general media What do you think about age restrictions in games and movies?

[碇 シンジン 27,440]

Seems like every kid has like GTA, CoD and more that kind of stuff and they are WAY underaged to play them. I mean I know they want to do everything their friends have done to be as tough as them. But why their parents allow it I mean the age restrictions aren't just a decoration there is a reason behind them.

 

I've never had any games or watched any movies that were restricted for my age and I still only watch kids movies. Horror scares me and I don't think violence is cool. 

Edited August 25, 2014 by ooBrony

[Zefir 34]

Kids don't take that kind of violence too seriously. In games it's part of play, imaginary, not real. Killing somebody in game is like pointing pistol-fingers at somebody, saying "pew-pew" and then declaring him dead. For many kids it is cool simply because they are used to awesome heroes beating the bad guys senseless. There isn't much coolness in preventing a conflict and being polite to people. Sure, those people are nice but can they punch a guy through a skyscraper and then land a car on them? Or beat up an entire army with nothing but a gun? I don't think so.

Confronting kids with actual, real life in-front-of-their-eyes violence is whole different ordeal. They can distinguish play from actual, serious fight. Well, at least to a degree.  

 

Though I have to agree horror are scary regardless of age, and younger kids might take some mental scars from watching them, even if at the time they didn't feel any fear at all.

 

I did play games like GTA in my childhood, however grabbing people out of their cars and driving them over wasn't taken seriously, since they weren't real. Even riding as a pimp was simply another taxi mission with beating up guys. 

The same goes for shooters. Yes, you shot guys, but then you died and respawned and they did too. Also they too didn't show much of intelligence or any sign of being "real" more than an action figure.

 

After 16, age restrictions lose most of its sense. Sure, things like porn is still for adults only. But rating a game like that because there's actual gore or saucy scenes will only act as a forbidden fruit to take as an act of rebellion, or simply because of the value it gains from being prohibited. If parents don't want their kids to take that kind of games/movies, then they should first explain it to them. Perhaps even show what do they mean, so kids themselves understand. 

 

Still, it's just my opinion. Research out there show mixed messages when it comes to effect of video games on children, though they probably don't take seeing material of inappropriate age as a big factor. We have an entire generation of gamers, many of them growing up with violent video games. Does it make a difference, if we replace blowing up robots to shooting people? They still are but a fantasy to children, who never seen a wound outside a minor cut or had a big chunk of skin on their leg ripped off.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

My question is this: Why do we have age restrictions on games and movies?

 

Now, before you berate me for my unpopular opinion, please consider this. A 10-year-old kid walks into a library. He finds a fictional book about a holocaust survivor. Curious, he reads part of it and finds it interesting, despite its gruesome descriptions. He goes to check out the book, and no one bats an eye.

 

A first grade class is taught about slavery in America. The teacher explains that the slaves were beaten, forced to work, and treated as inferior beings in comparison to white men. She shows to the class that humans can be very cruel to one another, and again, no one bats an eye.

 

A librarian walks past a young girl, who appears to be reading a book on a table during her lunch break at school. Very obviously, the book is far above the girl's age level. Casually observing the girl for a brief moment, the librarian realizes that the book contains foul language a rather descriptive sex scene. Most people would agree that it would be absurd for the librarian to deny the child the ability to read that book, despite its content.

 

A teenage girl has very conservative parents. They never tell her about sex or reproduction, and they prevent her from learning about it through other sources. Consequently, she grows up with a very limited view of the world. When she goes off to college, her naivete becomes her demise. After a few months, she becomes pregnant, and she has no idea how it ever happened.

 

Through the magic that is the internet, a teenage boy searches for inappropriate content on his computer. He has parents who monitor his activity closely, and later chastise him for being curious. Resultantly, they take away his internet privileges. The boy learns that what he did was wrong, and he learns not to come to his parents for any advice regarding sexual topics. He suppresses his sexual desires, and feels guilty for ever being curious. Later in life, he struggles to feel comfortable talking about sex with his wife, and his relationship suffers as a result.

