Wii Fit: crushing the self-esteem and body images of children everywhere
By Triston McIntyre
Whether or not the Wii Fit is really capable of getting kids and loser older gamers who can’t move on to more adult pastimes in shape through gaming or not is still largely yet to be seen. What you can bet on experiencing, on your way to getting buff courtesy of the Nintendo Wii, is that the Wii doesn’t sugarcoat the truth about your body…if you’re fat, the Wii will give it to you straight, whether you’re an impressionable 10-year old girl or not.
According to the U.K. Daily Mail, one 10-year old young girl who participates in swimming and gymnastics received a rather judgmental evaluation of being fat from the Wii Fit when she entered her body information and mounted the little balance board. Of course the father, being embarrassed and upset, criticized Nintendo for typifying the sort of Hollywood image of drawing harsh conclusions based on someone’s body composition.
The Wii Fit draws its results based on a players BMI (body mass index), which weighs height, weight, and age in deciding what a person’s healthiness is. The problem, of course, is that children who are growing shouldn’t be subjected to the same type of evaluation, as children grow at different rates and can end up with vastly different body types from childhood to adulthood.
In responding to the allegations, Nintendo was rather cold and indifferent to all the young children that could be adversely affected by the sort of cut and dry verdicts the Wii Fit offers. Nintendo has refused to put a warning label on the game, which would help parents understand what they were subjecting their children to prior to purchasing the game and having their young ones devastated.
Personally, I am completely against slapping a warning label on everything that hits the market; if you start warning parents about this sort of thing, you’ll truly have to include an entire games’ contents in the warning label (which would mean much larger game cases). However, Nintendo really botched this one up by allowing a game to hit the market that can affect children so adversely.
Maybe little asian kids don’t have to worry about having bodies that can be considered “fat” through BMI, but the largest market isn’t in asia, and I shouldn’t have to point out the irony of the “safe” console on the market hosting a game that attacks the self-esteem of children everywhere. We definitely don’t need kids sinking into depression over a chubby little rendition of themselves as a Mii because Nintendo is insensitive to the way children develop.
It won’t matter long after this anyway; the media is so far up Nintendo’s ass that Nintendo will only need to point out that the Wii allows you to wave a piece of plastic around to play Wii titles, and everyone will “ooh” and “ahh,” and forget about this little incident.
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May 19th, 2008
“However, Nintendo really botched this one up by allowing a game to hit the market that can affect children so adversely.” - you do realize that you just lent credence to jack thompson’s crusade, don’t you?
the level of impact to children is as varied as chlidren themselves. to assume this game will negatively impact someone is waaaay premature and unfounded.
nice job.
May 19th, 2008
actually it isn’t, Kevin. There’s a difference between addressing issues like body image that have been scientifically, psychologically et al proven to be real issues. Jack Thompson is about violence in video games. Tell me the last time Jack Thompson has said a thing about barbie’s image? Anyone with a brain can tell you they don’t want to be called fat, especially by a video game. That’s common sense.
May 19th, 2008
Triston - thompson’s stance is gaming is IMPACTING our youth. yes, violence has the been the hot topic button, but this idea that games will negatively affect young gamers is the core philosophy he’s been harping on. violence was not the only threat thompson is worried about. I guess you forgot about his campaign against the “hot coffee” in GTA, last gen.
to say violence is his only agenda, is wrong, wrong, and wrong. but not suprised you think that. most “journalists” on this site are very, very underinformed.
barbie? are you that silly? this is the FIRST time a game has been accused of distorting body image and “negatively” affecting the body image of our youth.
to say this game HAS affected gamers and that it will continue to do so is just very, very silly. escpecially given your love for “scientific evidence”. where is the evidence this is really affecting young gamers? it doesn’t exist. yet the author feels compelled to blame ninty for something that HAS NOT happened.
sorry, tris, but you boy’s wrong on this one.
if someone doesn’t want to be called fat in a game, don’t buy the game. the same advice given to opponents of violent games. no different.
May 19th, 2008
All this arguing is making me hot
May 19th, 2008
kevin - Reality is kids are influenced by media and peer pressure. Wii fit is a precedent in videogames that gives kids direct feedback about their bodies. Mr. Thompson seems to be more about immorality in videogames vice health messages, so I don’t see him directly attacking this game in particular or using it in his campaign to great advantage, especially considering the obesity epidemic in not only America, but other developed countries.
While a few extraordinarily muscular kids may get the wrong feedback from BMI, parents will and should be there to explain the difference between FAT like a sausage with it’s skin too tight and muscular. That you immediately connect mr. thompson’s message that immorality in videogames should not be encouraged for kids to play with the health message that wii fit encourages for the majority of children is in itself “very, very uninformed”.
