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Another Study Attacks Violent Video Games, Claims To Be "Conclusive"
Killer Orca is one of many to tell us about a new study on the effects of violent video games on kids. The latest meta-study that analyzed research from 130 different reports claims to have "conclusively proven" that violent video games make more aggressive, less caring kids. "The team used meta-analytic procedures — the statistical methods used to analyze and combine results from previous, related literature -- to test the effects of violent video game play on the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of the individuals, ranging from elementary school-aged children to college undergraduates. [...] Anderson says the new study may be his last meta-analysis on violent video games because of its definitive findings."
You can see the study author's bent in this quote:
"It's now time to move on to a more constructive question like, 'How do we make it easier for parents -- within the limits of culture, society and law -- to provide a healthier childhood for their kids?'" But Anderson knows it will take time for the creation and implementation of effective new policies.
Um... is it the government's job to make parenthood easier? I thought they put the kids in front of the glowing screen in order to give themselves (the parents) a break from parenting.
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
You know, psychology has shown that "letting it out" doesn't in fact result in your become calmer. It does rather the opposite.
I don't really think that engaging in videogame violence is anywhere near the real thing, I'm just saying that if that's your reasoning, it's flawed. If that's your excuse for playing videogames, why don't you just admit that you enjoy them, and leave it at that?
It's not my excuse...at least, not any more. There was a time (early teens) when I had an absolutely horrendous temper. I'm extremely laid back now, but back then my anger was sometimes nearly uncontrollable (seriously...there were times when I literally felt like I almost couldn't control myself. It was bad. Real bad.) Weightlifting and violent video games were the only two things I found that I could focus on rather than lashing out. In a way, violent video games were part of the reason I DIDN'T become dangerously violent in real life...they provided me with a safe way to live out the violence I wanted. To me, it wasn't venting...it was "good enough", as opposed to going through with the real thing.
Interestingly, as I've gotten older (one month shy of 26 now) and chilled out, I find myself playing violent video games less. I still enjoy them, but they are no longer therapeutic...I would rather play a game with a good story instead of, for example, taking a chainsaw to the Locust. ::shrug:: Don't know if violent video games were part of the cure, or if it was age, or maturity...but whatever it was, just about any violent emotion and feeling is completely gone in me. I'm as harmful as jello at this point (although I'm still kinda built like a 5'7" linebacker, lol)
Naturally, YMMV, this is just my own experience, etc applies.
Living With a Nerd
I remember when Columbine happened - i was in the den with my mom and we where watching the news.. they showed this "Violent GAME" that the kids had played - and it was the original DOOM - now my mom had remembered me playing that and looked at me odd when i started laughing..
i then explained. - this "Expert" on ABC was showing this "Violent GAME" which allowed kids to go around killing everything without any remorse or consequences..
what was on the screen was the starting level - he was running around with the rocket launcher and gold eyes (aka god mode)
so he had to cheat at the game to get the skewed point of view he wanted across
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
That's because the article you are reading is NOT written by a scientist-slash-researcher but by some idiot journalist who (I hope) interviewed a scientist-slash-researcher. I can't say I myself have bothered to read the whole paper
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2010-2014/10ASISBSRS.pdf
... but from the abstract: "The evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior". This is a strong but not unusual kind of statement, meaning they are sure of themselves. The word "conclusive" is not used once (if Adobes search function is accurate). It also annoys me that the journalist turned "causal risk factor" into "causes", but then again perhaps people in general are just too stupid to understand anything more complicated than "A causes B".
What really bugs me though is how /. users eagerly discard scientists as having a "hidden agenda" based only on someone elses lay review, without having the decency to actually read the publication. Don't forget that there is often a distorting layer between what you read and the real stuff.