Welcome to a new column I’ll be doing irregularly here at Blog@ called My Opinion is Right. I have some strong opinions on things related to Geek Culture, and I’m lucky enough to have this sounding board, so here’s the right way to think about this particular subject.
A little over a week ago, the mothership ran an AP article about a watchdog group that made a list of ten games that kids shouldn’t play. All ten of these games were rated M for Mature, or 17+, a rating very very similar to the R rating used for movies. My immediate thought was echoed in the comments section there: Why the hell does a separate group have to tell me what I am already being told?
Thus, I’ve come to a conclusion. Parents as a general group are incredibly stupid. This is an unfortunate truth, proven by the very existence of such groups. Honestly, in this economic recession, we’re spending money on essentially having people read to us. Really, that’s all one of these groups are really doing. Here’s a nice, clear, easy to read ESRB rating system: This game is M for Mature, 17+, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs. Yet, we can’t comprehend that, and instead need someone else to tell us, “GAME BAD FOR KID. NO LET PLAY!!!” My question is, if video games are what are destroying the souls and minds of today’s children, what exactly destroyed the minds of their parents?
I agree with the heart of the watchdog groups’ message. Parents need to take a bigger hand in making sure their kids aren’t receiving inapropriate multimedia content, across all realms. However, they shouldn’t have to be urged on, hands held, coddled, or any other pushing. The information is already out there, being presented, and they just plain ignore it. Having worked at both Best Buy and Gamestop in the past, I can’t count how many times I saw parents buying 7-10 year-olds games like Grand Theft Auto III or even Condemned (which has some graphic, near-torture scenes). It’s bad decision making, but there just shouldn’t be a bunch of money wasted on helping them.
Of course, this whole post winds up being somewhat hypocritical, but I’m ok with that. Here it is, the final time any parent should have to read this: If you think your child will be negatively influenced by a game, movie, comic, book, or other, don’t let them experience. If you need help or guidance, there’s this magical new thing called a ratings system on many of these things. Read it, use it, and be a smarter human being.
That’s my opinion, and it’s right.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Whoa, whoa! “Parents as a general group are incredibly stupid.”
How about “Parents who form parents groups are generally incredibly stupid.” The vast, overwhelming majority of parents are not members of any parents groups.
Moreover, the parents who form parents groups are electing themselves as the spokespeople for “all parents” — even though they have no interest in finding out what other parents think.
But the kicker is this — in my experience, almost every group formed with the stated intention of “protecting children” really has the intention of dictating what people of every age can and cannot do. And therefore, aren’t really “parents groups” at all.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Those are great points all around, Jeff, and exactly what I hope this column gets people to talk/think like.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
There’s a reason they’re called “Watchdog” groups. I read the original article from the Mothership, and then the original article from the group, where they say something to the effect of “we applaud the games industry for giving all their games appropriate ratings.” They’re not policing the games industry, per se, as much as trying to make sure the industry ratings board is doing what they’re supposed to do.
Having said all that, Jeff’s post begs the question: Who really listens to these groups? The AP article came out long after all of the games mentioned therein were released. Are there really any parents who are waiting for a Parents group to let them know if they approve of a title or not?
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
“My question is, if video games are what are destroying the souls and minds of today’s children, what exactly destroyed the minds of their parents?”
Brilliant!
But the answer is obviously rock and roll music, or D&D, etc, etc.
December 4th, 2008 at 2:41 am
silvanthalas:
“But the answer is obviously rock and roll music, or D&D, etc, etc.”
You forgot about comics. They corrupt our youth too you know.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:26 am
“Parents as a general group are incredibly stupid.”
Unfortunately, this is far too true. I know plenty of intelligent parents who still let their kids watch tv/movies and play video games that, IMO, aren’t appropriate for those kids. The range of supervision varies from the extreme one way to the other. Some parents are afraid to let their kids go outside. Others could not care less. What surprises me is how many of the people who fall into the “could not care less” category that I normally regard as intelligent people.
Personally, we monitor everything that our kids watch, read, and play. The ratings systems are good, but we also use a website called CommonSenseMedia.org that has reviews both from the adult’s perspective and from a kid’s perspective. It has better details on why the games/movies/tv shows received the ratings that they did. We’ve found E10 games that are okay and some that aren’t. We’ve found some T games that are okay and some that aren’t. The same is true for movies. You have to monitor on a case-by-case basis. It’s called parenting. Some people just don’t want to do that, though.
Personally, I’d love to see the comic industry come to an agreement on ratings (love Marvel’s rating system). I don’t have time to sit down and read everything that my kids want to read. Unfortunately for them, I tend to err on the side of caution and not let them read it if I think that there’s a possibility of it containing objectionable material.
“what exactly destroyed the minds of their parents?”
Pong. Seriously, though, each generation gets more relaxed on this. We’re more relaxed than our parents. Our parents were more relaxed than their parents. Our children will likely be more relaxed than we are. There are a lot of factors to this. People are busier than they used to be, so it’s difficult to find the time to be ever vigilant. Technology has taken off and video games and movies can have a lot more realistic violence in them. Plus, there are more of them. It seems like every week I see some lame new “horror” movie advertised aimed directly at the teen audience. Kids have computers, televisions, and video game systems in their rooms. The internet is probably at fault to a certain extent, too. Kids have more access to information and ads about these games and movies.