In a story that makes me cringe for all the wrong reasons, we reported earlier today about a new study that shows how playing violent video games has an effect on certain areas in the brain:
Compared with the group that played the nonviolent game, …
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*sigh* – it would be interesting to see a study of the confusion between the words “Effects” and “Affects”.
30 years? Pong does not really fit into this equasion. 15 years perhaps.
Pong was created in 1972. But Coleco and Atari released their consoles in 1976 and 1977 respectively and games like Football, Gunfight and Space Invaders were all available by 1978.
So yes, 30 years ago we were very much at the start of the “violent” video game revolution. Throughout the 1980s, as more and more violent video games were released, parents and others sounded the warning bell that these games were causing a whole generation to grow up “addicted” to either the games or violence or a combination of both.
So 10, 20 or 30 years, doesn’t matter… the point remains, they’ve been available a very long time and we don’t have entire generations going around shooting up prostitutes in inner cities ala GTA because of them.
I agree with you on this topic, but the large argument is that now video games are so realistic, and the voilence seems more real then it did 20 years ago.
ok so video games show violence, but so dont movies and the news and i dont see any studies on how they affect parts of the brain.
I think my son has an addition to video games, he is 14 and his grades are not good and all he seems to care about is being on the computer playing video games. If i don’t send him to bed he would stay up until two in the morning with the games. Im always taking away the controls..I’m thinking of talking the games completed away and take the computer from his bedroom because when he doesn’t have the controllers he goes online to play with games. My only concerned is he is emotional and how would this approached effect him physiologically. Any advice would be helpful.
Recreation is hobby-forming, but that’s not the same as being addictive or habit-forming in a narcotic sense; I also agree that it’s not behavior-altering, but playing games to the neglect of your responsibilities can be adversely life-altering, and that goes for far more than video games.
@help: As a parent it’s your responsibility to set the bar for academic achievement (and chores and demeanor) and establish consequences. His time evidently needs to be spent more on school, but he’s a kid and doesn’t know any better—you need to teach him. You need to teach your child sustainable life habits. A 14-year-old might scream bloody murder about loosing the privilege of having entertainment or hanging out with friends, but you should take away these privileges and not return them until performance improves. Read Dr. Rosemond’s stuff, he’s got a very sensible approach.