Parents: More scared of gamers than you are of them

Something that all of us realise at some point is that we always know better than our parents, who try to keep us from all the fun stuff and will always fight some stupid battle because they think books, music, TV, films and so on will make us murderers, rapists and swearers.

The ongoing fight of Mothers Against Videogames took a strange turn this week thanks to a poll at What They Play (whattheyplay.com), taken by over 3,000 parents.

This poll revealed that parents were more concerned that their child would commit pretend violence in a non-specific videogame than they were about traditional worries/pastimes like porn, alcohol and ‘real’ violence.

So how can this be true? Cheryl K Olson, co-author of the book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do (the most surprising thing about it being that it’s actually quite a well thought out book), explains: "Although these findings seem surprising at first, they hint at fears parents have about videogames.

"To some parents, videogames 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 videogame play.

“Of course parents don't want their children drinking alcohol, but that's a more familiar risk.”
In other words, parents who don’t play videogames are terrified of them. It’s mankind’s general fear of the unknown at play, and of course while these parents don’t play games they certainly watch the news or read The Daily Mail.

When they hear reporters claiming that a computer game is brainwashing kids into becoming murderers, they’ll believe them – it’s a risk they can’t afford to take.

Actually, there’s a big irony here. The news media and these parents are certain their children are not going to be able to tell videogames and reality apart.

Yet when they hear “a person in Grand Theft Auto can pick up hookers, have sex with them in dark alley and then kill them to get their money back” they immediately forget that this is not real and snatch their kid’s PlayStation away pronto. It is the parents who are more likely to accept fantasy over reality.

Dr Tanya Byron, creator of the infamous recent Byron Report on the effects of violence in videogames, demanded that the games industry make a more concerted effort to improve parents' understanding of age ratings.

This humble scribe thinks Dr Byron should stop making recommendations and start actually doing something if she’s that worried about it. Don’t pass the buck, sister – you’re the one who was hired by the Prime Minister to do something about this ignorance.

May we suggest that parents actually look at the very obvious age rating on every single game box, with even proper BBFC film ratings on certain games?

And don’t assume that just because you don’t play games, Mum or Dad, it means that they are either EVIL or, conversely, JUST FOR KIDS. The employees in game stores usually know what they’re talking about – ask them if you’re concerned, and they’ll happily tell you about any game.

Chris ‘The Tingler’ Capel