Violence & Video Games
English 101
May 6, 2013
Violence & Video Games
It's a tireless task parents have keeping their kids safe. Graphic TV programs, sexually explicit magazines and alcohol all must be kept out of reach. Unfortunately, parents must add another pop culture challenge to their list: video games. A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows that more than 90 percent of parents don't monitor ratings on the video games played by their kids. Many are unaware that a ratings system for video games even exists, and children probably know more about the rating system than their parents do. Worse yet, parents may not know that the content of certain games could affect the social and emotional development of their child, and may even be hazardous to children's health.
When my 10-year-old son comes home from school, the first thing he does, is make a beeline for the computer, his tablet or video game console. He wants to play some type of video game. I frequently have to tell him to go get a book to read or go outside and play – which he does after some type of protest. Increasingly, we as parents are seeing this more and more, video game addiction. It is a problem that is prevalent throughout the United States. No longer do children want to take a ball and throw it or kick it around, or ride their bikes around
the neighborhood unless you force them. They want to sit inside the house, on the couch, or on their beds playing a video game of some sort.
But these games are not the same that our generation used to play. Gone are the days of Pong, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Centipede and Galaga. They have been replaced by the more realistic, bloodier and gorier games like, Call of Duty, Killzone 3, Battlefield 3, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and the sociopathic Naughty Bear. Yes, I said Naughty Bear. With a name like that, one would expect to find that it would be a game rated for a 4 or 5 year old. It was rated to for teens by the Entertainment Software Ratings
May 6, 2013
Violence & Video Games
It's a tireless task parents have keeping their kids safe. Graphic TV programs, sexually explicit magazines and alcohol all must be kept out of reach. Unfortunately, parents must add another pop culture challenge to their list: video games. A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows that more than 90 percent of parents don't monitor ratings on the video games played by their kids. Many are unaware that a ratings system for video games even exists, and children probably know more about the rating system than their parents do. Worse yet, parents may not know that the content of certain games could affect the social and emotional development of their child, and may even be hazardous to children's health.
When my 10-year-old son comes home from school, the first thing he does, is make a beeline for the computer, his tablet or video game console. He wants to play some type of video game. I frequently have to tell him to go get a book to read or go outside and play – which he does after some type of protest. Increasingly, we as parents are seeing this more and more, video game addiction. It is a problem that is prevalent throughout the United States. No longer do children want to take a ball and throw it or kick it around, or ride their bikes around
the neighborhood unless you force them. They want to sit inside the house, on the couch, or on their beds playing a video game of some sort.
But these games are not the same that our generation used to play. Gone are the days of Pong, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Centipede and Galaga. They have been replaced by the more realistic, bloodier and gorier games like, Call of Duty, Killzone 3, Battlefield 3, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and the sociopathic Naughty Bear. Yes, I said Naughty Bear. With a name like that, one would expect to find that it would be a game rated for a 4 or 5 year old. It was rated to for teens by the Entertainment Software Ratings
Cited: Carey, Benedict. "Studying the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." The New York Times: Science. New York Times Company, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 May 2013. . Entertainment Software Association. "ESRB Ratings Process." Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Entertainment Software Association, n.d. Web. 1 May 2013. . Gardner, Joshua, and Sam Li. "Do Video Games Make Kids Violent?" ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 1 May 2013. . Hicks, Marybeth. "HICKS: Violent Video Games Create Unhealthy Emotions." TheWashingtonTimes.com. The Washington Times LLC, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 6 May 2013. . Oskin, Becky. "Teens and Video Games: How Much Is Too Much?" Foxnews.com. FOX News Network, LLC, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 May 2013. . Sapieha, Chad, and Jeana Lee Tahnk. "10 Violent Video Games to Avoid." Parenting. Bonnier Corporation., 1 May 2013. Web. 1 May 2013. .