 

A kid sees a trailer for an Assassin's Creed game. He thinks it looks cool, so he starts saving his allowance to buy it. When he tells his parents he wants to buy it, they deny him the game because it's rated M. He says his friends play it, but the bandwagon effect does little to persuade his elders. When he goes over to his friend's house, he plays the game anyway, despite wanting to conform to his parent's wishes. Later, he is overcome with guilt. He lies to his mom and tries to hide what he did. After playing the game, he realizes that his parents do not condone violence. This seems fine and well, but when he is bullied at school, he does not fight back out of fear of upsetting them.

 

So, where am I going with this, you ask? Ratings are stupid—enough said. As a parent, is not your job to protect your child from certain things. You're not supposed to hide your little ones from reality. What you're supposed to do is help them understand reality as they discover it. Your job is to explain to them what they're reading, watching, or playing as they encounter said mature content, so that they can become responsible adults in the future.

 

Basically, this:

 

"You can play Call of Duty, but remember that it's just a game. No one is actually getting hurt. Even so, it's more acceptable to kill the opposing team because you're at war, and they're trying to kill you and your friends. Killing innocent people is different, because they haven't done anything wrong—you have. If someone tries to hurt you, you are allowed to fight back, but that is the only time real-life violence is acceptable. If you hurt someone else, they are allowed to fight back... and most people probably will."

 

or this:

 

"Kids, porn isn't real. You're going to want to look at it and that's fine, I won't stop you. But that's not what real sex is like; those are actors putting on a show. It's not an example of how to treat women. Sex isn't inherently a bad thing, but you should be careful to avoid pregnancy or contracting infections. Given those facts, I trust you to make good judgement on your own part, but if you have any questions, I'm free to answer them."

Edited August 26, 2014 by Regulus

[Poetic Justice 170]

I actually work at Gamestop, so I would like to share my two cents on the subject. Almost every day, I get a 7-10 year old child bring me Grand Theft Auto V. Nine times out of Ten, the parents just want to get out of the store as soon as possible. So when I say, "Ma'am (or Sir, it's mainly mothers though) this game is rated M for Violence, Language, Nudity...." They usually cut me off and say "It's fine" before slamming their card on the desk so they can go back to their phone or whatever it was they were doing. Parents just don't care. Now, I use Grand Theft Auto because COD really is not that bad for a Rated M game. In fact, me and my manager (and all of my co-workers, I am pretty sure) actually DEFEND the child if they try to get Halo because the only blood is alien blood and the protagonist says no bad language. I don't think violence and blood matter with age (reasonably.) However, I think you should be a certain age before buying a game with String Language and Nudity. I say nudity because I have heard (this isn't the debate section, please don't start throwing sources and calling me out. This is something I have heard a while back) that people who watch porn start to see people as objects. Now, in a game like L.A Niore, where the only nudity are the dead bodies you need to investigate, that's a totally different story. Also I say language because kids shouldn't curse. That's just my opinion. 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

I agree with the concept of ratings, since not all content is appropriate for all audiences, but I don't think rating systems are handled right, nor do I see how they can be properly enforced. As it stands currently, rating systems make certain content out to be like forbidden fruit. People are naturally drawn to things they can't have, especially at a young age.

 

I remember being in my teens, and wanting to play M rated games, but my mom and dad didn't want me to. My cousin, who looked older, and whose parents didn't care quite as much about what kind of games he played, had a bunch of them. I really wanted to play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, so I just borrowed his copy when he was finished with it. Once I was old enough, and my mom and dad allowed it, I had a whole bunch of M rated games. Now, I obviously don't care as much about ratings, but back then, playing said games was a big deal for me.

 

On the other side of the coin, my cousin was never one to opt out of playing M rated games, simply because his younger brothers might be in the room. He was able to enjoy the forbidden fruit, and wasn't about to hold off for such a silly reason. I have a bedroom setup, and have one younger sister, but she's always been into her own stuff, as have I, so I didn't have to worry about that. But, my younger cousins were exposed to games with graphic and sexual content from a young age. There lies the problem with the rating system. Kids will inevitably get exposed to those kinds of games if they want to. If their parents forbid it, they'll simply visit a friend or family member who has them, or possibly spend time with older siblings. I used videogames as an example, but the same applies to movies and music and other things.

