July 10, 2007 -
Could it be that violent video games actually have a positive effect on adolescents?Possibly, according to a new study.
A TV news report highlights research done by Cheryl Olson, an Sc.D. at Massachusetts General Hospital. Olson, who surveyed more than 1,200 7th and 8th graders, said:
We found that most boys 12- to 14-years-old are playing mature-rated video games, so this idea that M-rated games cause shootings or major violence just doesn't hold water.
We don't know whether playing to get anger out is a good thing or a bad thing for any individual child, but we suspect that it might be healthy for a lot of kids.
Olson also credited playing video games as a social activity.
They're more likely to play with a group of friends in the same room or over the Internet, so this stereotype of a solitary violent gamer up in his room wasn't borne out, at least in our study.
[Video games are] not going to ruin them. They're not going to go out and pick up a gun. Violent video game play is typical and normal for kids nowadays. That doesn't mean that parents have to like it, but they shouldn't panic about it.
Olson's study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
GP: We gave this study a mention a few days back, but Dr. Olson's comments provide some rather compelling additional context.
Comments
Lets edit that a bit, shall we?
"We found that most boys 12- to 14-years old are playing mature-rated video games because their parents are buying it for them, so this idea that M-rated games cause shootings or major violence just doesn't hold water."
There you go. Now thats a good statement.
Scenario 1:
Kid plays video game to assuage his boredom. Kid becomes awesome at and becomes a pro "cyberathlete", makes bank, gets the house, the car, the girl, and retires happy.
Scenario 2:
Kid gets self into trouble to assuage his boredom. Kid falls in with the wrong crowd, becomes a meth addict, gets arrested for dealing, and ultimately gets "shanked" in prison, broke, single, and in meth withdrawal.
Games FTW!
Oh sure. I might get irritable and edgy if I don't get to play games for a few days, but I've never gone into cold sweats...
point set and match :)
Maybe it was because I started beating the crap out of my bullies at school. Who knows?
I think the point is games are relaxing,and male kids tend to need it other wise they hit things LOL
:P
My estimates make this about 500-1* for us.
*There is an error of 1 point, see if you can find it.
I wouldn't consider gaming all day to be healthy for a child in the long run. They need some exercise or something else to do. If they get bored of those games, what would happen after they get tired of scoring headshots continuously in the game?
It may keep them out of trouble, but it can lead them to it if they don't interact physically with others for other social activities.
It is a healthy thing, when moderated...
I do like it though, that yet anothr researcher points out that this outcome is likely true, but I rather not have it misconstrued that all children should be allowed to play such games. It really needs to be up to the parents in the long run as no child is exactly alike to another.
To add to the getting the rage out with games, it would work quite well though not so much if it was with an already infuriating game.
Don't give me the "back in my day" I played games on an old black and white lisa Mac, with a sub game and crystal quest. I played games on a ps2 running dos 5.5. I played track and field and contra on an NES. I was in the "old days"
I'm not really sure what connectivity had to do with my comment though. I was just stating that none of my relaxing activities help me deal with anger.
I also said I was skeptical, I didn't say that it was bullshit. I guess it just doesn't work for me.
I find issue with that survey. The study says kids read an avg. of 8 minutes a day. How do you read for only 8 minutes? That average means nothing to me. I can't read for any less than an hour if I read at all. maybe it's just me.
Back in my day there was no online connectivity. We had to sit there and play by ourselves, I used to play Marathon, I used to play punch out, I used to play a lot of games without anyone else around me.
There was a time where games exsisted without online play. I'd come home from a bad day at school and beat the crap out of Tyson for a few rounds and I did indeed feel better afterwards.
At that point all I can really do is go and wear myself out running or going to the gym. Thankfully I almost never get that angry.
Here Here my good man.
People need to realize that aggression isn't caused by what someone is exposed to. Aggression is the result of a complex mixture of emotions, personality, and life experiences that comes up when an individual is exposed to anything.
While it's true that the ability to interact (in a sport, a debate, a video game, etc) may increase anger, frustration, competitivness, and other emotions in a negative way for some individuals, it is also true that being able to interact may actually decrease some of those feelings (ie "blowing off steam") for other individuals. The same is true of non-interactive situations (reading a book, watching a movie/TV, being in an audience of a sport event or a heated debate, etc) as the lack of ability to interact may increase or decrease emotions.
And while studies may claim "Oh look, an increase in aggression!", they lack pointing out that the aggression may be all those other emotions, the ability or lack thereof to interact, and other factors.
This study simply shows that there are individuals who can receive a benefit from such interactivity. But it also admits that not everyone can. And that alone is good research. While it still doesn't represent the full spectrum of what individuals are exposed to, it still shows people that not everything and not everyone is "bad".
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
What strikes me as the most positive thing about games is that they keep kids occupied and out of real-world mischief during their most psychologically challenging years. What I'm saying is based on nothing more than my own thoughts and teenage experiences, but for me the best thing about growing up with games is that they simply gave me something to do, and I was less tempted to put myself in harmful situations.