According to a survey over at 'What They Play', Parents are more concerned about their kids playing M rated games than they are about them watching pornography or drinking alcohol.
Nearly 3,000 respondents in two separate What They Play polls concluded that drinking beer and watching pornography were less objectionable activities for children than playing certain video games. Further, viewing violence was more acceptable than seeing content involving sex and sexuality within games.
According to them, a man and a woman having sex (37%) is more objectionable than two men kissing (27%) which is more objectionable to graphically decapitated head (25%) and multiple F-bombs (9%).
Further more, parents said they'd be more worried about their kids smoking marijuana (49%) and playing Grand Theft Auth (19%) than they would having them watching porn (16%) and drinking beer(14%).
Although these findings seem surprising at first, they hint at fears parents have about video games.To some parents, video games are full of unknowable dangers. While researching for Grand Theft Childhood, parents we spoke with in focus groups often bemoaned the fact that they didn’t know how to use game controls - and felt unequipped to supervise or limit video game play. Of course, parents don’t want their children drinking alcohol, but that’s a more familiar risk.
This makes me extremely sad. Is this what our society is coming to? That you'd be more okay with your children watching porn or out drinking with their buddies than safe at home playing Grand Theft Auto IV?
Source
This makes me extremely sad. Is this what our society is coming to? That you'd be more okay with your children watching porn or out drinking with their buddies than safe at home playing Grand Theft Auto IV?
They never said the kids would be out drinking, just that they were drinking. Drinking and watching porn are legal past times (for cwertain ages) most parents have partaken in at some point in their life, therefore they are better able to discern the effects and possible consequences. Video games are foreign to most parents.
I put video games on the same level as movies. I'd have as much concern with a kid playing GTA as I would them watching Scarface.
Lastly, if you look at the statistics themselves odds are you'll find the margin of error is close to if not more than the difference between porn and GTA. You can pretty much make statistics say anything you want with the right agenda. Consider the source. Please don't jump to conclusions about society based on a likely small unscientific and all but assuredly insignificant survey.
Wouldn't watching porn and drinking have much more life altering effects on a child then playing video games? :l
Why don't parents just try and play the games or ask their kids what they're playing and if they could teach them. Immerse themselves. Most parents have never touched a video game which is part of the problem.
If they care so much, stop the kids from buying games they don't think they should be playing. Otherwise they can spout crap all they want about their fear.
Like Harmonica, I level games with movies. If a kid can't watch a movie of a certain rating, they damn well shouldn't be playing the game of the same rating.
Well I guess this means my dad is OK with me drinking his beers and using his internet for porn,to bad I have to sell GTA.
But seriously, this is some weird a$$ s**t.
Now, if only my parents had handed me whiskey and porn while telling me I play too many games as a kid--then I'd be golden
