As the R18+ debate looks set to heat up again, this retailer offers some sensible thoughts on the issue of violence in games.
Gametraders may well have a vested interest in the R18+ gaming debate, but that doesn’t stop us from agreeing wholeheartedly with their latest release on the issue, in which they point to research that suggests that games do not make children more violent and that it should be the responsibility of parents to protect their kids from exposure to excessive or inappropriate violence.
They’ve also suggested four things that parents can do to take back control over their kids gaming, including:
That all sounds simple and sensible to us.
The Gametraders release goes on to remind us that years of research on whether violent games cause violent children has been ‘widely inconclusive’, and points to reports that conclude that violent games on their own don’t cause a child to become violent without other contributing factors. In fact, a number of recent studies ‘have concluded that it is not the video games causing violence or aggression in children, but it is the children themselves,’ says Rob Jenkins, Gametraders’ National Marketing Manager. Jenkins goes on to state that ‘a lack of supervision and control by parents over the type of game and duration of play’ also contribute.
Of course, some parents will argue that they can’t control what their kids play outside the house or watch them every minute, and that’s fair enough, but – if we may editorialise – that shouldn’t stop them doing what they can, when they can.
As it looks more and more likely that a decision on an R18+ rating for games will be made in July, one way or the other, we expect to be hearing more and more from groups on both sides of the debate in the months to come. We just hope most of what we hear is as sensible as this.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012