Efficacy of film and computer game classification categories and consumer advice a comparative analysis of public opinion

Public use of classification categories and consumer advice

1. Overview of findings

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  Use of classification and rating information amongst the general public appears to be relatively high across the jurisdictions included in this review.
  
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    For example, research undertaken with the Australian public in 2005 concluded that around three quarters of Australians (76%) use classification symbols to decide on the suitability of movies, up from 71% in 2002 (Galaxy Research, 2005).
    
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  There is significant cross-jurisdictional evidence to suggest that parents and other primary caregivers use classifications and ratings when choosing (or assisting in choosing) media for children and young people – this is especially true when children are younger (see for example Colmar Brunton, 2011; Newspoll, 2002; US FTC, 2007).
  
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    Evidence of the use of consumer advice when choosing for children and young people is more limited; however advice is most often used by parents and other primary caregivers when it is comprehensive and easily understood.
    
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  Research undertaken directly with children and young people has produced mixed results, with some studies providing further evidence of parental use of classification symbols and ratings information and other studies suggesting that use (and especially enforcement practices) may be overestimated by parents (see Dublin City University & Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, 2005; US FTC, 2007).
  

2. General use of classification systems

Use of classification and rating information amongst the general public appears to be relatively high across the jurisdictions included in this review. For example, quantitative research undertaken with the Australian public in 2005 concluded that around three quarters of Australians (76%) use classification markings to decide on the suitability of movies, up from 71% in 2002 (Galaxy Research, 2005).³⁵ Broadly comparable results were also obtained for the UK general public, with 46% of the national representative general public sample indicating that they always checked the film/ DVD classification before deciding whether to watch (or allow others to watch) a film. Further, 25% of respondents indicated that they checked some film/ DVD classifications (Hardie, Goldstone, & Slesenger, 2009).³⁶

The results of this survey of the British public suggested less scrutiny of game classifications among UK computer game players, with less than half of surveyed players (46%) indicating that they checked some (18%) or all (28%) classifications (Hardie, Goldstone, & Slesenger, 2009). More promising results were, however, obtained in quantitative research conducted in 2010 for the Integrative Software Federation of Europe by GameVision Europe.³⁷ This research found that 76% of European Gamers (and 89% of non-gaming parents) who were aware of the PEGI rating system reported that they found the system quite (29%), very (25%), or extremely (18%) useful (GameVision Europe, 2010).

The general usefulness of classification markings has also been assessed using qualitative research. For example, recent qualitative research with the New Zealand public found the following (Colmar Brunton, 2011a, p.13).

Participants also thought that the New Zealand classification labels were useful as an instant indicator of a film’s content, particularly the use of the ‘traffic light’ colours – red (R18, R16, etc) signifying ‘stop – not everyone can have this’, yellow (M, PG) meaning ‘slow down, caution’, and green (G) signifying ‘go anyone can watch or play this’.

Despite the evidence of limited understanding of consumer advice outlined above, there is some, admittedly dated, research that suggests Australians find the advice useful. More than nine in ten members of the general public surveyed for the Classification Study reported that the advice was useful, with 46% indicating that it was ‘Useful’ and 46% indicating that it was ‘Very useful’ (Galaxy Research, 2005).³⁸ Again, broadly comparable results have been observed in the UK. The survey undertaken as part of the Public Opinion and the BBFC Guidelines study in 2005 asked members of the general public who reported that they had ‘noticed’ consumer advice to indicate the extent to which they found the advice useful.³⁹ Forty-two per cent of respondents indicated that they found the advice very useful (‘I always look at the consumer advice’), 44% indicated that they found it quite useful (‘I use when deciding what my children should watch’), and only 11% indicated that they did not find it useful (BBFC, 2005).

3. Use of classification categories when choosing for children and young people

There is significant evidence to suggest that parents and other primary caregivers use classifications and ratings when choosing (or assisting in choosing) media for children and young people – this is especially true when children are younger. As part of the Classification Usage and Attitude Survey, parents were asked to select sources of influence (including the most influential factor) when choosing a film for their child. ⁴⁰ The results of this survey suggested that classification plays a key role in influencing choice of film for children, with 61% of parents including ‘classification rating’ in their list of sources of influence, and 18% listing it as their most influential factor in film section (Newspoll, 2002).

