I don’t understand all the hoopla surrounding this issue. So many reports expressing
concern about the “dangers” of exposing Children to the violence in
videogames. Politicians making broad promises to outlaw violent games. Lawsuits
blaming videogames for everything from suicides to murder. Enough already! Here’s
the scoop, from your pal, The Elder.

VIDEOGAMES DON’T KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!

In a book written by Elizabeth F. Loftus (The Psychology of Video Games)
She states,”… the trouble begins when we start young children on
violent video games, before they develop the analytical ability to understand
the context of violent acts in the games“.

Well, duh! The same can be said of allowing your Children to watch the news
unattended. There is more violence on an average local news report than in the
average videogame and, this violence is REAL! The cartoonish representation
of violent acts has been proven time & time again NOT to have a pronounced
or lasting effect on Children. . .

U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher stated – after conducting an examination
of all available studies on youth violence – , “as a risk factor
for violence the impact of media violence to date is very small compared to
other things we looked at, very small indeed“.

The Washington State Department of Health, after a review of all current research
on the issue, found, “it may be concluded that the research evidence
is not supportive of a major public concern that violent video games lead to
real-life violence”.

SO WHY ALL THE HUBBUB, BUB?

There is a prevailing attitude sweeping the country. It’s called (for lack
of a better term) the “not my fault” syndrome.
It’s failing to take responsibility for your actions (or lack thereof).
It grew in popularity when some parents found that they could blame music for
the criminal acts of their kids. Little Janie shot her best friend? Blame
Aerosmith and sue! You get a nice little settlement and you don’t have
to take responsibility for your lack of parenting skills.

Although I have lived in the land of the free the majority of my life, there
was no democracy in the house where I grew up. Mom and Dad’s power was absolute.
If they said no, well, that was pretty much that. Now, in the time of “time-out’s”
and “Children’s rights“, some parents are almost afraid to
take control of their own households. It begins and ends with parents
setting rules and guidelines for their children – and sticking to them!

STEP UP TO THE PLATE

When I hear about ten year old “Bobby” purchasing GTA3 or any of
it’s incarnations/imitators, I point my finger at the parents. Not the clerk
that sold him the game (even though no clerk should do it) but, the
parents. Where did this kid get $50.00 for a game? What parent sends their child
out, unsupervised with $50.00? The kind of parent that blames everything and
everyone but themselves when the kid does something incredibly stupid and ends
up in deep doo.

Regulations and restrictions however do not replace good parenting. Talk with
your children. Even though it seems obvious, explain that what they are witnessing
on the screen is NOT REAL! Ask them what they feel about the actions
the characters are engaging in. Set limits according to your child’s age and
maturity level. No one knows your child better than you (hopefully).
Getting involved in what your Child is doing could very well open the door for
a better relationship or open your eyes to a potential problem.

Written by Derrick Harris.

Filed under: Editorials

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