Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

WINTEC Hosts Seminar On Violent Video Games

MEDIA RELEASE

March 4 2009

WINTEC Hosts Chief Censor Public Seminar On Children’s Access To Violent Video Games

Is it ok for children as young as five and six to be playing video games designed for people more than three times that age? Children are being exposed to gratuitous violence – well before they are legally allowed because of a proliferation of easily available X-rated material, a new study says.

Hamilton based child advocacy agency Parentline says there is a very high chance that children will be exposed to violence before the age of 18 – the legal age to view and purchase such explicit material.

Parentline said there was concern that young people were being inundated with violet behaviours and imagery before they were capable of contextualising it .

New Zealand’s chief Censor, Bill Hastings is guest speaker at a public information seminar about this issue in Hamilton on Thursday March 5th.

Hosted by Wintec and to be held on the institute’s city campus, the Parentline event follows research, undertaken last year, which showed that 70 % of the city’s children aged from five to fourteen year olds years were playing restricted video games.

The discussion forum will include demonstrations of various video games and provide information about censorship and the reasons some video games have age restrictions. Graphic violence, sexual themes, drug use, horror and offensive language are routinely incorporated into games children are playing. R18 Means R18? is open to the public and entry is free. The community education seminar aims to provide an opportunity for parents and adults to catch up with what’s happening with digital technology and the video games industry – now the world’s biggest entertainment business.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Parentline surveyed 1187 five-14 year olds and 496 parents to gather information on the children’s video gaming habits as a result of concerns over violent and other disturbing behaviours. 90% of the children said they played video games with one in five playing every day, and 11 % playing for an average of five hours or more. This was significantly more than the adults reported.

Nearly 600 games were named as ‘the best’ they had played in the past month. These included one banned game, and 55 with age restrictions. The top 10 favourites included Grand Theft Auto (R18) and the combat war game Halo (R16).
The event will be held at Wintec’s Bill Gallagher Centre, City Campus, Thursday 5 March from 5.30pm. Access is through Wintec gate 5, Tristram Street Hamilton or off Ward Street from the CBD for pedestrians. Onsite parking is available.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.