VIDEO GAMES AND CHILDREN

Throughout the elementary years, parents are the main gatekeepers for their children. As such, they need to be actively involved in their kids' video game playing - selecting the games, managing how much time children spend playing, and talking to them about the values in the games they like.

Parents of young children should be aware of the following concerns:

• Young children have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy, which makes them more vulnerable to the effects of media violence. They may become more aggressive and fearful if they are exposed to high levels of violence in video games.
  
  
• The violence portrayed in video games usually has no consequences, and is often there for the sake of humour.
  
  
• Children have easy access to violent computer and video games. A 2008 study by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that 20% of children under 17 surveyed had bought at least one M-rated game. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that three-quarters of boys in grades seven to twelve had played Grand Theft Auto, an M-rated game.
  
  
• The entertainment industry aggressively markets violent media to young children. In September 2000, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report that exposed how the media industries actively target young children with violent entertainment meant for adults. According to the FTC, almost every video-game company they investigated regularly marketed violent M-rated games to children. For instance, the E-rated gameLittleBigPlanet includes content intended to promote another Sony game, Metal Gear Solid 4, which is rated M.
  
  
• Toys based on action characters from games meant for mature players are often marketed to young children. Halo, an ultra-violent video game rated for players 17 and older, has spawned action figures marketed to children under 8 years old.
  
  
• Children's ideas of what it means to be male and female can be negatively influenced by stereotypes found in media. Video games are designed by males for males, and so generally contain very few female characters. Those females that do appear are often portrayed as victims, while the male characters are the aggressors. The study "Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles" shows that young people hold perceptions of gender roles that mirror how men and women are depicted in video games.
  
  
• Many games popular among youth are either played online or downloaded from sites such as Newgroundsand eBaum's World. The ESRB rating system does not cover such games.
  
  
• User-created content is an increasing part of today's games. This means that even if the original game has a rating appropriate for your child, it may be possible to download additional content that is not.
  
  
• Games often have a multiplayer component which allows children to play with other people over the Internet. These multiplayer games usually permit conversation between players which is typically unmoderated.