[CheeryFox 23,824]

I'm hoping that kids' today have enough leveled maturity to play said games. But this is not always the case. I suppose age restrictions are appropriate, however this day and age, they don't mean squat. Same goes for movies. I'm not too keen on this anyway, parents aren't really going to say 'no' about it -- I guess given the times and different outlooks, a carefree sense might be prudent, after all... 

[Dattebayo 2,850]

It's there for a reason.

I am a giant MK fan for as long as my little hands could hold a controller, but I sure as sh*t wouldn't want my children playing it.

 

Is it hypocritical? Lol yeah

But look how I turned out

 

On the other hand, I dislike the GTA franchise, and I would never even let my children be aware of it's existence

That series is the shiny example of sh*t kids shouldn't play

[AlbaTross 1,586]

It's there for a reason.

I am a giant MK fan for as long as my little hands could hold a controller, but I sure as sh*t wouldn't want my children playing it.

Is it hypocritical? Lol yeah

But look how I turned out

On the other hand, I dislike the GTA franchise, and I would never even let my children be aware of it's existence

That series is the shiny example of sh*t kids shouldn't play

You realize your kids will be in contact with other kids, unless you homeschool them, right? I'm sure they'll learn of the existence of GTA somehow. You don't have to let them play it though. I'll certainly be keeping my kids away from it.

[yeet 2,027]

I understand why we have age ratings in things, and agree with them. But you know, there is the factor of maturity isn't there. Like, it isn't really gonna make you violent is it. Shooting people in a video game. There are some, like say manhunt. That is rated like m or whatever for a reason. Heck manhunt 2 is banned in the uk. But like, if young kids play violent video games, then it will affect them in some way, but I doubt go on to kill anyone. I could go on but it would probably me going "blah blah blah"

 

Then there is the topic of movies. If a movie contains nudity, it is virtually always a 15 or 18. Let's take an example of the coming soon 59 shades of grey movie. The books are pretty detailed in what happens. So the movie has quite a lot to live up to, if it is anything like the books, it shall be an 18. There is a small possibility that it will be a 15. You know, like because even though at 16 it is legal to have sex in the uk, and we are classed as adults basically, we have to be 18 to see nudity pretty much. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally. But hey, who knows what they think in parliament? Even with the 18 age rating, I would still get into the film probably. As there is a decent way to do it. (Age ratings be different in uk and america, like we have 18, you have mature or something)

[碇 シンジン 27,440]

 

 

"You can play Call of Duty, but remember that it's just a game. No one is actually getting hurt. Even so, it's more acceptable to kill the opposing team because you're at war, and they're trying to kill you and your friends. Killing innocent people is different, because they haven't done anything wrong—you have. If someone tries to hurt you, you are allowed to fight back, but that is the only time real-life violence is acceptable. If you hurt someone else, they are allowed to fight back... and most people probably will."

 

I agree with your post, but do you think that exposing kid to mature content is right way to develop kids emotional life. I mean if you see guy dying on the screen and he is bleeding and yelling. You know it's not real but do you think you still should get some kind of emotions?  Is it alright for a kid to say no to those emotions? I hardly see any people (males especially) show other emotions than anger on these days and I think that could be because when they were young they forced themselves to not to react on violent scenes. 

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

I agree with your post, but do you think that exposing kid to mature content is right way to develop kids emotional life. I mean if you see guy dying on the screen and he is bleeding and yelling. You know it's not real but do you think you still should get some kind of emotions?  Is it alright for a kid to say no to those emotions? I hardly see any people (males especially) show other emotions than anger on these days and I think that could be because when they were young they forced themselves to not to react on violent scenes. 

 

A few thousand years ago, young boys were taught how to hunt and kill so that they could later feed and protect their families. In ancient Rome, men would go to the Colosseum to watch gladiators fight to the death. Keep in mind, that was their entertainment. Violence, as well as death, is an integral part of nature and thus our existence—and I think it's important that children are aware of the world that we live in. The truth is, we've had a violent past... and by our very instinct, we can have violent impulses. It's called survival.

