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[Submitted] Children getting handed the idiot box

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Singapore no2
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[Submitted] Children getting handed the idiot box

Postby Singapore no2 » Sat Dec 10, 2016 10:31 am

Info: As of late, much of the nation's youth are glued to the television for many consecutive hours, with recent studies by prestigious universities finding that @@DEMONYM@@ children are watching far more television than is healthy for them. Many researchers are correlating this with falling educational standards, rising obesity and a general attitude of societal apathy. Concerned parents are egging the government on to take action.

Validity: Only valid for nations with the internet

[option] "I knew there was a reason that I couldn't stand that filth!" vents @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, a well-renowned film critic and father-of-two. "These shows appeal to the lowest common denominator, telling simple stories and using generic visual gags. If it were up to me, these programmes would be thought-provoking, tackling advanced philosophical concepts instead. These exciting stories would surely give children a fiery passion for learning."
[effect] children frequently face existential dread when viewing Saturday morning cartoons
[stats] culture increases, public education funding increases greatly, intelligence increases slightly, ideological radicality increases slightly

[option] "That sounds really boring," states @@RANDOMNAME@@, an office drone, in a monotonous and disinterested tone. "Those brats should learn useful stuff like following instructions by the book, or how to bake a proper cake. Here's the deal, do you really think that the meaning of life is even remotely applicable in real life? Of course not. So I suggest that children's shows should be practical by preparing them for their exciting careers in the future."
[effect] "Peter the Personnel Quality Assurance Auditor" is one of the least favourite shows in television history
[stats] employment rises, administrative funding and public education funding increase, intelligence increases slightly, ideological radicality decreases slightly

[option] "Lol who cares?" comments @@RANDOMNAME@@, a bespectacled child, who entered your office just to get better internet reception. "Only noobs watch kids cartoons. Who needs Tom and Harry when we've got WhoTube, Rougeblocks and Battleground to keep us occupied? The government should just ban TV so that those scrubs can focus on quality online content, like memes."
[effect] the government has banned television because "only losers watch it anyway"
[stats] intelligence decreases, youth rebelliousness increases, voter apathy increases, happiness decreases, obesity increases, ideological radicality increases

[option] "The television isn't the problem," argues @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@, a housewife, who also turned up to complain. "The true problem is schools forcing standardized testing on our children. My child has had several panic attacks just over those examinations. Wouldn't it be better if our children weren't given undue stress and were able to enjoy their youth? You should get rid of those tests and let them watch their shows in peace."
[effect] pupils have nervous breakdowns when they receive their first test in university
[stats] educational funding drops, intelligence drops, happiness increases slightly, employment decreases slightly, obesity increases

Original draft:
Info: It was found in the latest studies published by a prestigious university, that there was a significant correlation between hours spent in front of the television and a decline in academic performance. Furious parents are demanding that the government do something to increase the educational value of children's television shows, lest their grades slip in school.

Validity: Only valid for nations with the internet

[option] "I knew there was a reason that I couldn't stand that filth!" vents @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, a well-renowned film critic and father-of-two. "These shows appeal to the lowest common denominator, relying on crass slapstick humour and exaggerated facial expressions, without even bothering to tell a coherent story. If it were up to me, these programmes would be chock-full of literary devices, featuring brief allusions to Homer's Epics, euphemisms to the human condition, and satirical takes on modern society. With such stirring tales, those youngsters shall doubtlessly grow a fiery passion for learning. In order to raise the bar, it would of course, be necessary for the government to bring in the finest wordsmiths and poets to give them a real learning experience."
[effect] children frequently face existential dread when viewing Saturday morning cartoons
[stats] culture increases, public education funding increases greatly, intelligence increases slightly

[option] "That sounds really boring," states @@RANDOMNAME@@, an office drone, in a very monotone and disinterested voice. "Those brats need to learn useful stuff like following instructions by the book, or how to bake a proper cake. Here's the deal, do you really think that Dante's six circles of heaven is applicable in real life? Of course not. So I suggest that we require every episode of children's shows to have a minimum standard of educational content, to prepare them for their exciting careers ahead."
[effect] "Peter the Personnel Quality Assurance Auditor" is one of the least favourite shows in television history
[stats] employment rises, administrative funding and public education funding increase, intelligence increases slightly

[option] "Lol who cares?" comments @@RANDOMNAME@@, a bespectacled child, who entered your office just to get better internet reception. "Only noobs watch kids cartoons. Who needs Tom and Harry when we've got WhoTube, Rougeblocks and Battleground to keep us occupied? The government should just forget this whole thing and leave us alone."
[effect] the official government stance on children's shows is that only 'losers' watch them
[stats] intelligence decreases, youth rebelliousness increases, voter apathy increases


If this has been done before, please tell me.

