Research in the U.S. and Japan indicates children who play violent video games show increased physical aggression months afterward. The study in the journal Pediatrics examined the content of games, how often they are played and aggressive behaviors later in a school year.
Craig A. Anderson, a psychology professor at Iowa State University said the study shows a similiar effect in both countries. “When you find consistent effects across two very different cultures, you’re looking at a pretty powerful phenomenon,” he tells the Washington Post. “One can no longer claim this is somehow a uniquely American phenomenon. This is a general phenomenon that occurs across cultures.”
The study in the United States showed an increased likelihood of getting into a fight at school or being identified by a teacher or peer as being physically aggressive five to six months later in the same school year, the Post reports.
“We now have conclusive evidence that playing violent video games has harmful effects on children and adolescents,” Anderson said.
I’m glad this is getting some press, but most researchers have been persuaded of this conclusion for a while. For example, even ten yars ago, there were enough studies to publish a literature review to draw this conclusion:
Dill & Dill, Video game violence: A review of the empirical literature. Aggresion and Violent Behavior, 3 , 407, 428
This is sensationalism. The last four paragraphs of the article state the real facts, which contradict everything that the headline and first 3/4 of the article lead you to believe:
– violent video games don’t make normal kids act violently
– violent behavior typically occurs when a child is subject to multiple risk factors
– 90% of homes play video games, with kids playing on average 13 hours/week. (And yet, most kids are not violent).
It’s important to be skeptical of studies and articles that claim to conclusively prove anything, especially regarding controversial topics.
Why do adults think it makes sense to attack the things students love most in their quest to help students succeed? Maybe if people thought of media as an asset they wouldn’t have to spend so much time trying to destroy the parts they aren’t comfortable. Kids would have so many positive options they wouldn’t bother with the overtly negative ones. Though most video games aren’t violent and many that are put you on the side of the good guys, emphasizing strength, teamwork, and honor. But you’d have to actually play a few games to know that.
(sorry for the snarky-ness of my comments, I just think most educators are way out of touch)
I think the study makes it clear that it’s discussing violent video games. I think there is a broad awareness of the potential for video games and other technology tools to aid learning.
I get the issue with violent games, but I’m saying even those games like Dead or Alive or Call of Duty are
I do agree that some games can’t really be justified. I have not, and will not ever play a game like Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row for my own moral reasons… though I know plenty of stable non-violent people who love these games.
As far as using games for learning… I think people recognize the potential, but when I look at people who create these games, I see a huge disconnect between what a game should be (fun, orignial, like Mirror’s Edge, appears to be. Crayon Physics is fun too) and what educators want them to be (educational). Usually educators come up with dry games that aren’t really all that enjoyable to play.
Sorry about that, I meant to say:
I get the issue with violent games, but I’m saying even those games like Dead or Alive or Call of Duty put the player in the position of the good guy. You beat other people up, you shoot them down, but generally you’r fighting on the side of good. Even in a game like Mass Effect where you can play as a Paragon or a Renegade, your ultimate goal is in trying to save the universe. These games are a lot more nuanced than violent/non-violent.
There’s lack of nuance on both sides of this argument. It irritates me to hear technophiles act as if every moment spent in front of a monitor is teaching “21st century skills” regardless of the vacuousness of what kids might be doing. On the other hand, as you suggest, without engagement, what’s the point. As always, there’s middle ground.
Here’s a good example: My daughter probably learned more about economics and business by playing Roller Coster Tycoon, where you build a virtual theme park, complete with rides, attractions, staff and customers, than she could have in a year of economics classes. That is, if they even taught economics in 4th grade.
My problem with videogames is that they use up time that I think would be better spent on recreational reading.
Once kids are very very proficient readers, like around the teen years, maybe, then it might be okay to allow some videogames. Until then, though, the emphasis should be on spending hours a day reading for fun. Reading is a life skill, and is essential for success in school, college and on the job. Put that way, I imagine most parents would prefer to encourage their children to read rather than play videogames.
I love to read, but I also love video games. I really like RPGs, which are part game, part story. Lot’s of reading there. Brings me back to games like Eternal Sonata (a game based on the historical life and works ot Frederic Chopin), and Lost Oddessey, an entirely fictional game filled with short stories about the nature of love and life.
I agree Robert that some people want to make every game seem more educational than it is. But I think the two camps are at such odds that they often cannot see that there is a middle ground that could be infinitely useful and appealing to students.
Besides Chris, while I spent a lot of time in the library when I was in grade school, even I wasn’t interested in reading hours a day. And I’ve been playing video games since Nintendo’s Duck Hunt.
My personal experiences totally contradict what this study is claiming. Out of myself and my three best friends, only one of us (not me) has gotten into a fight in the last 5 years. That fight, although very brief, occured when someone walked up to my friend and punched him in the face (I can vouch for this being unprovoked). Additionally, every one of us loves to read. We all have good grades and two of us are in AP classes. We are polite, caring, abstinent (with one exception, and not the same one as the fight) and play video games in every spare waking moment. I personally prefer the “murder simulators” such as Halo, though I appreciate Grand Theft Auto IV’s open world gameplay. In short, results such as these make no sense, are in no way applicable to the real world, and are insulting to every good natured, law abiding person who has ever picked up a controller.