EDITOR
Parents of young kids, pay extra special attention to the games marketed to them on iDevices. The game may seem innocent, but the marketing partners they may be using during the game are not.
Example: My 7-year-old son was playing a game called “race off,” which is clearly marketed as a Hot Wheel-like racing game for his age group. We (my spouse and I) checked the app itself prior for content before allowing it to be installed and for him to play it–everything seemed fine.
A few days later our son showed us an interactive ad portraying a “headshot” of a woman being held in a hostage situation. Worse, in order to continue playing the game he was encouraged to participate in the activity by aiming and firing the gun.
A frustrating moment for a parent for sure. We deleted the game and contacted Apple to let them know. They took it very seriously, which was good to see.
--Jason Maki
Platte County
