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Name: Anne Collier
Occupation: Journalist, Analyst, Advisor
Country: USA
Total Questions: 12
Total Answers: 11

Links
NetFamilyNews.org
The Family Online Safety Institute
GetNetWise.org
SafeKids.com
Childnet International

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Answered Questions

ricky0 asked Anne Collier: "Do you think the voluntary age rating system PEGI and BBFC system is enough for parents or guardians to decide on whether a game is suitable or unsuitable for a child? "
Anne Collier answer: "It sounds like the ratings in our country by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB.org), which I think are a tool in the parental "toolbox" - no panacea or total solution (there is no such thing),..." Show more»" It sounds like the ratings in our country by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB.org), which I think are a tool in the parental "toolbox" - no panacea or total solution (there is no such thing), but another aid to parents for intelligent decisionmaking. As for whether ratings are enough, they are for me as a parent. "Show less«
Is this a good answer? 1 0
0 comment | Topic: Arts and entertainment | Email to friends | Dec 21 2007 12:57:23 PM
yvonnef asked Anne Collier: "Is there any evidence to show that the more realistic a character, the more likely the behaviours are to be mimicked?36253"
Anne Collier answer: "Interesting you should ask that. I've seen only one study (at Iowa State University) that looked at animated vs. highly representational videogame characters, and it found that playing "cartoonish" violent..." Show more»" Interesting you should ask that. I've seen only one study (at Iowa State University) that looked at animated vs. highly representational videogame characters, and it found that playing "cartoonish" violent videogames that display no blood "had the same short-term effect [on 9-to-12-year-olds and college students] of increasing aggressive behavior as the more graphic teen (T-rated) violent games." Here's the URL of my blog post talking about it. "Show less«
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0 comment | Topic: Arts and entertainment | Email to friends | Dec 21 2007 1:04:00 PM
udders asked Anne Collier: "What sort of people work on the'advisory council', does this include children?"
Anne Collier answer: "That's a fair question. It really depends on the organization. I happen to know those two, as I suspect you know. Their advisory boards are made up mostly of people in the children's online-safety advocacy..." Show more»" That's a fair question. It really depends on the organization. I happen to know those two, as I suspect you know. Their advisory boards are made up mostly of people in the children's online-safety advocacy field. Many of them have been in the nonprofit, or as you say in the UK, the charitable sector for a long time. Many in the online-safety field to date have legal training. I don't. I'm a journalist by training, which is pretty unusual (I'd like to see more psychologists and experts in at-risk teen behavior in the field). Most of us are parents, so we see our subject from both 30,000 feet and close up. The two organizations you mentioned do not have children on their advisory boards. One I'm closely associated with in the UK, Childnet International, does have a youth advisory board it consults frequently, which I think is fantastic - something we should be doing more of in the US. "Show less«
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0 comment | Topic: Arts and entertainment | Email to friends | Dec 21 2007 12:58:07 PM
larry1 asked Anne Collier: "Surely the certificate system is intended to restrict children from having access to adult games, why are games such as Manhunt 2 banned if it they would only be availble to adults? "
Anne Collier answer: "I probably answered this partially above. I'm not familiar with the certificate system you refer to, but it sounds like some sort of authorization that has to be obtained in order to buy or access specific..." Show more»" I probably answered this partially above. I'm not familiar with the certificate system you refer to, but it sounds like some sort of authorization that has to be obtained in order to buy or access specific games. That sounds better than outright banning to me. Another useful but not fail-proof tool. "Show less«
Is this a good answer? 0 1
0 comment | Topic: Arts and entertainment | Email to friends | Dec 21 2007 12:59:25 PM
yvonnef asked Anne Collier: "With only brief information about a game you are buying, how can a parent monitor the content when they can't preview the whole game. With movies you can watch the whole thing whereas with these games..." Show more »"With only brief information about a game you are buying, how can a parent monitor the content when they can't preview the whole game. With movies you can watch the whole thing whereas with these games we have to rely on censors?" Show less »
Anne Collier answer: "Right, movies are different. But a lot of parents - even really good ones - just check a film's rating before deciding if their children can view it. There are videogame ratings too - and, because they're..." Show more»" Right, movies are different. But a lot of parents - even really good ones - just check a film's rating before deciding if their children can view it. There are videogame ratings too - and, because they're on the Web, they're accessible to any parent anywhere who has a Net connection (and speaks the language of the Web site). Those ratings help a lot. There are also magazines and searchable magazine-like Web sites targeting the gamer market with descriptions and reviews of popular games. More fodder for parental research. You're right that there's a huge amount of material in a videogame that no one, not even the rating board, has enough time to view. And there's a whole lot of unpredictable, player-generated material in multiplayer online games. But what anyone can find about a game in the above resources or with a Web search engine can give a parent a pretty good feel for what a child player would encounter. Parents should also know that there is content - in the US called "mods" for "modifications" - that's not in off-the-shelf games that kids can download from the Internet. Sometimes it's x-rated. Some game manufacturers encourage gamers to create and circulate mods, whether or not x-rated, and some don't. It's another thing for parents of highly Net-literate children to be aware of. "Show less«
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0 comment | Topic: Arts and entertainment | Email to friends | Dec 21 2007 1:00:10 PM