This conclusion is further supported by the results of empirically sound, more recent international research:

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  Research undertaken by Colmar Brunton for the New Zealand OFLC in 2011 found that two thirds of respondents who had chosen (or helped to choose) a film, DVD, video, or game for a child or young person indicated that the classification is ‘very important’ and 58% indicated that the descriptive note is ‘very important’.⁴¹
  
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    The vast majority of these respondents also gave a rating of at least seven out of 10 when it came to the importance of classification (92%) and descriptive notes (90%) in their decisions for children and young people (Colmar Brunton & NZ OFLC, 2011).
    
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  The US FTC survey conducted as part of the Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children 2007 study suggested that a significant proportion of US parents rely on classification information when choosing computer games for their children, with 61% of surveyed parents indicating that they used the ESRB rating icons ‘most or all of time’ when choosing games for their children (US FTC, 2007).⁴²
  
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  The survey conducted as part of the more recent Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children 2009 assessed parental use of the MPAA’s CARA rating system.⁴³ Consistent with 2007 result for computer games, parents’ reliance on the ratings when making movie selections for children was high, with just over three quarters of surveyed parents (76%) reporting that they used the rating system all or most of the time when deciding whether to let their child buy, rent, or watch a movie for the first time. Only 9% of surveyed parents indicated that they rarely or never use the CARA rating system (US FTC, 2009).
  
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  When asked about deciding whether to see a film in the company of young people as part of study undertaken on 2004, more than three quarters (77%) of a nationally representative sample of the British public indicated that they found ratings useful – this was in line with the result of a comparable survey undertaken in 2000.⁴⁴
  
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    Among those with children, 85% indicated that they found the ratings useful (compared with 73% of those with no children).
    
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    The overall results were almost identical when respondents were asked deciding what to view with young people on video or DVD, with 74% of respondents indicating that they found ratings useful (BBFC & TNS Media, 2005).
    
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  Citing the results of a 2010 survey undertaken with European parents, the Video Gamers in Europe 2010 report concluded that 89% of non-gaming parents who are aware of the system find the PEGI age rating symbols quite (21%), very (35%), or extremely (36%) useful (GameVision Europe, 2010).⁴⁵
  
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  Recent surveys of Irish parents suggest a consistently high use of classification markings and rating information amongst the group:
  
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    In 2013, 90% of surveyed parents indicated that they always check the age classification before allowing their children to watch a film (IFCO, 2013)⁴⁶.
    
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    In 2004, 70% of surveyed parents indicated that they always check the classification rating on a video/ DVD before allowing their children to watch it (Lansdowne Research, 2005).⁴⁷
    

Research undertaken directly with children and young people has produced mixed results, with some studies providing further evidence of parental use of classification markings and ratings information and other studies suggesting that use (and especially enforcement practices) may be overestimated by parents. As part of a survey administered in 2004, a broadly representative sample of Irish secondary students were asked to indicate whether their parents had (and continued to) check the classification certificate on films prior to permitting viewing.⁴⁸ The results of this survey revealed the following (Dublin City University & Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, 2005):

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  85% of respondents indicated that their parents had, at some point, checked classification certificate on films when they were younger – a result broadly consistent with the findings of survey of Irish parents undertaken in 2005 (93% of parents reported that they regularly check DVD/ video ratings).
  
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  The mean age at which parents ceased to check classifications, as reported by the surveyed adolescents, was approximately 11 years.
  
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  While a sizeable minority of adolescents (41%) indicated that they were annoyed their parents checked the certificate, and only a very small number (3%) were happy that they checked the certificate, the majority (56%) reported that didn’t mind either way.
  

The results of surveys conducted by the US FTC in 2007 suggest that American parents and children differ in their opinion of how well ratings are enforced in the home (US FTC, 2007).⁴⁹ Most notably, 85% of surveyed parents reported that they restrict the computer games that their child can play, while only 65% of children reported that their parents place restrictions on their game playing. Further, while 40% of parents familiar with ESRB system reported that they sometimes or generally allow their child to play M-rated games, 57% of children reported that they are sometimes or generally allowed to play M-rated games. This suggests that parental self-report of classification system use (and subsequent enforcement) should be interpreted with caution, as parents may exaggerate use, possibility due to a social desirability effect (i.e. parents completing questionnaire want to appear to be ‘good parents’).

