Slashdot Mirror
Kaiser Foundation Shows Little Video Game Violence Concern
Thanks to EvilAvatar for the heads up about a new Kaiser Foundation study showing that parents are simply not worried about video game violence. "Overall parents are more concerned about inappropriate content on TV than in other media: 34% say TV concerns them most, compared to 16% who say the Internet, 10% movies, 7% music, and 5% video games."
If parents would be a little more concerned with their children, rathar than concerned about what's on TV, then there'd be no problem.
i.e. watch your own kids and the tv won't have to baby sit for you.
Remember Mortal Kombat? Night Trap?
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 93 11:21:59 PST
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., supported by
television's gentle ``Captain Kangaroo,'' said Wednesday the video game
industry is contributing to violence in America with its graphic
depictions of force and sex and warned it to regulate itself before the
federal government does.
``We're talking about video games that glorify violence and teach
children to enjoy inflicting the most gruesome forms of cruelty
imaginable,'' Lieberman said.
Lieberman, 51, the father of four children, said he will introduce
legislation calling on the video game industry to set up a uniform,
credible system to warn parents about the content of such games as
``Mortal Kombat'' and ``Night Trap.''
Shown at a news conference, ``Mortal Kombat'' involves a martial
contest with blood gushing from a fighter's head, and the winner
decapitating his opponent, then displaying the head attached to a spinal
cord. ``Night Trap'' involves hooded men seizing a sorority woman in her
nightgown and draining her blood.
Every couple years a game comes out and people try to put blame on it. More kids have killed each other imitating 'pro wrestling' than video games.
You don't see anyone trying to shut down the WWE, do you?
The survey does NOT imply that parents are "simply not worried about video game violence."
It states that 89% of parents are very, or somewhat concerned about inappropriate content in entertainment media, and 34% of parents rate TV as the medium they are most concerned about. It says nothing about their other concerns, and how strongly they rate them.
Reading the survey, it is possible to reach the conclusion that somewhere between 5% and 89% of parents are very or seriously concerned about video game violence. Hardly a level of confidence that should be used for a headline!
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
What would be more interesting is to see what the age range of the parents is. You have to remember that today's younger (as in 30's) parents were more than likely yesteryears' occasional/hard core gamers (since games didn't really become popular until late 70's early 80's).
The fact that they grew up around games and are more comfortable with them than previous generations would surely have some effect on their view of how violent games are as well as their concern for that violence. An interesting parallel would be that of the music industry and parents concern about the type of music their kids listen to.
If you were to ask an older generation of parents if they were concerned about the disco their kids listen to, they would probably say they were very concerned. However, ask a generation of parents who grew up around disco and they would more than likely say they are more concerned about the rock music their kids listen to than the disco. Ask the next generation about rock music and they would be more concerned about rap than rock..etc.
You're shittin' us, right? Or are you equating popular culture with socialization? Or perhaps that the kinds of folks in your neck of the woods that would forbid their kids to watch TV are more on the extreme side of things (such as hardcore Christian fundies or something). Don't assume causation with the correlation of your observations.
My household hasn't watched broadcast TV of any kind for 2 years. My family, when it watches the tube, watches movies or TV shows we own or rent from Netflix.
My kids are pretty well adjusted, having friends and all.
I have noted a slight disconnect from pop culture and its memes and references, so I assume my kids do, too. I can't think of specific examples right now, but it would be akin to me not knowing what "master of my domain", "sponge worthy", or "going commando" meant had I not watched TV during the heydays of Sienfeld and Friends.
While I do think cultural references of this kind are slightly enriching for the human experience, I can't reasonably argue that their absense is something to be concerned about.
Method of processing duck feet
My point is that the parents who make a big deal out of preventing their children from exposure are creating a void without neccesarily putting anything there, and that the parents that instead try to fill their kids' lives with something positive are indirectly pushing TV out of it because there is simply no room.