Parents and the lack awareness of videogames.

[Tohuvabohu]

This may be a dead-horse argument to some, but I think I'm touching upon a somewhat different point here...

I know the sensible consensus between most of you is that parents aren't parenting enough in regard to videogames. A sensible one indeed, but the problem unfortunately doesn't end there.

If parents would just dur durkha durrrr, then they wouldn't be blaming videogames for all the world's problems to begin with.

However. Is there genuinely a problem here? I don't mean in that games are bad and should be illegal to sell to minors, but in the sense that parents have no clue what videogames actually are?

I really don't know what the attitude of most non-gaming parents out there towards the videogame industry as a whole. To me.. it seems that a lot of parents don't treat gaming as any kind of deal at all, it's mostly ignored while ignorantly buying their kids all kinds of videogames.
Yet when situations like the SCOTUS ruling arise, is it those same exact parents who turn around and point fingers? Is it suddenly now a big deal to them?

I just don't comprehend it. I think the measures we have now to prevent the sale of games to minors works. I think there might be a problem with the parents and their awareness of videogame content. It's unfair and nonsense to willingly buy these games and let kids play them, yet pretend to be utterly clueless as to the content within them? Are parents not being stressed enough to learn about games before they purchase them?

An example violent game is L4D2. All it takes is a "l4d2 gameplay" search on google to turn up instant video results. Click on virtually any one video to see the:
Blood
violence
decapitations
dismemberments
^all for yourself in a moments notice. Wouldn't that be enough to make any parent go "Yep my kids aren't playing this." Why don't more parents do this?

I believe the ESRB and store enforcement measures are enough to keep mature games from freely being obtained by kids. But I think there's a problem with parents and their awareness of videogames.

Spoiler: From personal experience

I've seen clueless mothers buy a copy of Left 4 Dead for what looked like a 10 year old child, the alerts of the cashier explaining the violent content seemingly going in one ear and out the other. It's possible the mother really didn't mind her kid playing that game, but I assume she just didn't care or think about it much, or at all.

But that's not always the case. A few months ago I walked into a Gamestop to browse the games, as I walked in I saw a little boy walk up to his mother and hand her a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops. To my surprise, the mother actually flipped the game over and read the ESRB box. To further my surprise, she actually began questioning her kid about it.
"Blood? Intense violence? What's this about?"
"umm... war?"
"War? You shoot people in this? No no, I'm not buying this for you."
The little bastard tried his best to get her to purchase it. Her response was "I'm going to ask the cashier about this." WHAAAAT!?
I picked something out and stood in line behind them. She walked up to the cashier and asked him what the game was about. The show was over for the kid at this point, because the cashier actually did play the game. He explained to her the game was about war, it contained a lot of blood and violence and a lot of death and so on. He topped it off by stressing "The game is rated for people 17 and older."
She then turned to her pouting kid and said "I'm not buying that." Then she yanked him out of the store as he whined his way out.

I was damned proud of that parent at that point. Finally I saw a parent responsibly refer to the ESRB tag, and even consult the help of the cashier. In the end she decided it wasn't something she wanted to let her kid play. Good for her.

That again makes me believe that parents have everything they need to keep games with unwanted content out of the house if they just exercised some awareness.

What's say you, Escapist users?

 

[krazykidd]

Wait are You connecting Violent video games to Violent Behaviour?

i'll be honest i have no idea what the question is in your thread.

 

[edudogel]

i say i you are to young and you get nightmares from games don't play em

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Because most parents view video games like parents 30 years ago viewed Saturday morning cartoons:

Something made solely to keep the kids out of their hair.

That's it. Most parents don't pay attention and don't have a fucking clue because they don't take any initiative to investigate what these "video games" are about, just assuming that every single one of them is just fine for kids to play despite the covers of several of them advertising guns and gore, like the Black Ops cover showing a guy with two realistic renditions of handguns and the Left 4 Dead covers - both of them - showing a decaying hand.

EDIT: Note that those renditions of Black Ops handguns aren't entirely realistic, either. I remember reading an article about an ex-military guy saying something about safeties and other things being off.

I suspected as much, but I wish so many parents wouldn't make such a hasty and even irresponsible conclusion. Growing up playing games across console generations, games began to increasingly depict more serious violence, albeit sometimes unrealistic (a la Gears of War and God of War).

It's an attitude I think needs to be curbed. The tools and knowledge are there for parents to use, but they just aren't using them.

Wait are You connecting Violent video games to Violent Behaviour?

i'll be honest i have no idea what the question is in your thread.

