Effect of video games on Teenagers
Introduction Computer games have come a long way since the 4 bit arcade game “Pong”. As Steven Grossman, CEO of ASC Games says, “In the next five years there will be nothing you cannot portray (in a computer game) (RD). ... Up until recently the game manufacturer equipped with some studies regarding the merits of playing computer games were been able to check the growing amount of pressure put by some concerned groups. However some tragic incidents like the Columbine High School shootout and the decisive prove of the harm caused by violent computer games published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology have made a lot of people take a second look at this issue. In this country, on the other hand, we see no concern among the social welfare groups about the wide spread violent computer games. Due to a number of reasons it is easier for a minor to play mature rated computer games in this country than those of many developed countries. Hence the children of this country are more vulnerable to the harmful effect of violent games. In this paper I tried to assess the level of danger that today’s violent computer games hold and at the same time tried to find out whether the children of this country are in any real danger due to playing violent computer games. Hypothesis My hypothesis is that violence in computer games has severe ill effect the minds of children. Most of the times this effect is more severe than caused by violent movies or television due to the interactive nature of computer games. Violent computer games make violence a viable choice by glorifying violence and violence act committers. However, most of the times this ill effect is not easily noticeable in children. Nevertheless, the effect is there and children will display the learned violent behavior when the proper situation comes. ... I maintain that children of this country are more susceptible to the ill effect of violent games since they have more easy access to violent games. Most of the times they are not introduced to any other genre of computer games other than action games, i. ... Most of the young gamers as well as the shop owners are not aware of ESRB rating that each computer games carry. Shop owners in this country promote violent games and are not aware of the ethical issue of selling mature computer games to minors. ... They might be aware of the health hazard of playing computer games for long time in general. However, they are not aware of the psychological harm that violent games cause. Parents in Bangladesh are more concerned about inappropriate movies and books than violent computer games when it comes to the safety of their children. I believe such indifference regarding violent computer games results from ignorance. Computer games are relatively new concept with which most of the parents are not familiar with. If they are properly introduced with the ill effects of violent computer games, I think they will take the issue a lot more seriously. Background To understand how computer games may affect the children, we must first understand the learning process of human mind. ... Single Episode Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman Page-3) Multiple Episodes Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman 3) In light of the above theories, how children learn from computer games is not very hard to understanding. As Rick Dyer, president of San Diego based Virtual Images Production said, “These (computer games) are learning machines” (Barr). When a child plays a computer game, he observes the way its characters behave taking the hero of the games as models. ... However as we will see later, computer games leave a far more lasting impression on the minds of children than movies or televisions. ... ” Computer games first appeared 25 years ago. One of the first games was an arcade game called “Pong” which was similar to the game of tennis. ... Today an estimated 69 percent of American families buy or rent computer games. Computer games, thus has become a pervasive form of entertainment for modern era. (Barr) However, the era of violent games as considered by the hardcore gamers was the 90s. At that time some of the worlds most violent games including Mortal Kombat (1993), Carmageddon(1992), Postal (1997), Half Life (1998), Soldier of Fortune (1999), and many others were released. And the trend for violent games is still going on. Let’s take a look at what these games are all about. ... (Anderson and Dill) with highly detailed character designs and realistic blood and gore effect, combined with ear poping five channel 3d sound the game is sure to raise the adrenaline level of anyone. ... With the ultra realistic 3d characters and movie-like dialogues combined with surround sounds of musical scores these are not games anymore. ... In today’s action games, violence is the answer. In every aspect of the games violence is rewarded. ... This is the lesson that the games are teaching the children. And they are learning it well due to the amazing teaching ability of the interactive nature of computer games. "With a video game kids dont just observe an aggressor rewarded; they experience the direct reward," says Stanford communication professor Donald Roberts (Barr). Action games are reinforcing the choice of resolving to violence by rewarding the violent act. ... When the opportunity presents itself, they are more likely to do what they are trained by today’s violent games; instead of choosing the peaceful solution. Steve Grossman, chairman and CEO of ASC games- a company famous for developing violent games says, “They (anyone who takes games seriously) have a real problem separating fantasy from reality” (Barr). ... Military psychologist David Grossman, author of the book On Killing, claims that violence in computer games trains children in the same way that military training teaches soldiers to overcome their inborn resistance to killing. ... The health hazard of playing computer games for too long is hard for anyone to deny. ... Eye problem is one of the most apparent ill effects of computer games. ... A recent study financed by a famous game manufacturer concluded that playing computer games increases the brain activity of children and ultimately results in higher IQ and reflex rate. ... Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Japans Tohoku University found that computer games only stimulate activity in the parts of the brain associated to vision and movement. His findings indicate that computer games in the long run hamper the development of brain and may cause antisocial behavior of children. ... "This is how they will develop, retain their creativity and become good people," he said (Computer games cause…). Even though most of the sociologists and psychologists apprehend that computer games, especially violent computer games affect children lot more than violent movies and television programs do due to the interactive nature of the media, there had not been any conclusive evidence to back the theory. One reason was that computer games are relatively new media compared to television which dates back the early ‘40s. ... However, now that a decade has gone by since the “violent era” of the ‘90s, new studies are coming up that are shaking the foundation of violent games manufacturer. ... The study concludes that there exists both short and long term affect of playing violent games. Violent games not only increase one’s adrenaline momentarily. ... These games “provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations.” By constantly practicing violence in these games, one tends to develop a form of reflex action, similar to pulling away the hand unconsciously when it comes in contact of a hot object. ... And since guns and knives were a tool of “solving” problems in those games, he will try to use those tools as well. ... ” The effect of playing violent games is not very apparent. Even though the psychologists believe that computer games may be addictive, nobody wakes up with the shakes after quitting to play computer games. ... Both of them were hardcore computer gamers, mostly playing violent games. ... Despite the new evidences that violent computer games cause aggressive behavior, some maintain that the scientists are looking at laboratory data and not at the real people who are playing computer games. ... ) held Congressional hearings on violent video games where they successfully pressured the video game industry to adopt a rating system. ... The ESRB rates the games in five categories: 1. ... In a study she found out that more than 35 of the 55 games she studied which were rated as E by the ESRB contains violence 37. ... However, Thompson wants to take it a step further by saying that the only way to be sure for the concerned parents is to play the games themselves. ... Accordingly from April 2002, games that don’t contain any sort of violence or sex are rated as 3+ in the EU. ... In addition, new laws are on their way which will protect minors from violent games by limiting the selling, distribution and promotion of such games (Ahmed). ... How do we define violent games? ... Is the impact of violence games more severe on children? ... Is there any scientific proof of the ill effect of violent computer games? ... Do parents in Bangladesh know what kind of compute games their children play? ... Are they aware of the ill effects of playing violent games? ... Is the impact of playing these games noticeable on children? ... Questionnaires for freshmen Topic: Effect of violent computer games on the children of Bangladesh. Target Group: Freshmen of the North South University who have access to computer games. ... What sort of games were available for you to play when you were a minor? ... Did your parents supervise whether you were playing any computer games that were not meant for you? ... Have you observed any ill effect of playing violent games on yourself/your brother/sister(s)? ... Action games are more realistic than ever. Do you think playing those games makes someone more capable (capable, NOT likely) to shoot people in real life? a) Absolutely, it effects everyone b) Yes, but it is true only for minors c) Sometimes it may effect d) Never, that’s most unlikely If you have any suggestions/comments please free to mention it below: __________________ Signature (optional) Privacy Statement: Any and all the information provided will be treated for research purpose only.