A message from the Head of Primary School
In this week's bulletin I would like to talk about computer game age restrictions and I do this through the lens of trying to help our community navigate the difficulties of raising children in a technological world.
Like nearly all countries, Australia has age restrictions on many everyday things. As 15 year old adolescents, I am sure all parents had the coordination to change the gears and drive their parent’s car, but the government quite rightly decreed that we did not have the cognitive capacity or maturity to understand the responsibility of driving a vehicle until we were older. As a result, we were still pedalling around on bicycles at that age.
The government and advisory groups have advice for parents about what age online games and social media apps are deemed suitable for children. This advice is from experts in this field who have an excellent understanding of what they are doing. The guidelines are created with the best interests of the children first and foremost in their minds. Children at 8, 9 and 10 years of age simply do not have the same level of cognitive capacity as 13 and 14 year olds. As a result, different games have different age ratings.
Over the years I have seen an increasing trend in children adopting online games that are well beyond their years. Fortnite, for example, has an age guide of a minimum of 13. While I am yet to meet a parent with senior school age children who happily claim they wish they gave their children Fortnite at a younger age, I now see ones that have given it three or fours years too early and some are dealing with negative consequences of this decision. These issues highlight the impact of adopting online games many years earlier than the government recommends, but in many cases the impact is there despite not showing outward signs of it.
Today’s online games are designed to give regular dopamine hits to reward the players for success in the game. Combined with the fast pace of play, incredible graphics and rewards for continuous play, these games are far more addictive than their predecessors of the early 2000s. I must stress that even as teenagers, our children’s brains are still developing, and at primary school the student’s brains have an enormous amount of development still to go.
Most parents will know a story about the ‘loot boxes’ attached to many online games. The monetisation of online games is the purpose for their existence after all. Loot boxes enable players to purchase an array of benefits ranging from cosmetic skins to wear, to more time in the game. Some purchases give better weaponry or transport and give the player an advantage over their peers. Some of these loot box rewards are free but nearly all are available to purchase with real money. Parent money. V-bucks as gifts at birthday parties are a common example of how this has become the normal practice for many people.
Another part of online gaming is the community that develops through the chat functions. This can be text or speech and is largely unregulated. Again, I don’t know if I have ever met a parent that would let their children go sit and chat at a table unsupervised with a stranger who could potentially be older than their parents. This is what happens online and it is not safe.
I do recognise the pressure that parents are put under by their children. When there are some children accessing these games, others do feel left out and understandably put immense pressure on their parents to also give them access to games before they are old enough. Standing firm to this pressure will benefit your child, even though they might not see that benefit for years to come. Interestingly, conversations I have had with children in their late teens indicate they do appreciate the challenge for parents in this area and respect those who stood up to the demands from their children. These things are also easier to parent as a group, and I am certain students will say they are the only child who does not have a particular game, the reality is there are many parents who are following the guidelines correctly.
Online games can be fun, they are growing in sophistication and realistically are here to stay. Each game has a recommended age and there are many organisations dedicated to supporting parents with the information needed to make good decisions for their children. Excellent places to start are Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org and also the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au.
Mark Douglas
Head of Primary School