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TEEN ISSUES AND LIVING
It's All Porn and Games 'Til Someone
Gets Hurt
by Don_One
An 11 year old kid in Britain recently got caught selling
adult DVDs on school grounds (at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4678869.stm).
When I first read this, three thoughts immediately went
through my mind, in quick succession. The first thought
was, although what the kid did was wrong, did they have
to make a federal case out of it? I did some big, regrettable
things as an adolescent in school. But I would have been
mortified if those things had made the neighborhood gossip
ring, much less received national media attention from
the likes of the BBC.
My second, and gut-level response was a somewhat typical
male, “Boys will be boys.” Then I started wondering:
what is this situation trying to tell us? If there ever
was a sign that porn was too accessible, especially as
far as kids were concerned, this was it.
The reason I say this is because this story (about the
kid selling DVDs) somewhat coincided with two other announcements.
The first was the revelation - at least on a grander level
anyway, I’m sure a select few people had known for
a while - that the video game Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
contained hidden elements and mini-games of a pornographic
nature which could be accessed by obtaining certain modifications
on the net (http://www.katu.com/entertainment/story.asp?ID=78361).
(I’d tell you the website for the modifications,
but I’d actually like you to finish reading this
article...:)) This game was hip among teenage boys to
begin with. The discovery of hidden porn might push it
over the top, even if it’s just by kids who want
to know and confirm that the rumors of porn are true.
The second announcement was that adult movie houses in
Japan have released or are soon to release porn movies
for the Playstation Portable (PSP) (http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4984).
It seems that the production of adult movies in the PSP-exclusive
Universal Media Disc (UMD) format has not started in the
US - yet.
Now I’m not saying that if/when the widespread availability
of adult UMDs becomes a reality, these discs will by and
large be sold side-by-side with the more mainstream video
games. Not even alongside those rated M and above. But
there will be acceptions: such as video games being sold
in an otherwise adult-themed boutique or shop. And also,
you know there will be the occasional unscrupulous store
owner who attempts to make the adult discs available to
underage gamers who shop in his mainstream gaming store.
Teenagers, by their very nature, are an inquisitive lot
and they will do what you allow them to get away with.
They often try to grow up way too fast and they are quite
curious to know about sex. They're prone to peer pressure,
and for better or worse, they try to fit in or impress
their friends or both. They will try to get their hands
on the coolest items.
The fact that these items (both the game and the gaming
system) are somewhat connected to porn, which at that
stage in a teen's life is a somewhat taboo (read hip and
desirable) subject, is only going to make that item more
wanted. (I guess in a way then that the producers of such
software are marketing geniuses. Although I’d like
to think that none of those producers were targeting minors
from the start.)
Did the folks over at Rockstar Games honestly think they
could make a mainstream video game, M-rated (for mature)
though it is (so the producers could claim that they’ve
covered their asses), and not have kids get there hands
on the game in addition to seeking out codes for that
game? My brother, while in his mid-teens, received a copy
of Max Payne as a gift (another Rockstar Games production,
by the way) - this is a notoriously M-rated game also,
but at least it didn‘t contain adult material.
Also, I’m an avid video game player in my spare time
so I troll gaming boards all the time looking for cheating
codes and special “Easter eggs” (gaming extras);
and believe me, I‘m not the only one looking. I have
to question why the security for the gaming code is so
lax and hack-prone in the first place.
Listen, we all know that if a kid is determined enough,
he will find porn on his own. But we don’t have to
make it so accessible and portable. It‘s bad enough
that porn is now accessible on cell phones. As prevalent
and affordable as cell phones are, the average age of
kids getting cells now is getting lower and lower. Parents
can afford to outfit the entire family (kids included)
with cells so everyone can keep in touch.
At least, if you were to whip out a portable dvd player
or laptop to view a porn dvd in public, that would arouse
some interest (perhaps even from potential thieves…).
But viewing porn on your cell, without anyone looking
directly over your shoulder (and assuming no one can hear
the moans), is no more conspicuous than reading the newspaper.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently
illegal in putting out porn discs in game software format
or producing adult material in adult games that are explicitly
slated for adults only. But software producers should
take it under advisement not to make it any easier than
it has to be for kids to obtain porn. Especially if said
porn is contained in such boast-worthy items as a high-tech
cell-phone, the latest hip video game, and a popular gaming
console.
If these items were gasoline (and they just might cost
less than the latter nowadays), the average underage teen
fascination with sex is just the spark that‘s needed
to make the situation blowup in a content developer's
face. |
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