Sex, Guns and Education?

A quick shout out to this Heritage Key competition, which is throwing open the question of how websites and virtual environments can be both entertaining and exciting for a young generation exposed to high levels of 'shoot'em up' type violence in their daily entertainment.

The competition has given rise to a tiny frisson of debate within the eModeration ranks ...

As a Mum of two bloodthirsty young boys, I'm constantly battling against their prefence for all things violent on the DS, PS and Wii.  I'm of the same opinion as Heritage Key. Yes, I do think that there's way too much casually violent content available for young children, and it's hard to avoid it, hard to substitute anything else when the boys have become so accustomed to the adrenaline rush.  I'm really tired of being Bad Cop and saying 'no' all the time.  I also believe that there's a level of desensitisation which means that cruelty, sex, and violence become easier and easier to accept.  And that our children are accustomed to such high levels of excitement, that, as Heritage Key puts it: "Kids are exposed to so much violence in their daily entertainment that it becomes an acceptable norm for them and while using anything virtual or online they expect the same level of excitement that they get from games. When we were doing some user testing with high school kids as part of the production of an online game recently, they were getting a bit agitated as they couldn't find anything to chase, kill or shoot. "

Our resident gaming expert Jesse has a defense of the games industry though:

Jesse: Video games have been unjustly vilified for far too long.  Violent games do exist, just as there are violent films, television shows, and even songs, but all are given appropriate age ratings that should be acknowledged.  I understand that it can be hard for parents to be the bad guy and say "no" when their son or daughter asks for the 18-rated "God Of War III" but if you back down and allow it, you forfeit the right to shake a fist at the developers and publishers.  They have a responsibility to market their products to the appropriate age groups and it's a responsibility that, in the vast majority of cases, is taken very seriously.  In the case of God Of War III, its website has an age verification check before viewers can access any of the advertising material within and much of the game's publicity has been in games magazines, which also carry age ratings.  You wouldn't send your child off to the cinema to see the Saw movies or take them to the pub for a beer because, as a responsible parent, you recognise that they are inappropriate activities for kids.

Age ratings on games are just as important and just as legally enforceable. A recent report by the Entertainment Software Association stated that 75% of gamers are 18 or over, with an average age of 35.  It should come as no surprise then, that many games are made for an adult audience and can feature content that may be inappropriate for children.  What may surprise you is that despite under 18s making up only 25% of the market, 17 of the 20 best selling games in the UK this week are made for under 18s.  10 of the 20 are made for kids of seven or younger.  Clearly there are a lot of games out there that are appropriate for kids and their high chart positions indicate that they're a lot of fun!  Why vilify an industry that's bending over backwards to provide for and protect a comparatively small part of its market?

Whilst I don't disagree at all with what Jesse is saying, my point is not really that younger children are exposed to a level of violence deemed innappropriate to their age - and of course I totally support the labelling system.  My point is that the violence is EVERYWHERE.  Ravin' Rabbits (actually a hugely fun family game), is mostly based on blasting the bunnies into kingdom come.  Ben 10 is all about killing the aliens - the whole game is focussed on fight fight, fight.  SuperMario is a lot about using your skills and accumulated powers to defeat baddies ....

Jesse:  Hang on! Calling jumping on an enemy in a Mario game violent is like saying that taking a chess piece is violent.  It's just a function of gameplay and I don't think any player equates either situation with brutality.

Oh, Ok, perhaps I'm being a bit overly sensitive!  But the violence is SO ubiquitious and just really, really, really tedious to see it played out between my two small humans when screen time has finished ...It's a lively debate that doesn't look likely to be settled in a hurry (and by the way, one that was at fever pitch during Sony Entertainment's section in last November's CEOP training seminar ‘Children and the role of technology in sexualisation, addiction and bullying’). 


So  .... how do we create virtual entertainment that's meaningful where there are no guns and no sex and still fun and educational? Is it possible? To discuss...


Details of the competition are at Heritage Key (closing date April 10th 2010)

Image credit: Ianus Keller