I personally completely disagree with the author as he conveniently posted a sensationalist title that simply is not true. Not only is the Wii Fit personally responsible for “crushing the self-esteem and body images of children everywhere” but parents are completely absent in their roles and there is absolutely no positive benefit to Wii Fit for children? Please.
Oh yes, it’s also nice when the author sums up his bias against Nintendo’s product (at least at this point in time) by saying the Wii is nothing more than a medium to “wave a piece of plastic around to play Wii titles” and the “media is so far up Nintendo’s ass” (forget sales that happened before the media got involved and a few truly great titles in gaming history) in plugging this single message upon a stupid public that goes “ooh and ahh” according to their every whim. For the sake of this site and your own career Triston, get a little bit more objective and a little bit less completely ignorant. If you have a story to tell, tell it, but don’t foist your bitter baggage upon your readers.
May 20th, 2008
@ Carl, While I don’t codone bias much, I enjoyed this article and Triston’s bias merely added a laugh factor to it.
May 20th, 2008
EDIT: *condone*
(WHERE’S MY COFFEE?)
May 20th, 2008
carl - EVERYONE is influenced by media and peer pressure. it’s called “keeping up with the jones’ “.
To draw such a definitive line to something that has not happened is completely unfounded and giving credence to those who say gaming impacts children on ANY level.
i say there is NO evidence of meaningful negative impacting with this and should not be written as if there is.
May 20th, 2008
OA3 - I see, you condone bias when it parallels your own… laugh factor indeed (also human and understandable).
kevin - the precedence is other media such as tv and music. While I don’t support the campaign, there is a grain of truth to it, and if I have children, I won’t let them watch/play porn or extremely violent media.
Meaningful evidence of negative impact? Try logging onto your average XBL online game with the mic and audio turned on to listen to some of the preteen/teen set talk. Where do you think these kids learned their behavior and thought it was cool? Their parents? Their friends just inventing this speech on their own? Movies? Music? Videogames? All play their part, and all have an impact, and a definitive line should be drawn for children.
Studies have shown that at certain times the mind cannot tell the difference between faux and actual reality. Other studies have shown that the most impressionable years are during childhood. I would say these studies and a bit of parental common sense would lean towards young children not being exposed to this media which encourages certain types of illegal and immoral behavior, even in an imagined reality.
May 20th, 2008
As for this game, though, the parental role is key ( as usual for children) in explaining the difference between BMI and actual bodyfat percentage. If anything, parents should experience this particular game with their children while encouraging healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle by example.
Evidence is not needed to say there are some children who without this additional parental guidance could go from healthy and muscular to not as healthy and less muscular in struggling to meet their suggested Wii Fit BMI.
May 20th, 2008
carl - your reeeeaching pretty far to try to justify your point. my advice; have kids FIRST before trying to believe what you will and won’t do. trust me, once they’re born EVERYTHING changes.
there are “studies” that can say just about anything. doesn’t make them legit.
the point is; if a kid has bad self esteem issue, the last place to point blame is on a GAME. It’s odd you give so much responsibility to the parent then turn around and say a game wil influence a kids outlook. you do realize they have been trying to draw that line since the 80’s.
if a kid isnt’ going out and shooting hundreds by playing halo3, why would a kid have their image affected by sprites and polygons? doesn’t add up.
kids are not as impressionable as you think. then again, you’ll only know this WHEN you become a parent.
May 20th, 2008
carl - kids were being obscene on the playground well before xbox live. kids will be, and have always been, kids. if you don’t like what’s being said on xbox live, it has a neat feature that enables you to block com from one player all the way up to the entire room.
really tho; anyone not having kids of their own really needs to not weigh in. they have no base of reality.
as a parent, there is nothing wrong with this game. then again, my kid’s self esteem is formeds from themselves, their accomplishments and NOT from a game.
May 20th, 2008
carl - you really think a 6 year old is going to wrap his head around the concept of bmi versus overweight? seriously….just wow…you really need to have a kid first. then you’ll see just how insane that idea really is.
May 20th, 2008
Kevin, 3 posts?
May 20th, 2008
kevin- did you actually read anything I wrote, or just pretend that I said anything remotely close to what your comments allude to? Read again and you will find I never blamed this game alone or any other for any problems, only that parents should be a part of the process when choosing not only the media they are exposed to, but also helping to explain it.
May 20th, 2008
if necessary. And yes, a kid can wrap his or her head around the concept of being fat like a sausage with it`s skin too tight compared to being muscular, unless maybe the kid, parent, or both are mentally retarded.