 

For the most part, no, I don't think a kid seeing a dying man on a TV screen is going to be all that shocking. The kid may be a bit disturbed or have some desire to help, but any sort of emotional scarring strikes me as being absurd. A kid should be able to think, "that guy was shot in the leg and he looks like he's in pain... okay, this is why war is bad." That's where parents come in. A parent needs to explain the situation.

[Dattebayo 2,850]

You realize your kids will be in contact with other kids, unless you homeschool them, right? I'm sure they'll learn of the existence of GTA somehow. You don't have to let them play it though. I'll certainly be keeping my kids away from it.

It's a joke through exaggeration ;o

[AlbaTross 1,586]

It's a joke through exaggeration ;o

Ah, I see. I must be hyperbole impaired due to post-con crash.

[Mantis01 19]

Why must people be against the rating system, I believe that it is important to to have a rating system. Most videogame and Movie not only have violent and graphical contents, there the languages, subjected dialog, and nude scene. Taking away the rating system isn't going to make it any better.  

[yeet 2,027]

Why must people be against the rating system, I believe that it is important to to have a rating system. Most videogame and Movie not only have violent and graphical contents, there the languages, subjected dialog, and nude scene. Taking away the rating system isn't going to make it any better.  

So a five year old seeing a pair of tits and a vagina is going to mentally scar them for life? When they will see plenty of it at a later age? I watched american pie when I was about seven and it did nothing to me. I hear plenty of swearing in real life, seeing it in movies and games wont do shit. I've seen plenty of violent shit in movies and games, and yeah, something like Saw would affect a small child, I got nightmares from seeing like five minutes when I was around eight. 

 

Having the age rating is kinda worse than not having one, would you rather have a child go into see an 18, and then be scarred, and they wanted to watch it, or would you rather have say a 17 year old want to watch an 18, but can't because they are one year under the age rating? And either way, someone around my age will get into an 18.

[PE Brony 1,712]

I worked at Walmart a while back and one night as I was covering for the electronics department during their dinner break, a mother and her 10 year old son came in and I was stopped and the mother asked me about a game. I asked her which game: Grand Theft Auto. Oh boy did I have an opinion to share on that one!

 

To me, the GTA series is a plague upon video games.

 

I explained the basic plot lines of the GTA series to the mother and explained what the ESRB rating system meant for video games. I told her the differences between an M rated game like Halo (which is my favorite shooter) and an M rated game like GTA, and then the middle ground M rated games (like CoD and Battlefield: that's where I classify them). We spoke for probably 20+ minutes as I unraveled the world of video games to her--all the while receiving death glares from her kid whose life I was systematically 'ruining'.

 

She never knew anything about the video games her son was playing or having her buy, all she knew was that they were popular and that he wanted them. She had an older boy that also played some of the games we talked about and was surprised by what I mentioned they contained. I think I caused some turmoil in that household...haha

 

===========================================================================

 

The rating system doesn't work like it should anymore because as has been said a few times now, parents don't care or don't pay attention to what they're buying for their kids. Yes, kids will be exposed to it by their friends, or on the internet etc, but I feel it's important that their parents know what it is they're actually exposed to so that AT MINIMUM they can be there to talk to their kids when they need it.

 

LIVE used to be a lot more social for older teens and older gamers alike: you could get online and shoot up the other team and trash talk and have a good time with friends taking down another group of friends, all in good fun. 

 

Nowadays, the good gamers have all gone into hiding. They either play in exclusive parties, or they simply mute everyone and themselves and sit in silent rage. The only time I hear people with mics online anymore are kids <12 asking "Hello? Helllllllooooooooo!?!?!?!? Can anyone hear me??? Who has a mic???? I bet you have a mic!!! Why is no one talking??? I know why!! Because you're all ******* ***** and you suck!!! haha. Oh (gamertag) you know what? (insert gamertag here) is a *****!!!!" etc etc

 

And that's why online gaming is devolving into less and less of a social atmosphere. It's lost the glory of its respectable opponents who of course talked smack all the time, but had already gone through puberty.

 

I didn't get a PS1 until I was 8 and I was restricted to an hour a day. At that age, I was outside playing kickball in the street dodging cars and climbing trees, going to the park and playing tag or soccer. I got an Xbox when I was 16 with Halo 2 and my buddies and I had LAN parties every week. 

