Hudson
05-17-2008, 11:26 PM
Violent Video Games Don't Cause Violence, Says New Book
by Tim Stevens (http://www.switched.com/bloggers/tim-stevens/), posted May 17th 2008 at 8:30AM
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.switched.com/media/2008/04/gta-iv-screen-600.jpg (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92)
Think violent video games are slowly turning your kids into future serial killers? We'd like to point out that a couple of researchers from Harvard Medical School don't agree. The researchers -- Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner -- recently completed a book called "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do," in which they dispel some myths about video game-related violence, and possibly give life to others (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92).
In the course of their research, the husband and wife team spoke with 1,200 middle-school children about their gaming habits and how gaming affects their social lives. The researchers found that gaming is actually a very social activity for most children, with friends frequently gaming together or talking with friends at school about gaming. They also found that fascination with violent games isn't limited to miscreant little boys -- the 'Grand Theft Auto (http://www.switched.com/tag/gtaiv)' series was the second most popular game for the girls (despite it not being intended for minors).
However, they also found that kids who played M-rated games (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp) were actually more likely to get into fights than those who didn't, 51-percent vs. 28-percent. But, Olson and Kutner's findings didn't necessarily lead to blaming the games; instead, they concluded that the kids who are more likely to want to play those games probably have somewhat violent inclinations to begin with. More studies are still needed, according to the couple, but since you're not letting your kids play M-rated games anyay, you don't have to worry -- right? [Source: Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92)]
Wow, people have really gotten out of touch if this was necessary.
http://www.switched.com/2008/05/17/violent-video-games-dont-cause-violence-says-new-book/
by Tim Stevens (http://www.switched.com/bloggers/tim-stevens/), posted May 17th 2008 at 8:30AM
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.switched.com/media/2008/04/gta-iv-screen-600.jpg (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92)
Think violent video games are slowly turning your kids into future serial killers? We'd like to point out that a couple of researchers from Harvard Medical School don't agree. The researchers -- Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner -- recently completed a book called "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do," in which they dispel some myths about video game-related violence, and possibly give life to others (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92).
In the course of their research, the husband and wife team spoke with 1,200 middle-school children about their gaming habits and how gaming affects their social lives. The researchers found that gaming is actually a very social activity for most children, with friends frequently gaming together or talking with friends at school about gaming. They also found that fascination with violent games isn't limited to miscreant little boys -- the 'Grand Theft Auto (http://www.switched.com/tag/gtaiv)' series was the second most popular game for the girls (despite it not being intended for minors).
However, they also found that kids who played M-rated games (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp) were actually more likely to get into fights than those who didn't, 51-percent vs. 28-percent. But, Olson and Kutner's findings didn't necessarily lead to blaming the games; instead, they concluded that the kids who are more likely to want to play those games probably have somewhat violent inclinations to begin with. More studies are still needed, according to the couple, but since you're not letting your kids play M-rated games anyay, you don't have to worry -- right? [Source: Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0725760620080509?rpc=92)]
Wow, people have really gotten out of touch if this was necessary.
http://www.switched.com/2008/05/17/violent-video-games-dont-cause-violence-says-new-book/