Games for Change report goals to floor parental gaming issues in “evidence rather than fear”

Non-profit organisation Games for Change has revealed a white paper exploring how mother and father method video video games, and the right way to shift their focus away from “fear-driven narratives focused on addiction, violence, and excessive screen time.”

Authored by G4C analysis director Dr Rachel Kowert and supported by Tencent Games, ‘Raising Good Gamers: What Families Need to Know About Video Games and Well-Being’ seeks to focus on how mother and father can positively have interaction with their kids taking part in video video games.

As Kowert summarised, the paper’s aim is “not to eliminate parental concerns, but to ground them in evidence rather than fear.”

“Parents are often not concerned about the right things,” Kowert instructed GamesBusiness.biz. “So let’s talk about what we don’t have to be worried about so we can focus our energy more efficiently.”

“We’re focusing on parents because they are an underserved group in this ecosystem. The same applies to educators; we could all collaborate more effectively. Importantly, research should be translated into clear, accessible language.”

Kowert continued: “Academics typically are very bad at getting any information out in a way that doesn’t use big, long words that no one understands, and that’s a perfect echo chamber. By bringing industry, advocates, and educators to the table, we can share our expertise and discuss what we know and don’t know.”

The paper advocates wanting past easy metrics like time performed and proposes a extra balanced view of wholesome video gaming that considers the standard of the expertise, the relationships round it and the conversations households have collectively.

It additionally encourages mother and father to have interaction with their kids throughout gameplay. Nearly 60% of youngsters need their mother and father to be extra concerned once they play video games.

“By bringing industry, advocates, and educators to the table, we can share our expertise and discuss what we know and don’t know”

Dr Rachel Kowert

Kowert illustrates this by saying: “If you can sit through a five-year-old’s soccer game, you can talk to them for five minutes about what game they’re playing.”

“Parents often think, ‘Oh, I guess I could.’ You don’t have to be great at playing games. My kids love Minecraft, but I don’t because I have poor spatial awareness, so it’s hard for me to play. But do I play it? Yes. Am I good at it? Do they care? It’s funnier that way.”

G4C founder and president Susanna Pollack additionally noticed that folks’ views on gaming have shifted following the pandemic.

“Gaming became a space for kids to connect when otherwise they couldn’t. Parents did see that, and there were many parents who were grateful for that because it was the only way to play with your friends. Parents were able to see that value. I don’t think it shifted tremendously, but I think it opened up people’s eyes.”

Pollack said that the aim is to cut back parental nervousness about video games and foster a “deeper understanding of what games can mean to children’s lives.”

“Gaming became a space for kids to connect when otherwise they couldn’t”

Susanna Pollack

“Starting from a place of anxiety, fear, and panic stems from not understanding something. And if we can move the conversation from that place to something deeper, then that can result in a holistic understanding of games. This includes things to be honestly concerned about, but also includes how it’s contributing to kids’ lives.”

Beyond the white paper’s findings, G4C is making use of these rules by means of its Raising Good Gamers program, which affords households instruments and sources to navigate gaming at house.

The organisation has additionally launched pilot workshops the place households create video gaming agreements. 82% of members reported elevated confidence in discussing video video games with their kids.

Workshops will launch throughout the US and UK this September, with international enlargement deliberate for 2027. The whitepaper might be considered on the Raising Good Gamers website.