 

Kids today have zero respect for anyone or anything. The major factors for this (in my experience and opinion):

 

   A ) Their parents aren't 'parents' and try to find as many ways as possible to not have to be responsible for them. Leading to pent up feelings of anger, frustration and anxiety.

   B )Those feelings of anger, frustration and anxiety are then channeled through portrayals of violence in modern video games.

   C ) Those kids become a problem.

 

So really, for me, it all comes down to bad parenting. If parents are invested in their children as they should be, the kids will usually turn out to be alright. If not, they'll find other avenues and cause problems further down the line.

 

In summary, parents need to understand the world their kids are growing up in and become involved enough to check ratings and understand what they mean. If they're fine with what their kids are playing...okay...as long as they know the possible outcomes...

 

Sheesh that got wordy!

 

*EDIT* Freaking B got changed to a RD smiley...I love RD, but those glasses didn't fit into the list...

Edited August 26, 2014 by PE Brony

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,178]

Here's how i like to put it.

 

Putting age restrictions on media is like lieing. to them about the world.

[Zefir 34]

I agree with your post, but do you think that exposing kid to mature content is right way to develop kids emotional life. I mean if you see guy dying on the screen and he is bleeding and yelling. You know it's not real but do you think you still should get some kind of emotions?  Is it alright for a kid to say no to those emotions? I hardly see any people (males especially) show other emotions than anger on these days and I think that could be because when they were young they forced themselves to not to react on violent scenes. 

 

 

A few thousand years ago, young boys were taught how to hunt and kill so that they could later feed and protect their families. In ancient Rome, men would go to the Colosseum to watch gladiators fight to the death. Keep in mind, that was their entertainment. Violence, as well as death, is an integral part of nature and thus our existence—and I think it's important that children are aware of the world that we live in. The truth is, we've had a violent past... and by our very instinct, we can have violent impulses. It's called survival.

 

For the most part, no, I don't think a kid seeing a dying man on a TV screen is going to be all that shocking. The kid may be a bit disturbed or have some desire to help, but any sort of emotional scarring strikes me as being absurd. A kid should be able to think, "that guy was shot in the leg and he looks like he's in pain... okay, this is why war is bad." That's where parents come in. A parent needs to explain the situation.

 

It depends how very young the kid is. Sure, let's say- a 5 year old watches a violent scene on TV. He probably knows when someone is hurt, and may not yet understand that people on the screen aren't real, and the recording of it isn't real either. 

 

Let's actually start talking about adults. If a grown man sees a real life equivalent of carnage in a normal shooter, he would go insane. Soldier in his lifetime kills less people than a kid in a single game.

 

Violence affects everyone, regardless of age. However we can distinguish reality from fiction.

 

We had books, paintings, plays, movies, and now games. None of those mediums warped our minds, made us sick. That's because they affect 2 senses at most. We KNOW that they aren't real because at the moment of watching/reading we sit in a comfortable position, in our houses, where nothing is wrong, not FEELING anything outside what we IMAGINE.

 

Imagine the different levels of immersion: 

I- A kid is told that in World War II died over 60 million people. Kid doesn't give a damn, those are just numbers. Why not billions? Those are bigger.

II- Kid is shown pictures from the war, all the dead bodies, crying mothers, sheer ruin and destruction. Kids uses his imagination and yeah, that would suck, being there.

III- Kid goes to a place that had been ravaged by war a long time ago. Marks still remain, that black mark on the wall? It was a person who got burned alive. Chills run down the spine. A real life ghost story. 

IV- Kid goes to war. Sees soldiers raping women, killing children, houses burning, sheer madness and destruction of war. If he survives, he won't need an explanation, why war is bad. He will know it, feel it.

 

I had the same reaction when told about the war. Seriously, millions dead in numbers didn't make an impression on me, but hearing of decapitation, rape and piles of dead bodies of a thousand civilians in a single village? That I still remember.

 

Sorry for the rant but seriously: reality is reality, fiction is fiction, we know the difference, and kids know that too. 

