Pew Internet Poll is good news for game policy
Posted by Dan on September 17, 2008WTOP news reports that the Pew group has released a major study on the effects of video gaming on kids (PDF link), and it bodes quite well for the industry. One of the things that struck me during the Video Game Violence and Policy panel at PAX as well as during our legal issues panel, was the statement that there currently is no good data set of research on the topic that can be used as a factual basis for either a policy change, or for an evidentiary basis in a legal action. That likely no longer is the case with the Pew poll, given that the Pew group is a clearly non-partisan actor in the games policy debate, and is a respected research organization. Plus, as best as we can tell, statistically the information is meaningful.
The report makes a several conclusions, which can be summed up into 4 main categories: social experiences, civic experiences, popularity and prevalence, and parental influence and opinion. It finds that almost all teens play games, the most popular of which span a variety of genres and ratings. Gaming is a social experience for most teens, with almost half of those who play online games do so with real-life friends, and experience both social and anti-social behavior in game (just as they would in the real world). The most popular genres include both violent and nonviolent content. Game play involves civic dimensions, and the quantity of play is not strongly correlated with teen engagement in civic or political activity: but the characteristics and contexts in which teens play games are strongly correlated, as was playing games in person with others (though online play was not). Also, civic gaming experiences were more equally distributed in gaming than in other opportunities for civic learning.
The most popular games were not violent games, but rather racing, sports and puzzle genre games. In a top 10 list, Guitar Hero and Madden were atop the list, while GTA 4 was near the bottom of the top 10.
Perhaps the most striking thing from a policy standpoint is the level of parental interaction. 90% of parents either sometimes or always know what their children play, 72% check the rating before allowing children to play, and around 80% believe gaming has either a positive, or no influence on their child (62% no effect, 19% positive).
This brings into sharp contrast the issue facing legislators who want to regulate gaming: How can legislators claiming to represent their constituency act to protect their constituents, when the research shows that the people are doing a good enough job of it themselves? This data therefore is highly influential in the policy debate because it provides an immediate counter to the legislative charge that games need to be regulated for protection. The police power of the state has no right to be invoked when there is a clearly lesser restrictive means of accomplishing the policy goal. If the goal is to protect children, then this data goes a long way towards establishing that parental responsibility is a more effective and less restrictive mean than invoking the police power.
This is obviously a hot topic, and we’ll have more on this as it develops in the media.
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Anyone who does not believe that gaming is a social endeavour needs to take one look at the soaring PAX attendance and the high attach rate of XBox Live Gold accounts.
From a legal standpoint, however, I think the questions should never be whether games are “good” or “bad”, but rather do governments have the right to censor games at all? Are they art? Are they protected under the First Amendment? Even if not, where do we draw the line between a Nanny State and personal responsibility?
“when the research shows that the people are doing a good enough job of it themselves?”
Do you really think kids are reaching thier full potential?
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