Video games
Apparently a survey (supposedly in depth) of video games, violent video games, and their effect on kids has been completed. I couldn't finish reading the results at first, because the first couple things they found made me laugh. I'm going back to read it as I go along here because I'd like to be thorough in ripping them apart.
The opening couple paragraphs were the author/interviewer giving an overview, followed by several pages of interview questions. The idea was that 44 kids, 13-17, psychologically and physically normal (boys outnumbered girls more than 2-1), sat down and played either Medal of Honor (WWII fight sim) or Need for Speed: Underground (car racer) for half an hour, while a machine monitored brain waves. The author was very obviously hoping to find out that violent games made kids into psychotic killing machines. She didn't get far. In the opening, she stated that the study found "...that teenagers who played a violent videogame exhibited increased activity in a part of the brain that governs emotional arousal. The same teens showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain involved in focus, inhibition and concentration."
Ok. If you've played a video game intently in your life, whether you won, lost, or drew, you know that OF COURSE you're going to have emotional arousal! It's MEDIA! It's designed to do that! Movies, TV, video games, books, magazines... they're all there to have some kind of effect on your emotions! This is not 'necessarily' a bad thing. I understand that the concern is kids are getting too much violent stimulation, but if they have a grasp on reality, this shouldn't be an issue at all. Also, as a side note: many of the people concerned about violent video games are the same ones concerned about violent movies. Nobody seems to think of violent books. I have several of them. I'm not violent because of books and games. I'm violent because I spent my junior high years trying not to kill people for being ruthless and merciless to me.
If any study at all thinks that brains show decreased activity in the section of the brain showing concentration, they're reading the results wrong, or they're stupid. No third option here, aside from mechanical failure. Folks, have you ever tried to talk to a 10 year old playing a video game of any kind? They're so involved in the game, they aren't listening to you until you turn off the freakin' TV! What does that require from them? DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR CONCENTRAION!! Even a 20 year old... you try talking to a 20 year old thoroughly involved in Halo. Good luck. Focus and concentration disproven without breathing hard.
Inhibition is a bit trickier. I have nothing directly concrete to disprove this, but my theory is this: I understand that they're probly shooting at pixelated characters, seeing blood and guts, and this is probably lowering their inhibitions. Not too many kids get up and stab their parents for putting the wrong kind of dressing on their salad. The number is probably proportionately similar to the number of psychotic kids before the invention of television. That's a guess, and I admit it as such.
The interview was basically the writer asking a bunch of questions designed to set up the researcher, who basically stuck to his guns and said, to sum up, "I am concerned that we saw such a significant change in brain chemistry in such a short time, but the solid connections you're looking for aren't really found in this study. We need to do several more to see if there's really a connection, although there may be one."
Personally, I think it's just that people are getting new clever ideas more often. Hence security tightening around our necks like a noose.
The opening couple paragraphs were the author/interviewer giving an overview, followed by several pages of interview questions. The idea was that 44 kids, 13-17, psychologically and physically normal (boys outnumbered girls more than 2-1), sat down and played either Medal of Honor (WWII fight sim) or Need for Speed: Underground (car racer) for half an hour, while a machine monitored brain waves. The author was very obviously hoping to find out that violent games made kids into psychotic killing machines. She didn't get far. In the opening, she stated that the study found "...that teenagers who played a violent videogame exhibited increased activity in a part of the brain that governs emotional arousal. The same teens showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain involved in focus, inhibition and concentration."
Ok. If you've played a video game intently in your life, whether you won, lost, or drew, you know that OF COURSE you're going to have emotional arousal! It's MEDIA! It's designed to do that! Movies, TV, video games, books, magazines... they're all there to have some kind of effect on your emotions! This is not 'necessarily' a bad thing. I understand that the concern is kids are getting too much violent stimulation, but if they have a grasp on reality, this shouldn't be an issue at all. Also, as a side note: many of the people concerned about violent video games are the same ones concerned about violent movies. Nobody seems to think of violent books. I have several of them. I'm not violent because of books and games. I'm violent because I spent my junior high years trying not to kill people for being ruthless and merciless to me.
If any study at all thinks that brains show decreased activity in the section of the brain showing concentration, they're reading the results wrong, or they're stupid. No third option here, aside from mechanical failure. Folks, have you ever tried to talk to a 10 year old playing a video game of any kind? They're so involved in the game, they aren't listening to you until you turn off the freakin' TV! What does that require from them? DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR CONCENTRAION!! Even a 20 year old... you try talking to a 20 year old thoroughly involved in Halo. Good luck. Focus and concentration disproven without breathing hard.
Inhibition is a bit trickier. I have nothing directly concrete to disprove this, but my theory is this: I understand that they're probly shooting at pixelated characters, seeing blood and guts, and this is probably lowering their inhibitions. Not too many kids get up and stab their parents for putting the wrong kind of dressing on their salad. The number is probably proportionately similar to the number of psychotic kids before the invention of television. That's a guess, and I admit it as such.
The interview was basically the writer asking a bunch of questions designed to set up the researcher, who basically stuck to his guns and said, to sum up, "I am concerned that we saw such a significant change in brain chemistry in such a short time, but the solid connections you're looking for aren't really found in this study. We need to do several more to see if there's really a connection, although there may be one."
Personally, I think it's just that people are getting new clever ideas more often. Hence security tightening around our necks like a noose.