Video Game Violence and America's Youth

This year the Slamdance competition, a major venue for cutting-edge, independent film makers and game designers seeking notice by the industry, included one of the jury-selected finalists for the 2007 competition titled "Super Columbine Massacre RPG." The game itself takes a fact-based look at the 1999 Columbine High School shootings through the eyes of the two teens responsible for it: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, attempting to put the player in a position to understand why they might have done what they did. Naturally, due to major advertiser threats Slamdance pulled the game from the competition, however the resulting controversy served as a microcosm for the last decade of research into the media's influence on aggression in children. Parents and senators alike cite video games as a primary contributor to violence in schools and the degredation of our youth, but does research into the industry back up their claims? Due to the collaboration of media hype and social misinformation the entire video game industry is a basis for fear among parents; despite evidence showing the beneficial effects of many video games, interactive media remains a primary concern in the issue of teen violence, thus damaging the potential of interactive entertainment.

The school shootings in Columbine Highschool first placed the major media spotlight on video games as a catalyst for violence in children. Suddenly a wealth of studies seemingly popped out of the woodwork to support the idea that the two shooters had possibly gleaned their bloodlust from a love of video games like "Doom." With the media onslaught that ensued, the argument quickly devolved into a debate over whether video games as a whole, not just ultra-violent titles, contributed to violence in children. Research shows that in fact violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behavior. Average effect sizes for experimental studies (which help establish causality) and correlational studies (which allow examination of serious violent behavior) appear comparable (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). However, since many of these studies were in fact correlation based, it is important to note that correlation is not necessarily causation.

The fears parents attribute to video games and their effects on children are often rooted in hyperbole rather than fact. Media effects and word of mouth spread soon after Columbine that video games were to blame, and game sales quickly dropped across the board, not just violent video games were targeted. The problem here is that interactive entertainment is a relatively new medium, and information about the media (outside of players themselves) is relatively limited for parents and government contributors. This fear of the unknown possibily harming our children is a naturalistic response, but the vast crackdown after minimal research has been shown is primarily a social construct. Seeking to explain a rash of childhood behavior that is otherwise complicated and unexplained, the introduction of video games offers a tantalizing and simple opportunity to characterize the antagonizer.

Children who are seen to exibit aggressive tendencies after playing aggressive games most often exhibit these tendencies beforehand as well. "One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games," said psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., and Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. It is to be expected that the addition of any exceedingly violent media into the hands of a naturally violent teen might increase arousal or tendency towards aggression. However, any violent stimulus may aggravate a psyche primed for aggression already, and that puts a damper on research such as this. Younger children are more likely to be affected by violence (or any other activity) and subsequently imitate the activity in real life, after viewing it in a video game, movie, or other visual medium. The susceptability of a player to participate in violent activity in real life after participating in a game drops off dramatically as age increases.

Viewing regulation as a primary concern in the up-and-coming video game industry, the Electronic Software Ratings Board was established in 1994 to evaluate video game content in context to consumption by minors similar to the ratings given to films. Though all video game content on commerical sale recieves mandatory ESRB rating, and it is technically illegal to sell a Mature rated video game (such as Doom) to a child under 17, these ratings are rarely enforced. This is an inherent flaw in the ESRB ratings system, that it often relies on parents to monitor their child's game consumption and make sure that they understand the ratings system and how it functions. However the fear of video games does not result in a tighter ratings system or a more effective enforcement policy of laws currently in place. Instead, this fear has a tendency to acrue a backlash towards companies themselves to pull their content and quash developers rights towards free speech and creativity. Creativity often geared towards making games for adults.

Though video games as a whole have gained a reputation for causing delinquency and a variety of childhood issues (not just violence), is there another side to the equation? A study conducted by West Virginia University and supported by Konami Digital Entertainment claimed that consistent usage of the "Dance Dance Revolution" game "improved the health, attitudes and behaviors of participating children." Researchers at the University of Rochester recently reported finding that children and adults play video games because they fulfill basic psychological needs such as opportunities for achievement, freedom and a sense of connection to others (Reuters). Many times, it is the gaming environment which contributes to the final mental image of the game experience. Simulation games in particular have already been embraced by some educators, as well as many businesses and the U.S. military, as effective ways to introduce people to environments and situations that would otherwise be too expensive, dangerous or impossible to access. Kurt Squire, a University of Wisconsin researcher, has observed students as they play Civilization, a simulation game in which players build historically realistic civilizations and interact with them as they evolve. He says, "If you look at the crisis in American schools with low-achieving kids, many teachers would jump if there's a way to keep these kids engaged" (Witt).

Works Cited:

Anderson, C. A. & Bushman, B. J. (2001) Effects of violent games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12, 353-358.

Article: "Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life," Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., Iowa State University of Science and Technology and Karen E. Dill, Ph.D., Lenoir-Rhyne College, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 78, No. 4.

Funk, Jeanne B., Hagan, Jill, Schimming, Jackie, Bullock, Wesley A., Buchman, Debra D., Myers, Melissa. "Aggression and Psychopathology in Adolescents With a Preference for Violent Electronic Games" Aggressive Behavior 2002. Vol 28, No 2, pp 134-144.