 

 

 

Why must people be against the rating system, I believe that it is important to to have a rating system. Most videogame and Movie not only have violent and graphical contents, there the languages, subjected dialog, and nude scene. Taking away the rating system isn't going to make it any better.  

 

Taking it away without anything in exchange is not going to make thins better. Sure we know that stuff is needed, but it's not enough. It's going to keep some parents at bay, but kids? They won't really know why it would be bad for them.

 

We need to talk about that, just like smoking or drinking- it's bad for you, especially when you are under 18, but if no one bother to explain the effects of it on you body and mind, you are going to try it out of sheer curiosity, or preference, or rebellion or anything really.

 

Bad stuff is out there, in the world. Not outside the border, in some 3rd world country, but here in our neighborhoods. Kids will bump into that when they go to school, or into their friends houses. They will interact with that like it's airborne. If they won't protect themselves, then no one will, no one will be able to.

[~SadisticFluttershy~ 779]

I played cod as a kid, but when cod 3 came out when it was rated T.

 

The problem i have with cod is all the squeakers. Ages from 4 to 13. Everytime they scream or rage; my ears feel like they're bleeding. I have a mic so I just tell them to stfu.

 

The other issue i have is with little kids acting like wanna be gangsters. They act all tough and curse you out, or threat you with some stupid bs. Its funny that act like that behind a screen when reality of it is, they're pussys.

 

 

Its a shame thst parents don't pay attention to game ratings or supervise them while they play.

Edited August 26, 2014 by ~SadisticFluttershy~

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

I agree with rating systems to a point. Kids can have a tendency, particularly in pre-adolescent years to think killing is a game is the point of an FPS/TPS title like Call of Duty or Gears of War or Doom, or whatever. Our rating system, however, is a bit excessive. Every listed game is mature rated, because of guns. What about gunless games like Final Fantasy, with the same amount of violence, and etc.? TEEN. By the way, there is no reason for this discrepancy, well, other than it being less modern? Great point, but not a sell. You know all these monsters you kill? Yeah, that Excalibur hurts. Badly. The Main Gauch hurts too. What about them being monsters? Wouldn't that be like killing a squirrel with a sharpened stick, just because it wasn't human? Yeah, it is a bit if a hypocritical thing.

 

Also, horror. That can scar kids (buck, even ME, and I'm 17) for LIFE. All the scares and stuff from Goosebumps was enough. Silent Hill? Now that's a heart attack on a disc. Almost as much of a killer as a Big Mac. Not the pony.

Zombies? People getting eaten from the innards? People getting savagely stalked by a serial killer IN THE DARK WITH A DIM FLASHLIGHT? That's a bit too much. I know, I get easily scared by things like that.

 

Oh not at all by shooting someone in the head. Buck, I laugh about it oftentimes. I also know I may be a psycho who could potentially be put into an insane asylum, but isn't everyone in some way? Twilight Sparkle? FLUTTERSHY? Yeah.

 

But, the counter to rating the way ESRB does is this: Some kids, even really young kids, can tell. Age is only the number of times that the Earth has rotated around the sun, not even a number of maturity, though it often proves to be.

 

My debating skills are obviously pathetically low, but still my and your logical results, according to this gibberish would be this: Ratings should exist, but not as in they do currently.

[碇 シンジン 27,440]

 

 

reality is reality, fiction is fiction, we know the difference, and kids know that too.

 

Maybe it's just me but as from my personal experience being forced (not forced I was just afraid to say I don't want to watch it) to watch horror movie at school. I was 15 then and I knew it wasn't true but still it affected me so strong that I still find it haunting me on my head sometimes and it scares me.

 

Maybe kids these days are stronger than I am maybe they can handle that stuff that I can't still handle. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. 

 

I hate when parents are so careless. They couldn't care less what their kid does.Why would you get a child in a first place if your not ready. Those kind of parent help corrupt the society even more.

[Overdrive 5,366]

Here's the thing: if you look at the majority of the things shown on television these days, most children are already corrupted. The ERSB does have its guidelines, but they are fairly broad. It all depends on how the parent feels. CoD, GTA, and games like it aren't as bad as they seem they are. They just look like they are because the ERSB will find 1 example of profanity, for example, and immediately red flag it. Besides, most of the "inappropriate" content is in the cutscenes anyway.

