US Parents Know 'Little to Nothing' About the ESRB System

What do you know, a study reveals again that youngsters can easily get their mitts on M rated video games in the United States. The survey conducted by a certain family group, revealed that "seven out of ten parents know little to nothing" about the video games rating system.

According to the piece of information up on Yahoo News, "the video-game rating system restricting the sale of violent games to minors has not been applied correctly in the United States, where teenagers can easily buy them in stores." Information gathered by the same family group says that one of the main reasons behind this issue is the age of the clerk. It has been demonstrated that older clerks will be more compliant with store policies, while younger clerks will show little interest towards the respective notifications.

The institute stated in its report that "in conclusion, this year's rating enforcement survey is discouraging," and that "any parent who is paying attention cannot help but question the credibility of a ratings system employed by an industry that seems more eager to circumvent it." This spells bad news for everyone. Kids don't get what's appropriate for them, parents stop buying because they think video games are bad, and ultimately, those involved with making and distributing video games see less profits, while the industry's image gets smudged.

A similar study conducted by the National Institute on Media and Family NIMF and reported just last week, says that it took two months of undercover investigation to find out that as many as 46 percent of the stores sold M-rated (Mature) games to minors. The investigation was carried out by the East County Youth Coalition, the National Institute on Media and Family along with other youth organizations in the county, while the NIMF surveyed 60 + stores across the US, only to realize that some 46% of them made good business out of selling M-Rated games to teens under the age of 18.

Other recent news saying video games are bad and stuff (don't they get tired of saying it over and over again...?) revealed that England's children are illiterate because of games: "Kids hooked on computer games have sent England plummeting down world league tables for reading," the Sun reported last week. "Ministers claimed pupils spend so much time on consoles that they are not burying their noses in books."

Really now, we call ourselves intelligent beings, yet we can never solve the video games problem. Every year a new one emerges. It makes good news, no doubt about that, but what are we supposed to understand when 7 out of 10 parents will probably get their kids Manhunt 2 for Christmas...?