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Effect of Video
games on the Youth
Eric
Tipan
Video
games have been with us for more than 3 decades. They started out as
simple games that leave a lot to the imagination. Graphics were crude but then
the rest of the game is in the mind. These were the arcade video machines
of the late 70's. With improvement of graphics came attempts to have video
games that approximate real images. Games were crude but allowed children
and teens as well as some adults to have a virtual experience of other
activities not accessible to them. There lies the thin line between
reality and virtuality. How does the
game blur the line and what sends a few kids to the deep end?
Playing video games have become pervasive
throughout the world. In a recent
survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates in February 2008, they
have been able to conclude that 97% of teens between the ages of 12 to 17 play
computer games (Lenhart, Kahne, Middaugh, Macgill, Evans, & Vitak, 2008,
p.2). 50% of those asked played
‘yesterday’, 86% play on a console like Xbox, Playstation or the Wii, 73%
play on a desktop computer or laptop, 60% use a portable gaming device such as a
PSP, Nintendo DS or a Gameboy and 48% use a cell phone or a handheld organizer
(Lenhart et al., 2008, p.2).
Having established the fact that majority of teens
play video games, it is now time to tackle the effects of its content, more
specifically the violence in certain games.
There have been mixed reactions regarding the matter.
Psychologists Craig Anderson, Doug Gentile, and Katherine Buckley (2007),
in their book Violent
Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public
Policy,
conclude that the younger a subject is exposed to violence, whether it be
through a cartoon, movie, TV show or video games (video games having the most
impact), the earlier he or she will become less engaged socially and the more he
or she will be aggressive physically and verbally.
On the other side of the spectrum, Dr. Kutner and
Olson (2008) have discovered through constant study and contact with children
and their families that the popularity of violent video games is inversely
proportional to real-world youth violence. Violent
juvenile crime peaked in 1993 and has been in decline ever since while video
games, violent and non-violent, have been all the rage, pardon the pun, ever
since.
A U.S. Secret Service study regarding the
Columbine, Sandee and Paducah school shootings show inconclusive evidence
regarding the link between violent video games and the shooters.
“Only 1 in 8 school shooters showed any interest in violent video
games; only 1 out of 4 liked violent movies” (Author
reveals, 2008).
In addition, I had the pleasure of exchanging
emails with Dr. Darwyn Chern, a resident psychiatrist in Phoenix, Arizona,
regarding the effects of violent games on children.
He took his residency at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Medical Center in New
York and has been a practicing psychiatrist for 13 years.
Below are his answers regarding the topic:
What type of children gets attracted to video
games?
“The term ‘children’ encompasses many
developmental stages. Simply put the effect of outside influences depends
largely on their level of maturity. It is believed that children who are
introverted will tend to be more prone to get attracted to this type of
activity. However previously sociable children can become introverted and
absorbed by this kind of activity as well.” (Darwyn Chern, web-based
communication, September 26, 2008).
How do video games affect today’s youth?
“With the advent of social networks exclusively
for gamers, children and some teenagers have also been known to substitute
outside/real life socialization with ‘virtual’ interactions. I have
seen clients who claim to have many friends only to find out that they are
virtual friends and that they have no friends outside their subculture of gaming
enthusiasts. Teenagers sometimes use the advent of college courses and careers
in game design as reason to justify that their activities are productive and
relevant to their future.” (Darwyn Chern, web-based communication, September
26, 2008).
How do parents fit into the picture?
“I think that parental supervision and adequate
enforcement of video game classification are both needed to prevent children
from being adversely influenced by violence in video games. The
truth is that there are really children with mental illness right from the start
and before they have been exposed to violent video games. It is always
easier to find an ‘escape goat’. Of course exposing very
young children to violent scenes can desensitize them, lowering their threshold
for path to future conflict resolution. Games are not only games for
the young. We are born with brains that have not yet achieved full
functioning. Learning involves ‘teaching’ synaptic connections to
respond to outside stimuli. Learning is achieved by forming specific
responses to particular situations. What appears to be a game to us is
actually a learning activity for the young. Therefore while there
seems to be no unequivocal studies or evidences pointing to the harmful effects
of violent video games common sense would tell us that there are other more
edifying activities for children.” (Darwyn Chern, web-based communication,
September 26, 2008).
References
Anderson, C., Gentile, D., & Buckley, K. (2007).
Violent
Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public
Policy.
New
York: Oxford University Press.
Author reveals the surprising truth
about violent video games. (2008, March 17).
Retrieved September 29, 2008, from http://www.openeducation.net/2008/03/17/author-reveals-the-surprising-truth-about-violent-video-games/.
Kutner,
L., & Olson, C. (2008). Grand Theft Childhood. New York: Simon &
Schuster.
