Parents are helping kids get violent games

According to ABC News and the National Institute on Media and the Family, Parents are helping their kids get violent games. In one of the more reactionary and ill-informed pieces the mainstream media has put out on the topic of violence in games, the ABC piece is full of quotes such as this gem from Senator Joseph Lieberman: “Media violence can desensitize kids and make them more prone to violence”.

The real meat of the report is on the recently released NIMA annual report card. The report detailed the results of 58 “sting” operations, which found that almost half the time children were able to buy games rated M (for “mature”). To that end, big retailers received a “D” from the organization. Parents didn’t fare much better, scraping by with a “C”

Well, clueless parents, opportunistic policymakers, and the violence in games debate are, collectively, the most overdone topics in game journalism and media criticism. ABC news unfortunately has nothing new to add to the discussion.

Read [ABC News]