The Death Of Common Sense

Here's something that troubles me. I was up late, as usual, watching a bit of late night television, getting bombarded by the slew of commercials that are unavoidable in these late hours. These were post midnight commercials, the B grade stuff. The ones that can't quite cut it in prime time. Overly ridiculous insurance ads, beer advertisements that are lacking in the requisite male ego stroking, all surrounded by the budding breasts of dumb drunk women who were paid to disrobe on film. Hideous stuff.

But in and out of my lapses of attention with these dreadful piles of crap, one such commercial did catch my eye. It was an ad for a website called commonsensemedia.com Apparently this bastion of goodness was purposed to inform the mothers of the world about all of the evils that may plague their children. By providing reviews on things like music, television programs, and video game titles, the optimistic parent can finally keep tabs on what dangerous elements exist around their children's lives. It's all noble and good, and certainly has a useful purpose but, I'm still quite troubled.

Where did we misplace so much of our common sense, that we would need a fucking webpage to replenish it? Is our own innate common sense so weak, that this is our only recourse?
Apparently, the modern parent has become so dependent on the editorial musings of others, that we no longer trust ourselves to think concisely over simple matters like what our children watch. A URL like this is all we have.

The commercial plays out like this. Mom buys a videogame for her son, because of the recommendation of her friend. Mom later learns through this invaluable online resource that said video game is actually bad, meaning jam packed with violence, adult situations, and so forth. Thus, she gets rid of the game, becoming a reasonable and responsible mother once more.

I'm willing to acknowledge that there are irresponsible people out there, It's hard to avoid them I know, but surely there can't be a mom who spends money, money that could be used on bills or food, to acquire a videogame for their child, and not know what they're buying. "Oh, a friend said it was okay, but I needed to check the website to be sure." Well, here's an idea; Why didn't you just look at the fucking box? Videogames come in boxes, and those boxes have art on them. Art that usually indicates the content of the game. And if you were to see a chiseled muscular man holding a decapitated human skull while a half naked woman gyrates on his hip with erect nipples, you should have a pretty good idea about what this game should be about. Hell for a couple extra seconds of effort, you could flip the box around. Not only would you see more art, but you'd also see a rating system that the government has mandated to be there. In less time then it takes you to scratch you ass,you'd know what kind of dangerous elements a purchase like that might spell for your children.

The same goes for television. It doesn't matter if you have cable or satellite, both have remotes with an INFO button on it. And you can find out, with a simple press of that button, what exactly your kids are watching. It's painfully simple, and doesn't require running to your computer to read a fucking website every time your kid changes the channel.

Is this really what the new parent is relying on? Flipping on their laptops and reviewing entertainment mediums to see what's good or bad? Is this what is done every time a kid wants to go to the store to pick up a new video game? What if you get there and suddenly they want a different video game? What happens to your research then? Must you run home and web it again until you've got the requisite data?

Seems to me, it would just be easier to talk to your kids. To interact in their lives, watch television with them, to not just watch them disappear into a dark hole with some newly acquired bit of cutting edge graphics and hope for the best. And perhaps you won't be able to stop these dangerous and graphic deviations in their lives. That sort of thing is everywhere, and if they don't entertain it at home, they just might do it somewhere else. So no, full on prevention may not be an option. But at the very least, you might understand why shooting the head off of some green mutant looking thing with a futuristic high powered rifle is so damned important to them. Hell, if you're really lucky, you just might be able to get them to go outside with you. Maybe play a little catch or go hiking, and get the hell away from those godforsaken gadgets that dominate their lives.

But I'm not a parent, what the hell do I know? Just let your children get fed by expensive video games and whatever they can find on TV. I'm sure they'll be fine.