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FTC Says Virtual Worlds Bad For Minors
eldavojohn writes "A new report from the FTC is claiming minors have access to explicit content via online virtual worlds such as those found in online games. The report makes five recommendations to keep little Johnny away from the harms of Barrens chat: Use more effective age-screening mechanisms to prevent children from registering in adult virtual worlds; Use or enhance age-segregation techniques to make sure that people interact only with others in their age group; Re-examine language filters to ensure that they detect and eliminate messages that violate rules of behavior in virtual worlds; Provide more guidance to community enforcers in virtual worlds so they are better able to review and rate virtual world content, report potential underage users, and report any users who appear to be violating rules of behavior; and Employ a staff of specially trained moderators who are equipped to take swift action against rule violations."
Most people nowadays have liquor cabinets at home and beer in the fridge. In order to protect minors from consuming alcohol, we propose the following measures. Use more effective age-screening techniques to prevent kids from opening the bottles. Child-proof caps and lids would suit this purpose. Use or enhance age-segragation techniques to ensure kids aren't allowed access to parts of the house where the liquor resides. Re-examine consumption filters to ensure that bottles that are drunk by kids are detected and quickly discarded. Provide more guidance to household enforcers (other adults and siblings) to ensure they can accurately detect when a kid is getting drunk and report the kid or discard the bottle. Employ a household staff of specially trained moderators who can watch your kid like a hawk to ensure they don't consume alcohol.
This whole segregation thing is crap. 95% of interactions between a child and an adult are positive. Segregation leads to 'Lord of the Flies' inbreeding of immature thought. Mixed company is the proper company for a child to have to learn how to grow up to be a sane, responsible, rounded individual.
Look at our history... children didn't grow up in segregated 'child only' areas... they grew up working with their parents and community members. They were exposed to life.
I'm of the opinion that over 95% of interactions between a child and adult are positive. How many of you have grouped with an obviously young kid, and helped them through an instance? Asked them to please be more polite, or type neatly, or don't ninja all the loot? Grouping, chatting, and talking with more mature players is what helps children learn maturity (at least in the context of an MMO).
Perhaps some of the other points of the article have merit, but I'm quite against age segregation. We are a community... act like it.
"I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
[...] minors have access to explicit content via online virtual worlds [...]
Minors have access to "explicit" content in the real world, too. How is this any different? Are these concerns merely puritanical in nature, or is there evidence that this is actually harmful?
The liquor and other poisonous ingestibles are the same. All sane parents keep the kids away from these things.All sane parents make sure small children cannot get to the alcohol, drugs, or drain cleaner. Most of these have child proof caps for as a backup.
At some age, most kids will learn not to OD on drugs or drain cleaner. I think we all agree that some don't. Also, many parents will teach children about the proper dosage of drugs, alcohol, and the such. This is the serving you get of wine. This is the serving you get of beer. This is when you drink cognac. If you need an asprin, this is what you should take. Clearly not all parent teach such civility, just like not all parent teach how to set a table, which fork to use, or to open doors for others, but the many do.
But learning and teaching takes time, which is why children can just be set out on their own and be expected to make long term best decisions, which may not be spending 10 hours a day playing the video games, or for a 14 year old trolling for facebook to find an older man to go out with in hope of impregnation, then a house and child support.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
That's a hard sell when these virtual worlds are marketing the crap out of themselves as substitute babysitters so that parents can relax and leave their kids in front of the screen.
The only marketing done towards children is designed to get the kids to beg mom and dad for the goods. A few tantrums from a spoiled brat are frosting.
It's all well and good to say parents should take charge, but spend 2 minutes in their shoes and you'd have a bit of sympathy.
What they need is support, not blame.
No, I am not a parent (yet anyway), but I am a young adult that was a hellhound to raise. Recently I found out I was autistic, which seemed to put my mom at ease knowing she didn't fail as a parent as badly as she thought she did, and even she had to go it alone while I was young.
Single mother, with an autistic child.
Yes, parents have responsibilities, but let's not take their job for granted.
While you progress towards valid points, keep in mind that violent crime has been trending down for 20 years now. While people "back then" may not have worried about the psychopathic pedophile behind every rock, it's ironic that these days folks are more worried about it, even though its less likely to happen to any given individual.
I'd be more concerned with what sort of effect being plugged into a virtual world does on brain development, physical coordination, compulsive behaviours, addiction, muscle tone and face to face socialization.
The focus on dirty words makes this whole thing a stupid joke.