References:
Title reference to the trope "idiot ball"
"That sounds really boring." reference to DHMIS
"following instructions by the book, or how to bake a proper cake" reference to Cooking by the book, "Here's the deal" reference to We Are Number One
"Tom and Harry" Tom and Jerry
"WhoTube" Youtube
"Rougeblocks" Roblox
"Battleground" Battlefield
Last edited by Singapore no2 on Tue Dec 27, 2016 10:08 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Savoy-Habsburg
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Postby Savoy-Habsburg » Sat Dec 10, 2016 10:40 am

rather good, though I'm surprised to see no extremist barged in requesting that TV be banned altogether.

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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Sat Dec 10, 2016 11:46 am

Savoy-Habsburg wrote:rather good, though I'm surprised to see no extremist barged in requesting that TV be banned altogether.

I turned the kid into a nutcase. This should do the trick.
My Published Issues
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This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
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Tinhampton
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Postby Tinhampton » Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:35 pm

It looks like issues about the young 'uns are in vogue here. I would suggest adding the following option, owtte - you don't have to add it in, but feel free to consider it:
[option]Right after you hear the child out, your Minister for Audiovisual Media (who neatly happens to double up as a spokesperson for @@INITIALS@@BS) rams inside your office, asking: "Our television is OK as it is - where would @@NAME@@ be without such glorious shows as, for example, The Bar - probably the region's only childrens' cartoon focusing on lawyers defending people that have been charged with everything from grand theft @@ANIMAL@@ to treason, exclusively on @@INITIALS@@BS on Saturday at 9:30am? Or maybe, just maybe, you want to tune into Polikids, our proposed new Friday 6pm show where we see children discuss the latest political news? I'd love to see our schedules be kept as they are, so as long as you don't miss out on Hookball Live sponsored by @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@ brand pillows, our Wednesday late-night highlights show for the nation's seventeenth most popular sport. See you then!" As he leaves, you notice tomorrow's television schedule on his back.
[effect]Television content in @@NAME@@ has seen no substantial change (this effect line brought to you by @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@'s Fish on Main Street)
[stats]Intelligence down, health down, economy up substantially
Last edited by Tinhampton on Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Australian rePublic
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Postby Australian rePublic » Sat Dec 10, 2016 8:00 pm

One criticism,
RE: Option 1-who becomes a film critic if they hate TV?
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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:49 pm

Australian Republic wrote:One criticism,
RE: Option 1-who becomes a film critic if they hate TV?

The film critic hates children's television shows. Of course he hates them. They have no educational content (which is the issue), and he's not even part of the target demographic.
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Golgothastan
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Postby Golgothastan » Sun Dec 11, 2016 5:57 am

Savoy-Habsburg wrote:rather good, though I'm surprised to see no extremist barged in requesting that TV be banned altogether.

I'm kind of glad there isn't. There are certain default "ban X/Y/Z" options that get overused in issues, much like the general/priest/hippy character stereotypes.

I'm not really buying the third option, though. Yes, increasingly people consume content online instead of through the television, but it's still television shows they're actually watching.

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Tinhampton
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Postby Tinhampton » Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:08 am

Golgothastan wrote:
Savoy-Habsburg wrote:rather good, though I'm surprised to see no extremist barged in requesting that TV be banned altogether.

I'm kind of glad there isn't. There are certain default "ban X/Y/Z" options that get overused in issues, much like the general/priest/hippy character stereotypes.

I'm not really buying the third option, though. Yes, increasingly people consume content online instead of through the television, but it's still television shows they're actually watching.

Wasn't, Gothy. There wasn't, until Singy 2 changed it...
The Self-Administrative City of TINHAMPTON (pop. 329,537): Saffron Howard, Mayor (UCP); Alexander Smith, WA Delegate-Ambassador

Authorships & co-authorships: SC#250, SC#251, Issue #1115, SC#267, GA#484, GA#491, GA#533, GA#540, GA#549, SC#356, GA#559, GA#562, GA#567, GA#578, SC#374, GA#582, SC#375, GA#589, GA#590, SC#382, SC#385*, GA#597, GA#607, SC#415, GA#647, GA#656, GA#664, GA#671, GA#674, GA#675, GA#677, GA#680, Issue #1580, GA#682, GA#683, GA#684, GA#692, GA#693, GA#715
The rest of my CV: Cup of Harmony 73 champions; Philosopher-Queen of Sophia; *author of the most popular SC Res. ever; anti-NPO cabalist in good standing; 48yo Tory woman w/Asperger's; Cambridge graduate ~ currently reading The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore

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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:29 am

Golgothastan wrote:I'm kind of glad there isn't.