4. Use of consumer advice when choosing for children and young people

Participants in the Australian OFLC qualitative research, 2004 Community Assessment Panels, generally reported that they found consumer advice on films and games to be useful when selecting films and computer games for their children (Urbis Keys Young, 2004, p.34):⁵⁰

Consumer advice was regarded as particularly important in selecting material for younger people or family viewing… However, most Panellists noted that when choosing films or games for their personal use, their selection is often based on reviews and the plot outline.

However, qualitative research conducted in 2002 suggested that awareness and use of consumer advice by Australian parents may be limited, with most parents reporting that they were unaware of the consumer advice that accompanies film classification. In addition, in only a few instances was the consumer advice reported as being used to help decide on the suitability of a film.

In 2009, the BBFC commissioned an online survey with British adults and parents assessing views on video game regulation in the UK.⁵¹ As part of this survey, respondents were shown two images: Image 1 showed the BBFC labels including age symbol and content descriptor and Image 2 showed the PEGI age and content symbols. For each image, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: ‘I find/ would find content advice like this useful when choosing games for children’. For Image 1, 41% of parents indicated that they strongly agreed with the statement and 47% indicated that they agreed. For Image 2, 29% of parents indicated that they strongly agreed with the statement and 40% indicated that they agreed. Taken together, these results suggest that British parents find consumer advice useful for choosing computer games for children, and that they have a particular preference for comprehensive content descriptions (BBFC & YouGov, 2009).

The results of two further international studies are worthy of note:

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  The US FTC study conducted for the report Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children 2007 concluded that 54% of US parents were familiar with and used RSRB content descriptors ‘most or all of the time’ when choosing games for their children. As noted above, it is possible that this figure is overestimated due to a social desirability effect (US FTC, 2007).⁵²
  
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  Qualitative research undertaken with British parents for Public Opinion and the BBFC Guidelines 2009 study suggested that fathers are particularly sensitive to sexual content and sought labeling advice accordingly: ‘Fathers were sensitive to the embarrassment of watching sexual content or references with teenage offspring and used classification and consumer advice to avoid this situation’ (Hardie, Goldstone, & Slesenger, 2009, p. 26).
  

5. Use of classification categories and consumer advice when choosing for self

As noted above, participants in the Australian study 2004 Community Assessment Panels felt that consumer advice was particularly important when choosing films or games for children and young people; however, they also acknowledged that advice was ‘…important for people who wish to avoid, or who seek, films or games with significant amount of a classifiable element such as violence or sexual activity’ (Urbis Keys Young, 2004, p.29). Quantitative research undertaken with the British public in 2004 provided further evidence that classification symbols and consumer advice can guide the choices of adults: when surveyed members of the general public were asked about deciding whether to watch films alone or in the company of other adults, 64% indicated that they found the rating useful, 20% indicated that they did not find the rating useful, and 15% indicated that the questions did not apply to them, as they seldom or never went to films. Asked the same question of videos and DVDs, slightly fewer respondents (60%) indicated that they found the rating useful (BBFC & TNS, 2005).⁵³

There is Australian and international research to suggest that young people may use classifications and ratings when selecting media to consume. For example, when a sample of young Australians were asked to list the factors they taken into account when deciding on a film for personal viewing, 38% of those aged 13 to 15 nominated classification rating (compared to 24% of those aged 16 to 17 years)(Newspoll, 2002).⁵⁴ In addition, 59% of a broadly representative sample of Irish adolescents surveyed in 2005 indicated that they use IFCO classification system when selecting films. It should, however, be noted that of those who reported using the system, only 35% further stated that they used the system to avoid seeing certain challenging films (compared to 65% who used the classification to seek out material). Despite reported use of the classification system, 70% of surveyed young people reported viewing films for age groups older than their own – most notably, 19% reported that they had seen a film restricted to over 18s when they were under 12 (Dublin City University & Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, 2005).⁵⁵

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