• Join Us |
  • |
  • Sign in with:

Violent Kids Like Games

by Steve Gibson, May 31, 2000 9:35am PDT
Related Topics – Games: PC

The whole computer games causing violence topic is about as played out as all of Maarten's Tupac CD's. But here is a study of a bunch of 'tots' (young kids) which show that children who play violent videogames are 11 times more likely to display disruptive behavior or hit family members.

``Violent computer games in particular are becoming part of preschoolers' daily lives, and we are concerned that these games are associated with antisocial behavior in young children,'' stated Mendelsohn. ``The study strongly suggests an association between media violence and young children's antisocial behavior.''
Kids at that age are like a sponge, this isnt any huge surprise but should be noted. The study however does not detail if the children exhibited this behavior prior to playing those games. I would venture to say a lot of 'disruptive' kids are attracted to games because they allow the kid to be destructive. Thats like dropping a 16yr old off at the front of 3DRealms. We all know which developer will be drawn to the front door, but he kinda already had that tendency before the teenager was made available. :) Also, while on the topic you might want to check out this MSNBC article on 'stair-stepping' levels of violence and profiling gamers.


Read all the News


Comments

« Previous 1 2 Next »
77 Threads | 165 Comments
  • #95
    Refresh Thread
    By: dshowcase x
    Reply
    yeah, it's been said before, but I've got to say it again: any violent behavior caused by videogames is purely the parent's fault. Back when I was young, there were violent movies, and yet there was none of this uproar. I think a good baseline for parents would be to check out the game themselves and compare it to a movie- if they would let their child watch a movie with the same content, then they should let the child play the game, and vice versa. I hate the fact that all of these studies and investigations reveal nothing new, except for the intentions of many to blame the game industry for society that is characterized as being too violent. I was brought up on violent movies- my parents usually let me watch any R-rated flick even from the age of 7 or 8, and I can see that it has certainly had an impact on me. However, I'm no psycho killer, and I think that with good parenting, a child should be permitted to see/play violent movies/games if they really want to. As long as the kid understands that it isn't real, and that there are consequences to everything, there shouldn't be a problem. It's only when a lazy parent picks up the most offensive of games or movies and just plops the kid in front of it with no attention paid do we see problems. When you look at the first clause- "a lazy parent picks up the most offensive of games or movies and just plops the kid in front of it with no attention paid" you could also sum it up as "bad parenting". Bad parenting causes problems, it's simple enough.
    May 31, 2000 11:45am PDT