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BYRON REVIEW: Media Reaction
Christopher Dring Mar 27 2008, 11:36am
Comments (4)
Guardian, Mail, Times, Telegraph and The Sun responds to report
Newspapers across the country have responded this morning to Dr Tanya Byron’s report ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’.
The Times was the most in depth, offering up two pages and a front cover to the story that included a picture of a six-year-old boy playing Grand Theft Auto. The newspaper also listed the games that will ‘test’ the BBFC to its limits, and included Manhunt 2, Bully, God of War and Resident Evil.
What the papers say…
Daily Mail:
“The government-commissioned report says video games can harm the development of children’s beliefs and value systems and desensitise them to violence”
The Times:
“Two events in the computer games calendar will provide important tests for the regime envisages by Tanya Byron: the arrival next month of Grand Theft Auto IV, and a court decision last week to overturn a ban on the ultra-violent Manhunt 2”
“To label games as ‘bad’ is to do the industry a disservice as with novels, films and internet websites, there are good and bad games, and the process of becoming engrossed in a well-told story is similar.”
The Daily Telegraph:
“Dr. Byron believes many children outwit their parents about confusing, information on games packaging. She will insist that the new symbols be clearly visible and easy for everyone to understand.”
The Guardian:
“The industry and government must do more to provide information to parents on how to set timers on computers, video games and consoles games.”
The Sun:
“A powerful internet watchdog to guard kids from porn and violence will be demanded today. Cinema style ratings for video games will be called for in a major report by TV child guru Dr Tanya Byron”
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Comments
“slow news day”
Posted by: Onehunglow - Mar 27, 12:27pm
Perfect time to kick up a **** storm. Dramatic headlines without a single mention of Parents needing to actually parent for once!
“Re: slow news day”
Posted by: tiny - Mar 27, 1:05pm
What would be like a breath of fresh air, if such people as Dr Tanya Byron focused upon issues they raised.
Dr Tanya Byron has raised so many important issues for people to consider, in fact some quite in depth reports. But Dr Tanya Byron appears to highlight the issues and never vigorously pursues them or even supports such statements.
I do however fear that because this issue has been raised so many times and by several people, such people have all been linked to Government offices. Just maybe this is a direct or indirect ploy to implement further backdoor policies.
Dr Tanya Byron raised the issue around the impacts upon children in poor housing. But I see little difference has been achieved with that issue, in fact I just noticed on Shelters web site that the numbers suffering as actually increased.
My point is this, why hasn’t Dr Tanya Byron pursued this issue, more so when Dr Tanya Byron is acting on behalf of the Government?
Surely it must leave some to ponder the values of such statements, does it not?
Could it be that children playing on expensive games are more likely to be middle class?
Whereas overcrowded conditions are more likely to belong to the lower classes of society?
“Re: slow news day”
Posted by: Pantythief - Mar 27, 1:13pm
Sorry but I couldnt resist, In response to some of the points highlighted from this report:
The Times: Yes, there are bad games, however, Manhunt 2 isnt one of them, Need for Speed Most Wanted on the other hand.......
The Daily Telegraph: Outwitted by confusing Information? Er, yeah, now that you mention it, that big red circular symbol with an 18 in the middle has baffled me for years. I always thought it was an indication of how many hours gameplay there was for that particular game?! Good thing I dont have kids huh?!
The Guardian: No they dont, parents need to invest a little time in finding out about what they're kids are playing with.
“Re: slow news day”
Posted: Mar 27, 9:01pm
'@ 1 & 3'
I completley agree, parents have to take responsibility for what their children are exposed to, i've worked during a couple of gta launches and it makes me cringe when i see parents buying it for their 8 year old knowing fully what the contents are and even after we've pointed out that it carrys an 18 certificate. i do accept that some education on ratings is needed because a few parents do think the ages on them represent the difficulty or complexity of the game. i do wonder sometimes whether parents should be subjected to the same laws as retailers are for suplying to minors, because as soon as something negative about a game is mentioned the blame is always pointed at us as being callous or underhand.