USA Today recently published an article about the effects of video games on behavior: Think you’re immune to video-game violence? Think again. There are some interesting questions raised in the piece and it’s worth a quick read.
A Passion for Video Games
It’s been a while since I had time made time for gaming. I love games and have spent many hours in online worlds, fighting bosses, and racking up achievements but for the past couple of years, every extra moment I have has been channeled more and more into creative pursuits (writing, making comics, filming, etc). I’ve also been a bit disenfranchised by the lack of innovation in gaming. I do make it a point to try out a lot of new games even for just a few minutes and I always read my Game Informer magazine each month to keep up on the latest releases and trends in gaming.
Gaming Studies
There have been so many studies on gaming and its effects that it’s hard to know what’s real anymore. Who to believe. One study says violence in games causes violence in real life while three more say the opposite. Others say gaming provides stress relief while still more say it causes anxiety and aggression.
Why this Study is Different
What’s interesting about this study is the sample size. Over 130,000 gamers were analyzed for this study. 381 factors were considered in the analysis and the big takeaway was:
“We found that violent video games unmistakably raised levels of aggression and heart rate, and decreased feelings of compassion toward others.”
I can accept that and tend to think it’s true even in my own gaming experiences but I’m not as clear on what the solution is. The article suggests we adhere carefully to the video game rating system (not a bad suggestion) but I wonder if the aggressive feelings are really a factor of the game’s violence or maybe have more to do with the difficulty and challenge the game presents which drives the player to focus and try harder to beat the challenge.
Either way, I’m glad we have studies like this and we are keeping an eye on the consequences. It’s something to keep in mind. There are many positive benefits of games that don’t get near as much focus and press and I’d like to see a little more balance as well.
I played Mario kart with my four year old the other day and was hollering at him for repeatedly driving into the ocean before we were fifteen minutes in. Years ago I threw my NES down the stairs in a fit of rage… I’m not allowed to play video games anymore per myself and with the emphatic support of my wife…
I admit to throwing NES controllers at the TV when I died in the final levels of MegaMan 2. If I had a knife right then, I’d probably have shredded the couch I was sitting on. Definitely elevated rage levels because I’m generally a calm person.