From Jonnydigital.com, the only reliable source
I'm sick of hearing complaints from parents who have been somehow duped into thinking violent video games are going lead their children on a crime spree. If you're a parent, I encourage you to read this and pass it on: your children are safer than you think.
Let me present a few facts. You don't have to trust me here - you can do your own research and confirm these for yourself.
Just like movies, video games have had their own age rating system for years now. The Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB was founded in 1994, the same time that violent video games began to appear. In Europe, the PEGI age rating system has been used since 2003, which replaced the UK's ELSPA age rating system founded in 1994.
Parents are sometimes fooled into buying age-inappropriate titles by their children, who exploit the parent's lack of familiarity with the video games rating system. You wouldn't take a child to a "17+" rated movie, so why would you buy them a 17+ rated game?
Age ratings are often enforced by store policy, and in some places, enforced by law. The ESRB's system is considered by many to be one of the most detailed and accurate rating systems available. It's a largely trustworthy system, with most of the controversy involving kids playing games that they shouldn't according to the ESRB rating.
You'll never read "Video games are safe" as a newspaper headline, because it's not news. It's not interesting, at least not to most parents who don't play videogames. On the other hand, "Something is going to kill your children" is big news, even if the journalist had to bend a few truths to fit it onto the television.
It's easy to forget how disobedient and rebellious we were as teenagers. Teachers, parents and child psychologists agree that it's not unusual for children entering puberty to become moody, disobedient and even violent - it's a phase we all go through as human beings.
Teenagers also become rebellious and moody in families which don't own any video games. It's easy to blame this new technology of video games, but the much simpler explanation is that your kids are just growing up.
You're out of touch with your kids when it comes to music, fashion and pop culture. It happens. So why do we expect video games to be any different?
Computer technology has improved drastically since 1985, when video games were too primitive and cartoony to appeal to older players. Today, the average gamer is in his mid-twenties to thirties, and it's at this demographic that violent games are targeted.
You know this yourself, if you're a mother. How often have you been concerned about something happening your child, only to find out later that there was nothing to worry about? It's only natural to want to protect your children, but that instinct can push people to over-react to "stay on the safe side".
Finally, it doesn't take laws or game prohibition to keep your kids safe. You just need to take care that you don't give your kid games with age-inappropriate content. The age rating is a good guideline, but ultimately as a parent it's up to you what you let your kids play.
Page created: 25th October 2008