Monday, August 18, 2008

Parents fear GTA more than porn, booze


The results of a new survey across more than 3,000 parents have shown that some videogames are seen as more of a concern than pornography or alcohol when it comes to children.

What They Play, which described itself as the parents' guide to videogames, ran two surveys. The first asked parents what they found the most offensive and found that 37 percent of the participants were most offended by a man and woman having sex, 27 percent by two men kissing, 25 percent by a graphically severed head and 9 percent by multiple use of the F-word, F-word.

The second poll asked parents what they are more worried about 17-year olds doing at unsupervised sleepovers. 49 percent were most apprehensive about marijuana being smoked, 19 percent of Grand Theft Auto being whipped out, 16 per cent of pornography being watched, and 14 percent of beer being consumed.

"These poll results demonstrate that parents are as apprehensive about their children's media diets as they are about traditional social issues such as alcohol, drugs, violence and sex," said John Davison, leader of What They Play.

"While researching for Grand Theft Childhood, parents we spoke with in focus groups often bemoaned the fact that they didn't know how to use game controls - and felt unequipped to supervise or limit video gameplay. Of course, parents don't want their children drinking alcohol, but that's a more familiar risk," added Cheryl Olson, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood.

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