karate

When do we talk to our kids about ethics?

Not often enough.

Video Game Cheats

Have you questioned whether video game cheats are encouraging kids to think that sometimes it’s acceptable to cheat in games, and in life?

Recently, I noticed that my kids and their friends were employing a variety of cheats on video games, and I wondered about the potential impact.

When is it OK to use video game cheats?

Even the most tech-savvy gamer will have a hard time completing many of today’s games without a little tip or an an extra life point here and there, so cheats have become a huge part of the gaming culture.  Sharon Miller Cindrich, E-parenting: Keeping up with your Tech-Savvy Kids.

In single-player games, it’s argued that cheats are an acceptable solution when you’re short on time, or the game is too difficult. 

When playing multi-player games; however, gamers complain that cheats invalidate the rules of the game. 

Aren’t unfair video games just like the real world?

Not a stickler for rules, I wonder if the existence of cheats - which creates unequal opportunities - just make video games more of a real world experience.  And, when we see gamers ripping off the gullible, isn’t this good preparation for what you can expect in life?

No, I don’t truly believe that human nature is inherently opportunistic.  And, this isn’t a lesson that I want my kids to learn.

Regardless of whether video game ethics mirror real world dilemmas, or perhaps because they can, video games offer an opportunity for kids to learn about morality.

Marc Prensky, in Don’t Bother Me Mom - I’m Learning!, argues that:

… a far better way to learn about ethics is through dialog, discussion, and reflection.  All three of these factors are vital to the ethical learning process, because ethics is a subject that is full of situational specificity, judgment, opinion, and even contradiction.

In other words, to make ethical judgements, we have to think about what we observe and do, and put it in some context.  We also need situations to talk about and someone to talk with.  Games, if we get involved, can provide both.

Well, I’m an engaged, involved parent, but it’s not so easy to explain to kids that there are costs to cheating. 

Sure, my kids soon found that it’s impossible to find others to play against them when they have used cheats to become invincible. However, they still had no understanding as to the long-term consequences of a win-at-all costs attitude.

A lesson from the movies helped my children see where unbridled ambition can lead.

The Karate Kid

“He taught him the secret to Karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands.”

It’s a cheesy tag line, from a cheesy 80’s teen movie, but The Karate Kid is a great movie for sharing lessons about personal discipline, bullying, and making good choices.

In this movie, a teen from New Jersey becomes the target of the affluent bullies at his new school in Los Angeles.  An unassuming elderly man saves him from a beating, and promises to teach him Karate. 

Wax on, wax off.   Probably everyone in my generation is familiar with the story, and how the boy learns karate moves through chores. 

Watching the movie as a parent; however, I noticed that the boy turned to an adult to deal with a bullying situation, and the adult arranged for the fight to take place within the “safe” environment of a tournament.

I was eager to see how my kids would respond when they saw the bullies’ coach advising them to show no mercy, sacrificing team members and targeting opponent’s injured limbs, in a win-at-all-costs approach to succeeding in competition.

By their horrified faces, I could see that it was obvious to my kids that this level of cheating was abhorrent.

This lesson was reinforced as the cheating team loses the tournament, and everyone’s respect.  Ultimately, the players who believe that they must win at all costs, lose everything.

Now, I must admit that - while my kids agreed that the it’s wrong to bully and cheat your way to success - they still think it’s OK to use cheats with their video games.

It’s their opinion that they’re just having fun seeing what they can do with their single player game, and the cheats enhance that experience.  In their minds, there is nothing wrong with cheats since they’re not playing against anyone.

They haven’t figured out that they’re cheating themselves. Yet.  We’ll just have to keep on talking.

karate2

The infamous Crane Kick as performed by my crew.

Follow our Ethics Discussion:

Who wins with Game Boy Cheats?

Book Resources:

To find game-related conversation starters, visit GamesParentsTeachers, the companion website to Marc Prensky’s book.

If you’d like your own copy of these books, consider supporting On Living By Learning by using the following affiliate links to make your Amazon purchase.

 

Don’t Bother Me Mom–I’m Learning!: Marc Prensky: Books

ISBN: 1557788588
ISBN-13: 9781557788580

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