Today's New York Times has an article about the challenge of regulating violence in video games. Although there are strict laws regarding minors' access to some materials, so far there has been no regulation of violent content.
Put simply, the United States Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution as allowing states broad leeway in regulating minors’ access to sexually explicit material. That is why it is illegal around the country to sell pornography to children. Courts have not, however, said that states have a similar right to regulate media based on violence.
Since video games are a new medium, they haven't been regulated as strictly as films, which means that minors can purchase video games, regardless of violent content, without parental permission.
What do you think? Do you think that video games should be regulated, or do you think that minors should be able to make their own decisions about what they play? Does playing violent video games make you a more violent person?
Comments (7)
I play all kinds of video games, from very violent to nice games and I'm not affected in any way by it. Violence is a part of daily life and has been for millions of years and people finally feel they need to take it out? It's people that influence other people not video games.
Posted by Kaye | March 12, 2008 4:37 PM
Posted on March 12, 2008 16:37
violent video games need to be regulated to an point. just like you wouldnt sell rated R movie tickets to a 13 year old, you shouldnt let one purchase a game that has the same type of violence in it. Personaly, I belive that a greater share should be taken by the parents in reviewing what kids play than just making more laws so they can make less choices.
Posted by Anonymous | October 16, 2007 11:08 PM
Posted on October 16, 2007 23:08
I think that kids get alot of violent ideas from video games and that they should be more restricted in what these games show.
Posted by Anonymous | October 9, 2007 8:54 PM
Posted on October 9, 2007 20:54
Children are, in my opinion, directly affected by their environments and the stimuli that is placed in that environment. Should children be exposed to violence at a young age, I think that it will make them see intense violence in a less severe manner. The video games make violence a tangible and palpable thing, putting the control to kill off characters into the hands of children. I think that parental consent would definitely be a good idea, and make sure that the parents are informed about the specific content of the games.
Posted by Anonymous | October 2, 2007 7:35 PM
Posted on October 2, 2007 19:35
I think that kids need to be monitered closely. There should be stricter laws about what kids can play; or there should at least be parental permission for every game they purchase. Violence is okay for kids in high school (hopefully they've figured out it's wrong by then; if not, they they probably never will), but before that kids are still really being molded, and they will absorb most things they see, including things in video games.
Posted by Anonymous | October 1, 2007 9:25 PM
Posted on October 1, 2007 21:25
I think that most kids who are capable of playing video games of any kind of adult nature are smart enough not to project what they see in the game onto real life. The games might give the kids nightmares, but I doubt it will actually cause them to do something dangerous or violent.
Posted by managar | September 27, 2007 1:07 AM
Posted on September 27, 2007 01:07
I think violent games desensitise kids to any kind of violence they might see in real life. It doesn't necessarily lead them to commit violent acts, but it lessens their inclination to stop violence around them. For this reason, I think that parents should be informed about what kind of violence is in video games before buying it for their kids.
Posted by Anonymous | September 27, 2007 1:02 AM
Posted on September 27, 2007 01:02