You may notice that I wasn't the one that put the argument forward.
There does seem to be lots of research which shows that exposure to violence (in all media) inures young viewers to violence. While they may not rush out to cause violence, they are much less bothered by it.
Hey, that might be good - the US military has used video games as a recruiting tool. Perhaps it has improved military and police reaction times as well; they are used as training tools for agents and police officers.
It might be bad - I recall one study (vaguely - don't ask for a citation) which interviewed people before and after both violent games and control games, and asked them how they would punish someone that had performed a crime. There was a marked result in a reduction of punishment. Whether that was a more measured response or a less measured one, I cannot say.
It is possible that not everyone who uses violent games is affected, but that there is a small minority that is badly affected. This would be analogous to alcohol or drugs, I suspect. Or, maybe the whole thing is fueling a disturbing growth in the choreographed violence market. That would be bad. :-)
My views on media corruption seem to mostly be confined to political reporting, my friend. :-) Although I will make fun of specific examples of "stupid reporting" as I find them.
I make no serious claim as to the global value of gaming, and its impact. I just think the column originally put forward really didn't show very much. It surely didn't refute the little bit of science and research I have seen.
As for myself, and my daughter - I don't have the time to waste on games, so I don't use them. Anna hates violence, even wanting to walk out of movies where people or animals get hurt. (I showed her a mawkish Disney film, Raise Your Voice, where a major plot motivation is the untimely death of the heroines brother as a victim of drunken driving. Anna was quite bothered by this scene, and I had to stop the movie to discuss it with her. Which reminds me, time to post in my LJ...)
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There does seem to be lots of research which shows that exposure to violence (in all media) inures young viewers to violence. While they may not rush out to cause violence, they are much less bothered by it.
Hey, that might be good - the US military has used video games as a recruiting tool. Perhaps it has improved military and police reaction times as well; they are used as training tools for agents and police officers.
It might be bad - I recall one study (vaguely - don't ask for a citation) which interviewed people before and after both violent games and control games, and asked them how they would punish someone that had performed a crime. There was a marked result in a reduction of punishment. Whether that was a more measured response or a less measured one, I cannot say.
It is possible that not everyone who uses violent games is affected, but that there is a small minority that is badly affected. This would be analogous to alcohol or drugs, I suspect. Or, maybe the whole thing is fueling a disturbing growth in the choreographed violence market. That would be bad. :-)
My views on media corruption seem to mostly be confined to political reporting, my friend. :-) Although I will make fun of specific examples of "stupid reporting" as I find them.
I make no serious claim as to the global value of gaming, and its impact. I just think the column originally put forward really didn't show very much. It surely didn't refute the little bit of science and research I have seen.
As for myself, and my daughter - I don't have the time to waste on games, so I don't use them. Anna hates violence, even wanting to walk out of movies where people or animals get hurt. (I showed her a mawkish Disney film, Raise Your Voice, where a major plot motivation is the untimely death of the heroines brother as a victim of drunken driving. Anna was quite bothered by this scene, and I had to stop the movie to discuss it with her. Which reminds me, time to post in my LJ...)