*Lisa has found that the online gaming community has given her a way
to fit in despite the violence in some of the games. "Gamers have their
own social networks, you know.Whether it's chat-room role-playing, Xbox
LIVE or meeting for group D&D - it brings a whole new group of
people into your life that you might know only tangentially." Lisa, like
many teens, appreciates the online socialization factor as much as she
does the video games – and she's not alone. A recent survey conducted by
Pew Internet & American Life Project found that a whopping 99
percent of teenage boys and 94 percent of girls play video games on a
regular basis.
If you're the parent of a teenager, then you
probably already know about some of the hottest video games on the
market and the time your teen spends playing them. Today's games are far
cry from the archaic graphics of the Atari generation's Pitfall and
Space Invaders. Video games today are highly interactive making them
more fun, thrilling, and addictive than ever. The downside? Instead of
running the risk of being eaten by alligators as you swing through the
digital jungle, you may be blown up into a thousand pieces, decapitated,
or brutally stabbed to death. The violence in today's gaming is bigger,
badder, and more prevalent than ever before and so are the number of
teens playing them.
For years, there has been an ongoing debate between parents and the
media about the level of violence teens are exposed to in video games.
Hot games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto VI, Halo, and Dead Space
were all ranked by by PC Magazine in the top ten most most violent video
games of all time. Chances are your teen either owns one or has played
one of them before. But if you are worried that these games will turn
your son or daughter into an homicidal maniac, then you can take refuge
in the latest research that says it's not about the violence as much as
it is about the player's personality traits.
The study published in the journal Review of General Psychology found
an increased hostility in teens with certain personality traits such as
those with low tolerance for agreeableness and conscientiousness and
with extremely high neurotic tendencies. The researchers also found that
it was not the violence in the video game that perpetuated violent
behavior in some teens, but rather how their personalities tolerated and integrated the violent content of the video games. Interestingly, it was the competition in
the games that had the most influence on aggression as opposed to the
violent content. It's important to note that even with the latest
findings, the potential risk still exists for some teens to become
violent if their personality characteristics cannot integrate and
process the 'competition' of the game in a healthy manner. However, the
good news is that the study suggests a smaller percentage of teens may
be effected than previously thought.
As gaming grows in popularity
so does the debate over the impact of violence in video games on our
youth. While this study certainly sheds light on how teens integrate
violence into their personalities, there are other studies that dispute
this finding. The bottom line? Most of us would agree that games like
Grand Theft Auto IV isn't meant for young children and there aren't many
parents who would support allowing their teen to play a game that
involves assaulting a police officer. However, parents now have many
tools and tactics at their disposal from software to websites to help
cope with their teens taste in video drama. Trying to limit the amount
of time and the content of what your teen plays can be difficult, but is
well worth the vigilance. Likewise, talking with your teen about the
violent content is also helpful regardless of how many times he smirks
and rolls his eyes.
As disturbing as the extremely violent content
in today's video games is, it reflects only a small part of a much
larger social problem. We are a culture that breeds violence in all
forms of the entertainment media – a fact that unfortunately won't go
away any time soon.
Study says it's not about the video game, it's about the player.
Love,
Abby
