Playing video games

Video games have for a long time been controversial for their gory and sexually explicit graphics. Some parents and a number of organisations believe that such video games not only curb the development of but also desensitise their children. Desensitising is when a child watches a video game with a lot of violence and afterwards is not really affected by real life violence.

There is also the concern over game addiction. Some children have been known to spend up to 24 hours on playing video games and hardly get any sleep. This is very bad for their health, which leads to a lack of concentration in school.

For years parent groups and organisations have complained and asked for video games with a large amount of violence or sexual content to be banned. In the UK video games are rated by the Pan European Game Information system (PEGI), who rates video games by age, with about 10% of video games (i.e. those that contain gross violence) also being vetted by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It has been suggested however that there should be a 18-month consultation period between the games industry and the UK Government to decide upon a unified video games classification.

Should parents be more aware of the contents of video games? Also, should parents limit the time their children can play video games?

http://www.bookrags.com/Video_games_controversy

http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6090892/