What You Can Do to Combat the Negative Potentials of Video Games

Research shows that the home is the major place where children and adolescents are playing video games – not so much because of the allure of the game per se, but because they perceive of nothing else more alluring. That is, they are feeling bored. This is where you come in. It’s important to plan with your family members a healthy balance of diverse activities whether they think the activities are fun or not – help them to give it a try. Help them to get involved with sports, music, the theaters, and other organized community activities. Search your community calendar either online or in the newspaper for upcoming events. Another thing you can do is to teach your child to select appropriate games for his her developmental level and according to your own family values. There are several ways to determine appropriateness:

• Consult the ESRB rating on the front and back cover of the game and as referenced in the next section of this chapter. Having said this, however, know that the rating may not always be a perfect indicator of the content. Some games rated by the video game industry as appropriate for “Everyone” may contain potentially harmful content. Many “Teen” games can also be quite violent. Ratings are judgements to which you may or may not agree.
• Play the game yourself first and watch for red flags such as if the game portrays violence frequently; rewards it; treats it humorously; ignores or downplays non-violent solutions; or omits the realistic consequences of violence.
•  Play and enjoy the game with your child; check in as your child moves into deeper levels in the game.
• Conduct an online search for game reviews. There are plenty of websites that are dedicated to helping you learn more about various media before allowing them in your home. For instance, the Dove Foundation encourages and promotes the creation, production, distribution and consumption of wholesome family entertainment (http://www.dove.org/). Also check out MediaWise’s Kidscore at http://www.mediafamily.org/kidscore/ which is a ratings system by parents for parents. Go to Google.com and enter the keywords “review video games family” (without the quotes) and you’ll see other sites that could also be helpful.
• Network with other parents who you trust and hear about what they think.
• Monitor your child while he or she is playing the game until you are completely confident that all aspects of the game are acceptable.
• In addition, here are other tips that could help:
• On certain gaming consoles with certain games, you can “turn off” the blood mode which may reduce the intensity of the game.
• Be aware that most computer games can be altered through the use of downloadable programs called “mods” which are broadly available on the Internet and can change the content of the game. Since players create them, mods are not considered in ESRB ratings. It is important for parents to be aware that some mods can alter a game in ways that may not be appropriate for younger players and may be inconsistent with the ESRB rating.
•  Learn about and use parental controls. Some of the newer video game console and handheld hardware devices offer parents the ability to limit what type of content their children can access upon activating built-in parental control features. By activating parent controls, you can ensure that your kids only play games that carry ratings you deem appropriate for them.
• Exercise caution with online-enabled games. Some games let users play with other people on the Internet, but it’s important to realize that some of these games contain live chat features or other user-generated content, including character models (“skins”), settings (“maps”), weapons and other content that are not part of the ESRB rating. Online-enabled games carry a warning on the package that reads “Game Experience May Change During Online Play.” ¹
• Remember that while a new game will completely consume your kids for a while, the novelty should pass and other pursuits will eventually hold more appeal. (Just make sure you make those other pursuits readily available).

According to their website at http://www.esrb.org/, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). ESRB independently assigns computer and video game content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps ensure responsible online privacy practices for the interactive entertainment software industry. The Board’s mission is to provide consumers, especially parents, with accurate and objective information about the age suitability and content of computer and video games so they can make informed purchase decisions.

The rating system includes two parts which includes both a rating category to suggest age-appropriateness, as well as content descriptors to indicate what content may have triggered the rating and/or may be of interest or concern to the consumer. You’ve seen these ratings everywhere although you may not have paid much attention to what each rating represents before.

Go directly to the Game Ratings & Descriptor Guide by visiting the ESRB website at http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

The future of video games promises even greater changes, some will be good and others not so good. Games consoles, computers, and other technologies will become even more powerful and will introduce unprecedented levels of performance. This will, for example, make possible characters with convincing facial expressions, opening the way to games with the emotional charge of films, which could have broader appeal and convince skeptics that gaming has finally come of age as a mainstream form of entertainment. But, to the dismay of many, such advancements will also make depictions of inappropriate behavior even more lifelike.

Yet, one thing stands for sure, video games are not going away. Perhaps video gaming competitions will someday be part of the Olympics. You don’t think so? Gaming is already considered a highly competitive sport with a strong following. You’ve heard of Major League Baseball? How about Major League Gaming (MLG; see http://www.mlgpro.com) complete with events, professionals, fans, sponsors, and media coverage? Then there is the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL; http://www.thecpl.com/league/) which is the world’s first video game sports league and has been the major force in the transformation of video game competitions to a professional sport. Over the past nine years, the CPL has hosted 50 international main events with a total attendance of 250,000 gamers, has sanctioned over 500 international qualifiers and has awarded $3,000,000 in prizes. As of ths writing, the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL), the CPL’s online amateur division, has 500,000 registered members and hosts year-round online tournaments for over 60 game divisions.

Some gamers consider themselves professional athletes who follow highly rigorous and disciplined practice schedules. For instance, Johnathan Wendel, better known by the pseudonym Fatal1ty, is a professional electronic sports player who has won over US$1,000,000 in cash and prizes from professional competitions (You can see a video interview with Johnathan Wendel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q275Qh4ESao). In addition to receiving numerous product endorsements, he has been featured in mainstream news publications, including Time, The New York Times, Forbes, and the BBC World Service. He has also been featured on 60 Minutes. He is known as being one of the first professional gamers with a serious work ethic, and says he practices at least eight hours each day. Another professional gamer, Sam Suyeyasu, spends three to five hours a day blasting virtual enemies into oblivion with his Xbox. But at least one thing makes Suyeyasu very different: He’s getting paid. Under the moniker of “Samurai,’’ Suyeyasu and his gaming team, XiT Woundz, travel the country and compete for cash prizes. Throw in the $50 an hour fans pay him for private lessons, and he expects he’ll clear $25,000 this year from gaming. Not too bad for a 19-year-old Californian who just earned his high-school equivalency diploma last year.²

In the not so distant future, I see professional gamers, cyberathletes if you will, dealing with some of the same issues as today’s NBA basketball players, MLB baseball players, NHL hockey, and so on. Those with carpal tunnel syndrome will be put on the “injured list.” Instead of steroids, they may be tested for Ritalin used to help them focus. We will take virtual tours of their “cribs” and watch online as their cars get “pimped.” And some children will wonder why they need to work so hard in school when they can sit in front of a monitor and become wealthy and popular. Perhaps even a bit further in the future, cyberathletes will compete in large virtual, 3-dimensional, holographic rooms (arenas won’t be needed because fans will cheer them on from virtual pubs in their homes). They will be required to show physical strength, agility, and athletic skills – a return to their roots among athletes in history. Because, as you know, the more things change, the more they stay the same

End Notes

1. Helpful Tips for Parents. Entertainment Software Rating Board. Available online: http://www.esrb.org/about/parents_tips.jsp

2. Noguchi, S. (August 21, 2006). Teens, young adults making profession out of pastime. San Jose Mercury News. Available online: http://hamptonroads.com/node/142201