No.. not at all. Although I did post another thread awhile back concerning that issue, this in particular isn't about videogame violence and violent behavior at all. But rather the ignorance of parents who keep purchasing violent inappropriate material for their kids, and blaming the industry for it.

Like in the real world example I gave above, when the mother refused to buy Black Ops for her young child. I was proud of her not because I think Black Ops is a shit violent moraless game that shouldn't be allowed to be played by minors lest they become bloodthirsty /sarcasm.

But because she used the ESRB rating, and even asked the clerk, to reach the conclusion that the game was inappropriate for her child and did not purchase it. I was glad to see someone using the knowledge provided to them in that way, and I'd like to see that more often and see parents act responsible.

i say i you are to young and you get nightmares from games don't play em

As someone who's played games my entire life, now that I am a fully grown adult, I can honestly say I should not have played some games that I did when I was younger.

Like Resident Evil 2. My mom just threw the cash down and we walked out the store.

Granted, it was awesome playing it. But fucking nightmares, man.

If violent videogames are serious enough to become a case in the Supreme Court, why don't parents take them more seriously? Is all I'm really saying.

 

[bombadilillo]

Awarness is an issue, but also resources. I can go on imdb right now, look up a movie and theres a parental guide for the movie with exactly whats happening in it.

Theres a big difference in PG-13 with fantasy violence, and someone getting a blowjob on screen from the right angle that you dont see actual cock. One of these things is not like the other.

I would love a site like that for games. I had to make a thread in about LA Noire to figure out what the "nudity" was.

So ignorance and resources ARE needed.

 

[Gigano]

Even when they do know exactly what the games are about - as in most instances they bloody well should know just by looking at the box - Parents probably don't want to have to take the conflict with the kid, to have to put down their foot themselves; they'd much prefer that the state take on the role of the big bad.

Not that I'd deem it necessary to deny kids these games - I was playing DOOM at age 6 and enjoyed it thoroughly - but if they actually feel that's what's best for their kid, then the very least these cowards could do was to assume the authority and shoulder the responsibility for that decision themselves; Ultimately their kids will probably even respect them more longterm for taking a personal interest in their lives and hobbies (even a misguided one), rather than leave that up to the state.

 

[DEAD34345]

I've been playing 18s since about age 10 (probably earlier, but I think that's when I was allowed to play Grand Theft Auto), and I watched my dad play through resident evil at about age 5. That's actually one of my great memories of spending time with my dad. I've also always done well at school, never been in a fight, never really been in trouble of any kind in fact, so go figure. My little brother's about the same.

I think the key thing is raising your child properly in the first place to understand that video games aren't real, and that the things you do in them are not applicable to real life. Of course if you know your child is sensitive to this sort of thing then keep them away from games, but children are given a lot less credit than they deserve. They're kids, that doesn't mean they're idiots and it doesn't necessarily mean they're easily influenced either...

The ratings are fine as they are, and parents should know their children well enough to buy them only what they think is acceptable. There's plenty of info right there on the box, and if all that isn't enough then there's always the internet, or asking the guy at the game-store, or just playing it safe and not buying it if you're unsure.

The only problems that seem to arise come from the parents, and then people inevitably shift the blame elsewhere because for some reason parents can't be blamed for anything any-more.

 

[Tsar bomba]

You have a point with the L4D2 bit. I am 14, I asked for l4D2 for my 13TH birthday 2 years ago and my dad did get it for me. He actually watched me play it and he did not give one fuck about the violence. He told me one when I first played Duke Nukem 3D, "Son, do not ever repeat anything said in this game". I was, hmm, 7? I think? He let me play F.E.A.R when I was 10. I loved the shit out of that game, it scared the shit out of me (PC in the dark at night, headphones) but I still loved it. Truth is, I've always loved games whether they are racing, horror, shooting, platforming, free-roam, etc. and I always will, it's just that some parents are either too lenient or too strict about some things. I've never been in too big of a fight, I don't have any history of drug use, cigarettes, I've always done well in school, I'm just a normal kid that loves his fair share of video games, specifically violent and racing ones.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

I sorta like that my parents always showed some responsibility concerning games.
They always checked ratings, didn't want me to buy games before I reached the advised age. (Heck, even now I'm 18 they still remark that a lot of my games are rated 16)
My father sometimes even picked up a manual to see what the heck I actually was playing.

Even though I don't really think games cause violence or that sort of things (we get bombarded with it by all media), but it's concerning to see parents ignore warning labels and advice by employees.