lacking in will and real life skills. you delude yourself by thinking that virtual life is anything of importance...millions of young men are destroying their futures with videogames. *smfh* 😔

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

but no females, they can play it naked