“Mom, can I buy this game? All my friends are playing it.” Was the question that started it all. Our kids, like all kids these days, spend a lot of time on electronics. Should it be any surprise when they begin spending their allowance money on $2.99 virtual worlds and characters that unlock the newest gaming potential? When I was that age, I spent my spare change on PEZ dispensers. Maybe that was just me.
I must admit, with unnamed laziness I have become slack about approving these video game purchases. I’ll glance through the starred reviews, thumb through pictures of the enhanced experience and let them have their cheap fun. Our kids have access to it with their own iPods and the family computer as well as a video game console in the living room. However, I consider us behind in the technology evolution; they don’t even have a TV in their bedrooms.
On this particular day we had some extra time, and my husband decided to investigate the request further. Our thirteen-year-old son was quite uncomfortable with each inactive minute, waiting for us to approve the new game. Conditioned on our usual quick response. Instead, the game was carefully picked apart. You could talk to other players. Strike one. The game itself was about attending a high school. Now I don’t know about you, but high school wasn’t that great of an experience in the first place, why a game was coded to simulate walking to class and voting for prom queen is beyond me. Strike two. No rating system was in place. Aha, strike three.
Since this incident, we have become more aware that rating systems are rare for online video games. We place a lot of trust in the words, “everyone at school plays this,” and go about our day. Thinking that as long as our kids aren’t on Facebook or Twitter we are covering our bases. What we aren’t seeing is that in this technology driven world, games and experiences are being created and distributed by practically anyone who knows how to code. It doesn’t take much more than a wayward glance to ignore what our children are exposing themselves to. Under our watch; under our thumbprint.
I want to challenge parents out there to continue asking questions about what your children are spending their time listening and watching online. This age of expanding technology is exciting and boundless, and our parenting skills are going to have to keep up. It’s not the slow and steady progression of our youth. It seems that every other month something new and innovative comes along. We still have the growing responsibility to keep our kids safe. Yet, it may be more difficult than we can imagine. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the Google search bar potential keeps me awake at night. I can’t help but think that if we continue to stay involved and not look for the next cheap distraction, perhaps our parenting generation still has a chance.