http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
According to Newsweek, studies are now showing that videogame violence can lead to excess aggression. I can’t tell you how many times I have been watching the news, and have seen somebody criticizing the videogame industry for being too violent. Personally, I have grown up playing these games, and I am no more violent then anyone else. According to researchers at the University of Indiana, studies have shown that videogames stimulate areas of the brain that control emotions, and they also decrease brain activity in areas controlling inhibitions and self-control. The media uses this kind of research in accordance with the influence it has over the whole country to scare parents away from children and videogames. The media has the whole country under its control. It uses the power of communication to spread the bad news about video game violence. What those studies don’t tell us about is the good news about videogames. After a lot of research, I was finally able to find, amongst the masses of articles on how bad videogames violence is, articles on videogames and the positive role they can play in the lives of our youth. The media decides what it wants to share with the masses and what it doesn’t. It doesn’t want us to know that videogames can actually help in defensive driving tactics or that videogames can help gamers process and track visual stimuli over 30 percent faster than non-gamers. These sorts of statistics are always left out of the news articles even though they are from just as reliable sources, in this case the University of Rochester in NY. The media has spun this issue and has continually used their bias to report unequal information when it comes to videogames violence.
I think that when it comes to videogame violence, that we don’t need to just ban the release of any videogame that may seem to be too aggressive, but we need to educate the parent fairly. We need to give them the information from a purely objective standpoint so that they can make the right decision for themselves. The media needs to use its influence over the people of our country not to create more problems, but to create a more just system.
The parents need to be told that not only are some videogames violent and may cause excess aggression, but they may also help their children in ways that no other tool could. Most of all, parents need to learn how to be in control of their own children and not be controlled by the media. They need to learn that they can control how aggressive their children are. Parents shouldn’t let their six year old play halo 3 or their 5 year old to play Call of Duty 3. Education can help everyone learn what is good for their kids and what is bad. I know that if we can work together with the media that that a more reasonable solution can be created. (497)
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5 comments:
I think you made a lot of good points expressing the idea of selective communication from the media in relation to video games. Giving parents an unfair look at what video games can do to benefit a kids life is not only distasteful, its counter-productive to our overall goal of benefiting and educating our kids in the best and most efficient ways possible.
Ever since I was little (before I could walk) my dad gave me a computer to play games on. He started me with the basic math games, algebraic pacman, and eventually flash memory card games that required quick thinking and fast response time. By the time I was in 6th grade, I was ready for High School math and my physical reactions were quicker than a fox.
Now, am I claiming that video games were the main cause behind these achievements? No. But is it a possibility they helped benefit me, academically and physically, both as a student and individual growing up in the world? Absolutely.
And as for violent video games, I think it boils down to personal self-control and common sense. I've met many people who played them and were some of the most soft-hearted and gentle people I've ever known; and they attributed that to 'channeling' their anger or disgust through the game so they didn't express it in their daily lives instead.
The common sense portion, is if your a parent you should follow the ratings that they put on the box. If it says its meant for Teens, its probably not ok to leave your little six year old alone to play the game and then complain that video games make your children violent. At that age they don't know any better, and what they see or do will probably have an effect on how their brains develop and learn to appreciate whats acceptable or unacceptable behavior in their families culture (319).
I really like the topic that you chose because it’s something we hear about so often. I too was raised in a household where we played computer and videogames. I can safely say that my brother and I are not violent people as a result of this. I think it’s very important for parents to limit the amount of time and the type of games that young children are exposed to. I feel that young kids that are exposed to games with excessive violence will have a harder time separating fiction from reality. As mentioned in the article, I’m curious to know if watching a violent movie has the same emotional triggers as playing a violent game. I feel that videogames might be worse because often times they are more interactive. You can be simulating a gun fight on the screen in a videogame, whereas a movie you just sit and watch. Which is worse? Time will tell. Great topic! (160)
I agree that there are certain limits that should be made, but I believe that with any media, video games included, the most important thing is that the child can differentiate between the game and reality. Just as there are some games that can stimulate the brain or increase reflexes, there are also games like grand theft auto or halo that are violent and that children need to be able to understand that it is only a video game and that as such it can not be applied to reality. Just as there are some people who believe that the world has done them wrong and decide to get revenge by shooting up a school, there are some kids who can take the excitement of video games too far and assume similar actions are appropriate in real life. I am not one of them, and neither are you, but that doesn't discredit the fact that some people are not as understanding. The problem is that the video games act as merely a catalyst rather than actually being the problem. I believe that the children and teens who make act out based on video games have not received the same amount of attention, love, and/or communication from their family or friends and that they have not developed the necessary social skills so vital in helping mental and emotional development. It's too bad though that the media is blamed instead of the society that neglected the child. Regardless of the fact that I do, thus, believe that video games can push kids too far, I don't believe that they should get such negative stigmas because people like you and I are perfectly capable of playing a violent video game and remaining peacefully. Interesting post, thanks!
I do see that this was highly commented upon, but I just couldn't resist. In the past 20 years the video game industry has surpassed even the movie industry as the biggest producer of revenue in the entertainment category, which says a lot. Sales are exceptional and the core demographic is youth! That’s right they are marketing violence to our youth! So what? This is a generation raised by the media and while the video game industry may not be doing anything to enrich its supporters, I have yet to see a study that proved definitively that video games were the evil spur that drove a child to commit unspeakable acts. In fact there has not been a conclusive controlled study conducted that satisfies scientific criteria. If it’s statistical proof we are after then look no further: http://www.avinashv.net/2007/06/23/violence-in-video-games/
Let’s be pragmatic. Parenting is the absolute, beyond a shadow of a doubt, most influential contributor to a child’s development bar none. If you let the television raise your children, it will do a lousy job. Likewise if you let video games raise your child, it will do a lousy job. If you let an apple… you get the idea. If the youth of America need to take just one concept from all previous generations let it be ‘accountability.’ Parents who sidestep the issue, are doing a lousy job. (227)
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