Microsoft Continues Outreach on Safe, Healthy and Balanced Media Use

In November 2007, Microsoft, maker of the Xbox 360 console, launched the second year of its ongoing public service campaign to help provide families with the appropriate tools and information to make media choices that are right for their homes. Microsoft has been a leader on the parental controls front, most recently adding a Family Timer to the Xbox 360 that allows parents to set the amount of time the Xbox will operate in a day or week.

Microsoft also encourages families to make a PACT or contract on media use rules in their home, The PACT acronym stands for: “Parental involvement; the amount of Access children can have, including who they are allowed to play and interact with online; the types of Content children are allowed to play or watch; and the amount of Time children can use media.” The contract uses a fill-in-the-blank form for parents and their children to discuss and decide together the proper limits for media use in the home. This campaign, especially in its attention to the most crucial factors in determining a healthy media diet, is the first of its kind for one of the major video game industry players, and the National Institute on Media and the Family is proud to lend its support to this effort.

Numerous Challenges Remain

Just as 2008 was a year of much progress on the part of the video game industry, it is also a year that demonstrates the danger of slowing or abandoning careful efforts to protect children and offer families options to make healthy choices. As long as video game technology continues to evolve and become more integrated with everyday life, so will the challenges that this powerful technology creates. Of the many video game-related problems yet to be adequately solved, many are the same issues that have long challenged American families, while some reveal unforeseen challenges.

Parents and others have worried about excessive use of text messaging for several years now, but as the prevalence of smart phones begins to put wider functionality in the hands of young people, video games have once again become part of the issue. Many phones, such as the iPhone, allow easy downloading of video games. Such games present difficulties to parents attempting to monitor ratings, content and time spent playing games. Some games also involve a fee for download. As increasingly sophisticated handheld devices become the norm, American families will have to face the challenges seen in technologically advanced South Korea and Japan for several years now. Experts in these and other countries have begun to catalog a litany of issues that seem to be linked to a population of young people with access to video games and other media anywhere, anytime.

A similar challenge for parents comes in the form of games that can be downloaded from the Internet. Most game download sites will not be blocked by parental control software, meaning kids can download games without supervision. The availability of the game Beer Pong (later changed to Pong Toss) on the Wii online store drew criticism for promoting irresponsible drinking. Even though the game had an E rating (for everyone), many parents did not feel that a game with the word beer in the title was appropriate for children. Even without such controversies over a rating, downloadable games present a challenge in terms of access by children and difficulties for parental oversight. Download sites rarely have tight age restrictions and sometimes offer unrated games.