The red button interface

Posted: February 16th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

Possibly some weird work for computer case and cell phone designers: Parents should have a “red button” to disable a game they feel is inappropriate for their child, says the EP Internal Market Committee.

So, the solution to avoid kids playing with games that are not suitable for them is… a red button. More information on the European Parliament website:

“Members of the committee are particularly worried about on-line games, which are easy to download onto a PC or a mobile phone, making parental control harder. Until PEGI on-line is up and running, the report proposes fitting consoles, computers or other game devices with a “red button” to give parents the chance to disable a game or control access at certain times.“

Why do I blog this? A sort of red-button-determinism like this is quite hilarious. The idea of adding a new button that would comes out from the blue (like this) to prevent kids from inappropriate content sounds so passé that I can’t help thinking about odd game devices (cell phones with gigantic buttons, desktop computers with switches) and, of course, the inherent problems that may happen!

4 Comments on “The red button interface”

  1. 1 Yves Grassioulet said at 6:44 pm on February 16th, 2009:

    LOL, so true! In the same vein, why not building a “Red button” for mutant kids that could help them to “disable” their parents when their attitudes obviously are inappropriate, ignorant and counter-productive for their own growth and self-confidence. The EP Internal Market Committee has an appaling way to conceive human communication abilities between parents and kids. We need more than a simplistic behavioral return of the stimulus-response paradigm to tackle complex issues such as gaming, growing older when being trusted and looking for stability in life.

  2. 2 T. Martins said at 9:42 pm on February 17th, 2009:

    The “like this” link isn’t there… now I’m *really* curious about what it was supposed to be pointing to.

  3. 3 The red button interface « Waiguoren’s Weblog said at 1:06 am on March 9th, 2009:

    [...] Please Continue Reading Complete Post HERE [...]

  4. 4 Skillings said at 12:18 pm on June 19th, 2009:

    You have given me some food for thought. I appreciate that and will thinkj about what you are saying. Kind regards and have a great day. :) http://www.quizilla.com/poems/9375612/the-lost-leader

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