Essay 2.

I think regulation issues mostly occur in interactive sectors (gaming) as they include products such as Fortnite and GTA5, which are both seen as controversial and have previously caused moral panics. The target audience for the game ‘Fortnite’ is of teenagers aged 12+ due it it’s PEGI 12 rating, contrasting from ‘GTA5’ as this game targets a more adult audience due to its PEGI 18 rating. However, despite the games targeting two completely different audiences, the codes and conventions they share are very similar, resulting in people typically disregarding age ratings since most games are revolved around shooting opponents and therefore 12’s, 15’s and 18’s are deemed acceptable for anyone 12+ to play as a majority of these games are seen as ‘the same’ in a lot of peoples eyes.

Craig Anderson (2007) said that paced violent games can lead to changes in brain function when processing violent images, including dampening of emotional responses to violence such as the media products Fortnite and GTA5. Firstly, this theory is proven to be true (to an extent) due to the fact that a teenager went on a shooting rampage, influenced by GTA5. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/09/18/do-games-like-grand-theft-auto-v-cause-real-world-violence/#d14690b32418) However, this teenager was mentally ill and extremely angry, therefore it’s hard to determine whether this shooting happened due to his mental state or purely to the fact that the game desensitized him to aggressive behavior. Regardless, regulatory guidelines may be responsible for these copy-cat behaviors seen in young teenagers. Since, although young teens can’t buy PEGI 18 games in store, they’re still able go online to buy them there instead. Therefore, lying about your age is something many young teenagers / children do as it’s uncommon to get ID’d over the internet, it’s also extremely easy to confirm that you’re 18 when you’re not. This commonly takes place with games that are rated PEGI 18, since, if you have these games you are deemed as ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ to society, which is very important to teenagers as school revolves around these statuses. This is lack of age confirmation over the internet is a huge regulatory issue within the gaming sector of media products as it may be contributing to the desensitization of violence and aggressive copy-cat behaviors seen in teenagers.

Another regulatory issue regarding this Anderson's theory is that, although more explicit and graphic content is seen in games rated PEGI 18, games such as Fortnite (which is a 12) still include elements such as guns and death. Depending on the child / teenager, I think this type of behavior could still desensitize children from aggressive behavior and even death, as games like Fortnite are extremely popular and addictive to kids, therefore if the game is played everyday (which it typically is), slowly, over a period of time, impressionable children may associate this behavior with being acceptable to portray in reality, as the game that glorifies death and violence is a part of their everyday life. Overall, I think that PEGI 12 games can hold regulatory issues, since death and murder is featured within some PEGI 12 games, 12 year olds are still children and may be very impressionable and therefore I think the fact that although most PEGI 12 games (which include violence) are clearly unrealistic due to animation, it still may desensitize children and influence aggressive behavior, due to them still learning about what is wrong and right within the world.

The third regulatory issue that could potentially be a problem is the design of the content description graphics. For example, each graphic is supposed to inform parents on the content in which is in the game to let them decide whether it is suitable for their child. However, these graphics represent each subject matter in an edgy, visually appealing way due to the black and white contrast between them. Therefore, if anything, children who aren't old enough to play PEGI 18 games may find these graphics appealing and therefore may want the game due to it seeming like it includes 'cool' content. Which is an issue as the purpose of PEGI is to disregard young people from playing games that aren't suitable for them. Therefore, having images that represent controversial subject matters in a visually appealing way may be an issue as if anyone children are the most likely to be appealed to this sort of graphic, especially due to their want to have knowledge on these subject matters. Consequently, if the child gets the game that isn't suitable for them, this could again lead to desensitization as children are more impressionable and likely to be influenced by bad behavior.

I think other regulatory issues that may proove Anderson's theory to be true is that, some PEGI 18 games are created with some of the most realistic graphics, sometimes you feel like you're watching a real life video. This is completely fine and amazing to experience when the game doesn't include elements that are seen as morally wrong or controversial, however with PEGI 18 games this is not usually the case. For example, 'GTA5' is one of the most controversial games due do its inclusiveness of elements that are against the law such as murder, robbery, drug abuse and so on. As the realistic visuals connote to impressionable children that these activities are acceptable to portray in real life, due to the fact that the main character who you play is seen as an ideal self, therefore making the player potentially want to copy what they're doing to live the same lifestyle as them. However, most games don't show the consequences of illegal actions and so therefore games like this have ruined lives as people get caught for things such as robbery and end up in jail. Secondly, games such as 'Battlefield' have been seen as having regulatory issues due to the fact that the game is based on war, and many believe this is morally wrong as war is a sensitive subject due to loss of family members and it happening all over the world, a lot of people have the opinion that 'war is not a game', which is a phrase that has been used in campaigns against insensitive games based on war. Lastly PEGI 18 games typically include folk devils such as stereotypical black youth and hoodie culture, these stereotypes are portrayed in a negative way which could have a psychological impact on the individual playing the game. In other words prejudiced or discriminatory acts and behavior towards race, gender or religion. And therefore I think that PEGI should potentially re-think what they deem acceptable to have in games, as issues such as war and misrepresentation are going to be seen as controversial or morally wrong by society the majority of the time, creating moral panics and desensitization to important subject matters within reality.