Scapegoat!

I have just submitted a long and detailed complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after seeing this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7937991.stm

Not for the first time, video gaming is being made a scapegoat for some of the ills of society in general. Every kid that gets into trouble is supposedly influenced by the latest game, every killing is supposedly connected to the gaming culture and every act of defiance is apparently the result of the anarchic lifestyle promoted in video games.

Crap ...

Parents are responsible for the children's obesity, parents are responsible for lack of social graces that their offspring display, parents are responsible for their children's unmoderated behaviour and parents are responsible for the impact their children have on their lives, environment and prospects.

One of the larger problems with society in the modern era is the devolved notion of what parenting is about. It would appear to a non-parent like me that I am somehow being held responsible for that lack of control and direction of someone else's child, not a responsibility that I have ever asked for, accepted or even thought about.

I hope that the ASA finds this kind of sycophantic advert unacceptable and makes the Campaign4Life team offer an unreserved apology to the games industry. If you feel as strongly as me and would like to make a complaint, visit http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/