Whenever a “new” threat comes along and affects or children and teenagers, parents tend to rise up and fight the evils that endanger our offspring. Now a new challenge is on the horizon. A challenge to our descendants that is used in the classroom to assist teachers in instructing our youth. The challenge of Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, or MMORPGs, is here.
Studies show a link between playing violent MMORPGs and increased violent thoughts and actions by children and adolescents. The reactions of people who play these games have shown an increase in violent tendencies when problem solving or faced with a difficult or stressful situation.
Other studies have shown differing effects on males and females, but both still suffer negative consequences. Two researchers at Brigham Young University, undergrad Alex Jensen and faculty member Laura Walker, published their results Jan. 23 in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and had this to say, “Statistical analyses …revealed that the more young adults play video games, the more frequent their involvement in risky behaviors like drinking and drug abuse. Young adults who played video games daily reported smoking pot almost twice as often as occasional players, and three times as often as those who never play.” (emphasis mine). This shows a clear correlation between the world of video gaming and other forms of destructive behavior and as we will see next, this includes anger.
Some studies look at the emotional effects of these MMORPGs as they almost always include extreme violence of the hacking, slashing and bloodletting kind. Iowa State University Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile, the center's associate director and recently elected president of the International Society for Research in Aggression, and Akira Sakamoto -- an associate professor of psychology at Ochanomizu University and a leading violent video games researcher in Japan –presented a new study on the correlation between violent video games and childhood aggression. Their research links a study done earlier by Iowa State University which looked at 364 American children between the ages of 9 and 12 with two studies done in Japan on over 1,200 Japanese school age children with ages ranging from 12 to 18.
According to Professor Gentile, “Basically what we found was that in all three samples [studies], a lot of violent video game play early in a school year leads to higher levels of aggression during the school year, as measured later in the school year…[and they] showed significant increases in aggression in children who played a lot of video games.” Gentile also showed how these games “…create opportunities to be vigilant for enemies, to practice aggressive ways of responding to conflict and to see aggression as acceptable. In practical terms, that means when bumped in the hallway, children see it as hostile and react more aggressively…” These games are leading to a more aggressive generation with, as quoted in previously cited studies, less social interaction abilities, a dangerous combination.
According to Gentile “Playing violent games leads to increased physiological arousal, increased aggressive thoughts, increased aggressive feelings, increased aggressive behaviors, and decreased pro-social helping.” How do you get Johnny to be kind to his little sister Susie after he has spent the past eight hours slashing, gouging, punching, kicking, and smashing his way through orcs, goblins, and monsters of all shapes and sizes? After he has spent the last five hours entrenched in a video game that uses endorses car theft, sex, drugs and foul language (not necessarily in that order), how do you get him to take out the trash?
Are we willing to raise the next generation to be video crack addicts?
Am I saying we should do away with video games all together? No. But we, especially parents, cannot afford the almost endless stream of quarters being fed to the arcade version of these games. Children grew up in years, even centuries, past without the newest X-box, Playstation or Nintendo. Examine what your kids are playing and use the age old antidote for all problems adolescent-parental involvement.