Xbox Live and Your Children's Virgin Ears

Usually when people think of video game sociology they think of the "violence in video games" debate. Well I am tired of this debate so I will discuss something that too few parents know about. If your child is playing on Xbox Live (unless you disable chat and take away his mic) he is more than likely being exposed to extremely profane and derogatory subjects and words.

One of the main problems here, besides the idiots who play these games, is that parents have no clue that Rated M for Mature means your twelve year old should not play the game. With that dealt with anytime a game says, "Game Experience May Change Online" it means you will be hearing colorful language once you start playing with others.

How does this all relate to Sociology exactly? Well it has everything to do with childhood impressions and how exposure to online game communities are not only making children use more obscene language in their everyday life but often times perpetuates a child's superiority complex that is supported by an annoying nerd vocabulary chalk full of misspellings and general stupidity.

This smart man did a study playing Halo 2 (yeah kind of old) where he played 33.9 hours and recorded every instance of someone cursing or saying something offensive:



Moral of the story parents... don't be idiots. Pay attention to your children.

Note: This study is four years old. It is very, very likely these numbers would be much higher if the study was repeated today.

Source: http://www.imjosh.com/2006/02/08/frequency-of-profanity-in-halo-2/#more-244