Sunday 9 January 2011

Xmas Task 4

Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression

"Children in their early teens found that almost a third played video games daily, and that 7% played for at least 30 hours a week." BBC

"When video games first came out, indeed they were addictive... however, there seems to be a strong correlation now between the violent nature of games these days and the aggressive tendencies in game players."

Our Appetite for Aggression

“Tell me what you eat and I shall tell you what you are.” So wrote Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French politician and legendary gastronome."

"American children between 2 and 18 years of age spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using media (television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computer, and the Internet).”

"the media do more to shape young people’s attitudes and actions than do parents or teachers, thus replacing them as educators, role models, and the primary sources of information about the world and how to behave in it. "

"research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, fear, depression, nightmares and sleep disturbances."

"Hollywood and video-game makers not only failed to limit access by minors to violent games and movies but actually targeted children in the making and marketing of violent entertainment."

“Companies in the entertainment industry routinely undercut their own rating restrictions by target marketing violent films, records and video games to young audiences.”

“Any parent who goes out to the supermarket and shops for food for their kid wants to look at the can and know the ingredients. We don’t have a rating system that is content based, so we don’t know what we’re feeding our kids’ minds.”

“the media makes the world look a lot more violent than it is."

"The average child will see nearly 100,000 violent images in the media before he or she reaches the age of 18."

"Gurian notes that testosterone is an aggression hormone, and that boys can have 20 times the level found in girls. Because of this, and the way the male brain develops and is formatted, males are more attracted to violent imagery than females are. “Males likewise have more trouble controlling violent impulses,” he said, “which is even more reason for us to come to a better understanding of how the media affects little boys."

“We wouldn't give our children a drug just because they ask for it. It's still important for parents to say no.”

Video Game Effects—Confirmed, Suspected, and Speculative A Review of the Evidence

Negative outcomes include aggressive feelings, aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior, physiological arousal, and desensitization, whereas positive outcomes include various types of learning. Multiple theories predict, and empirical findings reveal, that violent video game exposure is causally related to a host of negative outcomes and a few positive outcomes."

The Influence of Media Violence on Youth

"media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts."

"Media violence produces short-term increases by priming existing aggressive scripts and cognitions, increasing physiological arousal, and triggering an automatic tendency to imitate observed behaviors."

"Media violence produces long-term effects via several types of learning processes leading to the acquisition of lasting (and automatically accessible) aggressive scripts, interpretational schemas, and aggression-supporting beliefs about social behavior, and by reducing individuals' normal negative emotional responses to violence (i.e., desensitization)."

"Recent surveys reveal an extensive presence of violence in modern media. Furthermore, many children and youth spend an inordinate amount of time consuming violent media. "

Is Media Violence a Problem?

"Children’s exposure to violence in the mass media, particularly at young ages, can have harmful lifelong consequences."

"Media violence causes aggressive or violent behavior."

"Learning of aggressive behaviors and attitudes.” Media violence may not make children violent, but it may teach them that violence is a normal way of solving problems."

Desensitization to violence.” This is the classic problem that horror movies face: Violence and gore may shock viewers initially, but they eventually become used to it. And heavy viewers of media violence may be less shocked by real-life violence."

Fear of being victimized by violence.” Constant exposure to violence in the media may lead people to believe that violence is everywhere and that they should be afraid. Researcher George Gerbner has described this as “Mean World Syndrome.”

"viewing media violence is a catharsis which may actually help reduce aggression. Violent entertainment may offer viewers—especially young males—a way to explore their violent tendencies without hurting anyone."

Modern Warfare 2: 'No link between video games and adult violence'

“Younger gamers, typically under the age of eight, tend to be more influenced by games and what they see on screen."

Labour MPs clash over Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game

"It's not about censorship, it's about protecting our children."

Does game violence make teens aggressive?

“Based on our results, I think parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.”

Violence in Video Games and the Baghdad Massacre

"Shooting dogs, beating children and murdering innocent civilians are dwarfed by the amount of unmitigated evil game developers are having their heroes portray."

Gaming addiction: myth, medical condition or moral panic?

"Case studies provided a clear-cut argument against gaming and its negative effects. One boy followed the motto of “eat, sleep and play games” and had got kicked out of higher education, which subsequently meant he was damaging his relationships with his friends and family. Another study revealed the violent results of parents trying to gain control over an “addicted gamer”, the boy kicking a hole in his sister’s wall and becoming full of rage after his parents disconnected the internet. A screen shot of a game character was used to express this rage if the description wasn’t enough."

"that games do incorporate powerful psychological techniques to create a compulsion loop, but without these there would be no substance to a game."

Violence, War, and Call of Duty 4

"Is it a coincidence that the game came out in 2007, when in January that year an extensive BBC poll found that 73% of the global population disapproves of the war in Iraq?"

"The game even periodically presents quotes on the subject of war and violence (usually when you fail in the single player). Among them are Yassar Arafat: “Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist.” Bertrand Russel: “War does not determine who is right - only who is left.” Erasmus: “War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it.” And what is Call of Duty 4 but an experience - and therefore, a potential deterrence - of war? Whatever Call of Duty 4 may be, it is certainly not an advertisement for actually being in the situations it places the player. The atmosphere is tense at the best of times. Nowhere is safe on the battlefield as bullets sing through even the densest wall. Even the best player must die multiple times - what of the real life soldier? "

Call of Duty: Calling Off Violence in Video Games

"If we don't end war, war will end us." H.G. Wells must not have had violent video games in mind when he fashioned that quote, but the levels of aggression in war and video games is just the same. Some people have asked, "Are video games too violent"? The answer is yes, video games are much too violent, for they endanger the safety of other kids, they can affect a child's aggressiveness later on, and in our society, violence is on the rise. Violent video games are too violent and they must be stopped."

‘Think of the Children…’ Moral Panics in the Media and Videogames

"Violence in videogames have always been questionable since they become more advanced in graphics and portrayal."



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