[Odyssey 5,719]

I have mixed feelings when it comes to age restrictions... kids are like magnets, they get attracted to a violent video game simply because they find it cool. They don't care about war and blood, all they care more about is having fun. They're still learning.

 

That being said, kids also like to look up to others, whether they be a real person or fiction, as their role model, which'll probably lead to some consequences. Seeing kids using the finger-guns after playing a game of CoD isn't bad, but seeing a kid beat someone up someone else just because they think is cool is concerning. I know that isn't always the case, but that's sort of why ratings exist.

 

I agree that certain games, namely the CoD franchise, should be a rating lower such as T. I guess I could also go further and even say that kids should play these games to a limit. It could teach them about how the world isn't perfect and a bit of self-defense, but I wouldn't really encourage him or her to keep on playing the game.

 

Some age restrictions are even unnecessary. From where I live, the age restrictions are so stupid. Recently, games such as Pokémon X/Y and Kirby's Triple Deluxe were given a PG rating, simply because it had violence in them. This is almost mind-numbing when you realise that these two series had the same amount of "violence" in previous games and yet they get a G/E rating. We even have a rating meant for people 18 and up, which is not only pointless, but it makes us look like a bunch of complete wussies.

 

So, yeah, that's my opinion. It isn't perfect, but that's how I feel about age restrictions. -3-

Edited August 26, 2014 by Mienshao

[Zefir 34]

Maybe it's just me but as from my personal experience being forced (not forced I was just afraid to say I don't want to watch it) to watch horror movie at school. I was 15 then and I knew it wasn't true but still it affected me so strong that I still find it haunting me on my head sometimes and it scares me.

 

Maybe kids these days are stronger than I am maybe they can handle that stuff that I can't still handle. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. 

 

I hate when parents are so careless. They couldn't care less what their kid does.Why would you get a child in a first place if your not ready. Those kind of parent help corrupt the society even more.

 

Fear works in a different way. It needs less triggers.

Imagine a situation in the far away past of humanity: you are on a hunt in a jungle. Noise everywhere, everything living and moving. You notice a different sort of movement in the corner of your eye, getting closer. If that person wasn't sensitive to danger, he would probably day. Fear is your alarm, telling you that something's wrong, that you better get ready for something. It's not as clear as someone insulting you. Danger might be anywhere, and you got to be ready for that far more than to fight for dominance in the tribe or stuff like that.

 

The parents thing is a big one. But that's a deeper problem. No bad substance or specific group of people. Good families don't have time to care about their children as much as they should. They prioritize work above family, often because of rational, logical reasons: "I got to feed my family" "If I won't work now, we won't have a roof under our heads and kid won't get proper education" etc. You could call it the plague of current century or so. 

Edited August 26, 2014 by Zefir

[Mantis01 19]

So a five year old seeing a pair of tits and a vagina is going to mentally scar them for life? When they will see plenty of it at a later age? I watched american pie when I was about seven and it did nothing to me. I hear plenty of swearing in real life, seeing it in movies and games wont do shit. I've seen plenty of violent shit in movies and games, and yeah, something like Saw would affect a small child, I got nightmares from seeing like five minutes when I was around eight. 

 

Having the age rating is kinda worse than not having one, would you rather have a child go into see an 18, and then be scarred, and they wanted to watch it, or would you rather have say a 17 year old want to watch an 18, but can't because they are one year under the age rating? And either way, someone around my age will get into an 18.

Was you with a parent watching it ?  I has saw Conan the Destroy at a young, but didn't that it was rated R. We didn't know any better when we was kids.  Kids are not even supposed to watch R-rated since they're aim for a adult demographic . Yes Kids do play Call of Duty, mainly the multiplayer.  Kids are happen to be developing and they don't understand the content that is on the film mostly sexual scene and language.  My  mom didn't want me to watch the cartoon Duckman, I never understood why until I gotten older and watch it online I now saw why. It is up to the parents to explain to their kids why they shouldn't watch certain show or play certain type of game.