Sorry to disappoint.

Golgothastan wrote:I'm not really buying the third option, though. Yes, increasingly people consume content online instead of through the television, but it's still television shows they're actually watching.

Well, he/she is a kid. He/she probably doesn't know any better. (Especially if he/she calls memes 'quality content').
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Elke and Elba
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Postby Elke and Elba » Sun Dec 11, 2016 8:12 am

No option to throw the rulebook away? - ie do something with education (like do away with education/standardised testing) rather than just focus on changing TV-related items? :p
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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Sun Dec 11, 2016 8:35 pm

Elke and Elba wrote:No option to throw the rulebook away? - ie do something with education (like do away with education/standardised testing) rather than just focus on changing TV-related items? :p

I tried to do it.
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Canton Empire
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Postby Canton Empire » Sun Dec 11, 2016 8:56 pm

I think that an option banning TV, despite being stereotypical of NS issues, would be a great addition to the issue as the most radical option.
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Candlewhisper Archive
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Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:59 am

Nice premise.

The text needs a bit of general debulking, especially the description and option 1.

Option 3 is about the right length - see if you can cut back all the options back to that length, while still retaining as much humour and meaning as possible.
editors like linguistic ambiguity more than most people

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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:16 am

Candlewhisper Archive wrote:Nice premise.

The text needs a bit of general debulking, especially the description and option 1.

Option 3 is about the right length - see if you can cut back all the options back to that length, while still retaining as much humour and meaning as possible.

Changes implemented with some success.
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Candlewhisper Archive
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Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:00 am

On the description, while there's nothing wrong with issues that go "studies have shown that...", there's often more interesting ways to present the same dilemma. Adding a bit of mental imagery and a little story can raise an issue a lot:

For example:

Slack-jawed and glassy-eyed youths across the nation sit staring at the gogglebox for hours on end, with recent surveys suggesting that @@DEMONYM@@ children are watching far more television than is healthy for them. Many are correlating this with falling educational standards, rising obesity and a general attitude of societal apathy.
Last edited by Candlewhisper Archive on Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
editors like linguistic ambiguity more than most people

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Singapore no2
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Postby Singapore no2 » Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:18 am

Candlewhisper Archive wrote:On the description, while there's nothing wrong with issues that go "studies have shown that...", there's often more interesting ways to present the same dilemma. Adding a bit of mental imagery and a little story can raise an issue a lot:

For example:

Slack-jawed and glassy-eyed youths across the nation sit staring at the gogglebox for hours on end, with recent surveys suggesting that @@DEMONYM@@ children are watching far more television than is healthy for them. Many are correlating this with falling educational standards, rising obesity and a general attitude of societal apathy.

Did it.
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Candlewhisper Archive
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Founded: Aug 28, 2015
Anarchy

Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Wed Dec 14, 2016 3:43 am

Standardised testing deserves its own issue I think, rather than just being an option.

Actually, I've already drafted that issue, and entirely separately, two other authors have submitted issues about standardised testing.

For that reason, its unlikely #4 would make it through the edit.
editors like linguistic ambiguity more than most people

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Singapore no2
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Founded: Apr 10, 2015
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Postby Singapore no2 » Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:31 am

Candlewhisper Archive wrote:Standardised testing deserves its own issue I think, rather than just being an option.

Actually, I've already drafted that issue, and entirely separately, two other authors have submitted issues about standardised testing.

For that reason, its unlikely #4 would make it through the edit.

Okay. Good to know. :)
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

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Singapore no2
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Posts: 984
Founded: Apr 10, 2015
Ex-Nation

Postby Singapore no2 » Sat Dec 24, 2016 4:09 am

Bump
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.

User avatar
Singapore no2
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Posts: 984
Founded: Apr 10, 2015
Ex-Nation

Postby Singapore no2 » Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:52 am

Should I just submit this?
My Published Issues
Death Note
This is a Modern-Tech nation. We only put a satellite and a man into space so far.
We are a Middle power, so if we die, so will some of the global economy.
We have the 8th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. (RL world)
Pro: Regulations, Military, Law and Order
Anti: Freedom of speech, Discrimination, CHEWING GUM
Just so you know, I don't think like that. That stuff is roleplaying Singapore (itself, the real life nation)
I have many issues, and you can find the complete list here.

Quote of the year:
Fauxia wrote:Editors aren’t real people.


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