PROTECTIONISM
Remember when Grand Theft Auto came out and adults went into a flury about how the game was creating a more violent and dangerous society? Remember how every crime commited by a youth was blamed on that game? I remember. I also remember all the stories of dumb kids trying to copy the game, commiting crimes and landing themselves on the news. Here's one from 2008 from Thailand
But what I remember thinking is that, 'wasn't society already violent?' Weren't adults who had never even heard of GTA killing people and stealing cars? Was this video game really creating a national crisis and increasing crime? Of course not. People were doing things shown on this video game long before the Playstation was invented (well, maybe not killing prostitutes with rocket launchers) and people will continue to kill and steal for a long time in the future.
Children do not need to be protected from the media. A child couldn't be protected from the media anyway! Do parents think that their little NetNannie programs meant to block out certain websites will keep out their tech-savvy offspring from those naughtie websites? No. Kids are smart, and kids can think for themselves. I'm not convinced that kids are so stupid and manipulative that we have to dictate exactly what they see and hear. This isn't A Clockwork Orange.
Children aren't as stupid as adults think. They are capable of thinking for themselves, and capable of seperating fantasy from reality. Adults give themselves too much credit. Let them listen to Eminem and watch the Matrix. I turned out ok.
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