Friday, October 29, 2010

Legislation, gaming and parenting.

 I read an article in USA Today that asks the question of whether or not states can regulate violent video games to keep them away from kids. (Joan Biskupic. “Can states keep kids from violent video games?” USA Today. Print. 28 Oct. 2010). My studies as a graduate student at a college with a prolific game design program has opened up my interest in the type of question posed by the author. And this question is now in the Supreme Court.

I’ve not been a video gamer the majority of my adult life, but I am a parent. And this has been a topic I’ve thought about since my son started playing video games. In particular, violent video games. The state of California says the ban is important to protect children. The publishing and filming industries believe that if the Supreme Court sides with California this could lead to suppressed creativity in other media by infringing on free speech rights. I find it interesting that the Governor of California, who supports this legislation, made millions of dollars on violent action movies that I watched while growing up. But the real issue here shouldn’t be what the government or publishing industry believes is right for our children. This issue needs to be addressed in our homes. Parents need to instill proper morals and ethics in their children’s thought processes in order for them to not be influenced by negative forces and make smart decisions about how to be productive citizens in our communities. 

I read a short blurb in the Free Press today about a woman in Jacksonville, Florida who plead guilty to second-degree murder for shaking her baby to death after the boy’s crying interrupted her playing of the Facebook game Farmville ... not Postal 2 ... Farmville. My point here is that violent games aren’t the force that make people do bad things, it’s the person and who they are that is the driving force behind the decisions and actions that define their lives. To borrow an analogy, “Games don’t kill people, people kill people.” I’ve even read studies that say game participants are less influenced by the violence of a game than their observers. The participants are focusing on gaming and the observers are seeing violence.

I personally believe certain video games are over the top in the way they portray violence, killing, maiming, and torturing. But that’s my personal opinion and I’m not willing to dictate to other people what is right or wrong for their children. Ultimately this topic comes down to a parenting issue. I’m not crazy about some of the games my son has played, and we have had numerous conversations about the positives and negatives of his game choices, but I have been a hands-on parent and raised him with the basic ideas that at this point in his life he needs to do three things to be successful: “get good grades, be a good person, and do the right thing.” And with these types of principles as a foundation for how he approaches his life, I’m confident that gaming won’t lead him to anti-social behavior or desensitize him to violence.

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