So there’s going to be parental control on the Xbox 360. I think is a good feature to add, in case little Johnny finds daddy’s pile of AO-rated GTAs when daddy’s not home. There are, however, two problems I see immediately. One, most parents are too technically ignorant to figure it out, their kids will be smarter than they are and will turn it off. Two, just because it’s there doesn’t guarantee parents will use it. We’ve already seen how little parenting is going on with this generation of young gamers.
But, in the end, it will probably be a moot point that the feature exists. Why? I’ll just quote the article:
Working out how to bypass the feature will probably the first thing every young European hackers’ to-do list.
Does anyone even USE the v-chip on their TV?
V-chips aren’t the newest idea on the block, and frankly, the parental control on my PS2 is just annoying. I have to go look up the code every time I want to watch Tombstone…it’s nothing more than a mild deterrant.
I think people generally under estimate parents. I am one. So are you (maybe). I can totally out think my little punk and I know you are at least five steps ahead of yours. I take care of mine, you take care of yours, and if Joe Shmoe can’t take care of his punk…well that is none of my buisness.
(Before you start complaining that my daughter is at risk from his punk. I already know that. Risk is a part of life. I have to tell her about punks and how to best place a hollow point.)
Exactly. We “police” what our kid watches, and plays even at age 2 1/2. We know we cannot cover it all, but my house it’s my rules.
Plus, he doesn’t need to be watching so much. Books. Books. Books.
We read to him ALL the time. He’s getting smart to trying to stall bedtime with a book. You know what? It works. However, if he tried to stall with TV or toys…uh…no no.
I guess that’s why he can read the alphabet, numbers up to 16 (I know. Weird.) and almost write his name. Man, I’m proud of him.
(Did I lose track somewhere?)
My point is misunderstood; I definitely think watching what the kids watch and play is very important, but I think placing faith in a V-chip is a mistake.
Not only will paying attention to your kids give you a better idea of what’s “out there” (not an issue for people reading this blog, I assume) but it will also force you to take more active role in *gasp* parenting.
Just a thought.
Yes, the readers of this blog are definitely level-headed, logical, smart people who seem to be good people (and parents, at least those that have kids). Now the writer of the blog? He may leave something to be desired…
Nevertheless, it does come down to teaching them correct principles and teaching them right and wrong. The only thing the V-chip was ever good for was fostering the “hacker” mentality in teenagers. And I mean “hacking” in a positive way.
parents will always fall to the tech skills of their children. no matter what you think parents have a much looser grip on this stuff than teens or even 8-12 yearolds. face it, dont battle your children with technology.