A brief guide about MMOs I wrote for some parents

[Koudelka]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: nosfe
i wouldn't expose a 12yo kid to the language used in online games

My favorite movie as a kid was Robocop, an X rated movie with swearing and extreme violence. That was ~20 years ago and it still puts World of Warcraft to shame. Unless your kid does not own a TV and none of his friends own a TV, I'd say WoW poses no threat.

The problem is swearing in Robocop is directed towards characters in the film, people in online games would be swearing and using profanity towards your child and obviously it would be easier for him/her to pick up these forms of expression OR to be affected emotionally by these, depending on his/her personality.

I would say it depends on the actual person but a 12-year old is not mature enough to play a MMORPG. At least not with some kind of strict addiction control, kids will obsess over anything and that's normal but MMORPGs (unlike the rest of games, even online games) keep fueling this obsession indefinitely and require constant attention that's why they become full-time addictions. It happens with some adults (actually MANY) and kids are much more susceptible to it. It's the reason why MMORPGs are so successful in the first place.

In my opinion, there are much MUCH better games to play anyway.

I feel like these kind of statements are going out on a limb. That's using the few children that turn into mmo-addicted maniacs with no social skills to generalize the whole.

I cant even remember all the violent and R-rated movies i watched when i was younger. All i remember out of it, is that they were damn good movies and i enjoyed watching them with the folks. I didnt turn into a serial killer because of it.

I would agree a child should be monitored when first playing something like an MMO to see if turn into an addict. But maybe i'm wrong, i havent seen any numbers.

As soon as 1 child out of a million plays Grand Theft Auto and then goes out and tries to hijack a car.. the media and everyone who watches it assumes every single child who plays GTA will become a criminal now. I'd say that child was going to do something totally bazaar regardless.. and he needs some help.

This could be applied to almost any subject in life, especially besides video games.

 

[nosfe]

save those comments for Jack Thompson. The thing is, kids like to copy people who they consider "cool", that's how most of the smokers started smoking in the first place(no, i don't want to argue about this) and that's also how all this 1337 speak started/spread(or however the heck they call it nowadays). There's a big difference between playing a game offline, watching movies and interacting with people in online games that talk/act like pricks. Another problem with online games is that they can also be played at internet cafes and so much for supervising kids while playing

as for the OP, games aren't the answer to everything, if you want him to be able to write better then make him write stuff, simple as that

 

[Fingolfin269]

People wouldn't let a 12 year old play wow? Seriously? I really wonder if parents are just so blind that their kids are not exposed to certain things in middle school. Hell we would get pumped up for middle school bball games by listening to NWA.

Trust me parents, your kids know more than you think they know at 12 and definitely more than what they'd ever see for the first time in WoW.

 

[Koudelka]

Originally posted by: nosfe
save those comments for Jack Thompson. The thing is, kids like to copy people who they consider "cool", that's how most of the smokers started smoking in the first place(no, i don't want to argue about this) and that's also how all this 1337 speak started/spread(or however the heck they call it nowadays). There's a big difference between playing a game offline, watching movies and interacting with people in online games that talk/act like pricks. Another problem with online games is that they can also be played at internet cafes and so much for supervising kids while playing

as for the OP, games aren't the answer to everything, if you want him to be able to write better then make him write stuff, simple as that

And there arent pricks in school he goes to everyday? perhaps they should just homeschool him, too.

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: Koudelka

Originally posted by: nosfe
save those comments for Jack Thompson. The thing is, kids like to copy people who they consider "cool", that's how most of the smokers started smoking in the first place(no, i don't want to argue about this) and that's also how all this 1337 speak started/spread(or however the heck they call it nowadays). There's a big difference between playing a game offline, watching movies and interacting with people in online games that talk/act like pricks. Another problem with online games is that they can also be played at internet cafes and so much for supervising kids while playing

as for the OP, games aren't the answer to everything, if you want him to be able to write better then make him write stuff, simple as that

And there arent pricks in school he goes to everyday? perhaps they should just homeschool him, too.

His parents my be pricks too.

Solitary isolation?

 

[TheInternal]

If this was my kid I would fire you for making this suggestion.

Wow... nothing like attacks against my work and/or intelligence to brighten my day. If you're going to be insulting, please at least provide useful input.

As I've previously stated, I tutor the little guy already. I DO make him write stuff. We write, we type, both for school and just for the practice for the better part of 10 hours a week. I already TRY to make it fun/interesting when I can. The problem is that he's four or so grade levels behind where he should be, so I'm trying to find things he can do for fun that involve typing because it's damn hard keeping a kid with ADD focused on something he's not good at or particularly enjoys doing. His folks are desperate to get him caught up, and if he's going to, he has a lot of practice he'll have to do to get caught up. If he doesn't get caught up fast, he'll be screwed when he gets to middle and high school. Thus, his parents (and I) are desperate to get him involved in writing and typing.

I also get the impression with comments like this, that my original post was not read. I made the suggestion with a fair amount of apprehension. Are there a number of potential problems with MMOs? Hell yes. That's why I tried to document them.

If he wasn't so incredibly far behind in his writing and I wasn't already working with him on his writing 10 hours a week, I'd not consider games as another way to get him typing... but at this point, I can't think of many other things he could do that involved typing that he would enjoy.

As for my WoW friends list, my account has been inactive for the better part of half a year and I had no plans to reactivate. I don't really play MMOs these days because I get too emotionally involved (as mentioned in the paper I wrote) and wasn't willing to pay to get off an imbalanced RP server that had lost it's RPness, and because I'd rather do something more productive with my time, like tutor and mentor adopted children.

Considering how few people actually left constructive criticism about the content of the paper I wrote (rather than insults and remarks that clearly didn't pay much attention to things I've said), I've come to regret posting this. I had come to expect a higher level of maturity and constructive replies on this forum than others...

To those who have made thoughtful remarks, I appreciate you taking the time to do so (whether you felt the original paper I wrote was okay or lacking).