Disagreement on Video Game Violence’s Effects
Two studies on video game violence and increased aggression, released this month, are getting the headlines. On one hand, We have the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign releasing a study that says that there is
no strong link between the two. This was followed by a study by the American Psychological Association suggesting that violent interactive media
increases aggressive behavior.
What’s a confused parent to do?
My takeaway from this would be that parents need to take an active role making sure that their kids aren’t using excessively violent games at all, and not letting them use even moderately violent games to excess.
The APA is taking a position on the issue and is recommending that “all violence be reduced in video games and interactive media marketed to children and youth“. This position is based on the review of studies indicating that exposure to violence in video games:
- increases aggressive thoughts
- increases aggressive behavior
- increases angry feelings among youth
- reduces helpful behavior
- increases physiological arousal in children and adolescents
The press release by the University of Illinios reveals a few notable things that the headlines don’t reveal though.
- The average age in their study was 27.7
- They studied one game (Asheron?s Call 2) which is a “massively multi-layer online role-playing game” or MMRPG. I’m not sure how this game compares, in it’s level of violence, to something like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The authors of the study “concede that other types of games and contexts might have negative impacts.” and they said “This game featured fantasy violence, while others featuring outer space or even everyday urban violence may yield different outcomes.“
So as a concerned parent, what I see is the APA taking a position based on their review of studies concluding that violence in video games has negative effects on kids, and an alternative study that says that a particular type of game played by a group of mostly adults didn’t indicate a link, but was hesitant in drawing any conclusions.
Dmitri Williams, lead author of the Urbana-Champaign study, said he believes it’s possible that games could spur children toward violent behavior, but that is not his chief argument: “I’m not saying some games don’t lead to aggression, but I am saying the data are not there yet,” Williams said. “Until we have more long-term studies, I don’t think we should make strong predictions about long-term effects, especially given this finding.”
I think I’ll be keeping my kids away from these violent games. I remember having a lot of fun with the classic Atari games
Posted: August 20th, 2005 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 7
Comments
Comment from brettdl
Time: August 23, 2005, 4:58 am
Regardless of what the studies show, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize these violent games are not good for children.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: August 23, 2005, 10:59 am
That’s absolutely right Brett.
While the academics and others battle out whether or not this leads to that, parents just need to be using common sense and steering their kids away from these games.
…and it’s not just about violence in games. There are plenty of reasons to keep your kids away from these things, as we’ve discussed in many of the other posts on this blog and on http://www.pcturnoff.org.
Comment from Anonymous
Time: August 23, 2005, 5:32 pm
What does the future hold for Gamers? Time will only tell. Your blog shares some thoughts, but I?m not sure if it covers the direction of things to come. Look @ Nintendo Revolution, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3? We are even seeing in Game cable boxes appearing and online game toolbars. http://www.igamebar.com. One thing is for certain! It is definitely a good time to be a gamer.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: August 23, 2005, 6:00 pm
I wish that I had the time to look at those things in more detail. Games to seem to be amazing to me. I’m impressed with the PS2’s and GameCube which I’ve seen. The next generation will probably fry my head.
My first game was a “pong” type of game, and then I advanced to the Atari 2600.
I’m not anti-game overall, but where I’m concerned with things is how they affect kids and how kids can use them to the exclusion of other important activities.
Comment from ShorelineJudo
Time: August 29, 2005, 9:58 pm
Kids’ brains are different than adults’ brains. So, a study with an average age of 27.7 may not really be applicable to kids anyway.
Comment from Anonymous
Time: October 26, 2005, 7:05 pm
first of all have you even tryed to play a video game and second of all would you rather have your kids watching sex on tv.
my theory… pick up a dam controoler b4 u blame games!
btw 55% of games are rated E for everyone, 33% of games are rated T for teen, a whopping 12% of games are rated M for mature.
whats to blame? probably your parenting skills.
=) have a nice day with your media influenced guidence.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: October 27, 2005, 9:44 am
To the last anonymous poster (”First of all have you…”):
Yes, I’ve played video games. I’d rather my kids not play violent video games NOR watch sex on TV. I’d much rather them play with other kids outdoors or read a good book. I’d rather have them involved in making dinner with me, after school, than sitting in front of a tube playing video games.
It is definitely a problem of parenting skills when kids are affected by these things. Parents should be there to monitor what their kids are doing and to provide limits as well as do things to encourage kids to participate in a variety of activities.
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