For years now we have heard the rantings.
I’ve always liked this quote:
- Computer games don’t affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music.
- Marcus Brigstocke
A few things have come to light since PC World released coverage on the Most Violent Video games ever made.
But as usual it is interpreted in multiple ways.
A Recent study showed a level of desensitizing of boys after playing violent video games.
What it did not do was compare the video games to other control groups such as, the nightly news, movies, or television.
That being said, Kieth Stuart says the study is flawed from the outset
Cognitive neuroscience is a complex field – it is perhaps not something to be prodded and poked at during a piece of realty TV voyeurism masquerading as documentary material….…if just 20 minutes of exposure is enough to turn normal boys into desensitized monsters, our streets should be filled with violence. They’re not.
Indeed. The numbers may be in his court on that one. Science Daily not long ago released a study showing that children tend to play video games for over 9 hours a week.
However studies are still not conclusive in either direction. While this author will admit having a bit of bias in the argument, he will go so far as to say he looks forward to conclusive studies that do comparisons across the baord.
Meanwhile a group called ProCon, has established a forum regarding Video Games, to act as a clearning house of information in the argument.
One hopes that maybe from the large amount of information that is designed to create a specified result maybe we can come up with a level unbiased result.
In the meantime the best thing to do to keep your 8 year old on track from being a mass serial killer after playing Grand Theft Auto?
Start being a parent and take it away from him or her.
Tags: Children, Education, Study, Technorati, Video Games, Violence
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