Critics zap video games: senators urge government action to curb video-game violence
Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication, January 3, 1994
CHICAGO, Ill.--Hooded zombies attack young women using drills to drain their victims' blood ... Two fighters kick and punch each other until the winner pulls the loser's head off with the spinal cord still attached...
Believe it or not, you can watch these horror scenes every day in thousands of U.S. homes. They are part of two widely popular video games--Night Trap and Mortal Kombat.
Both games were featured last month in U.S. Senate hearings on video games. The hearings, headed by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.), looked at two aspects of video games: violence in the games and how companies advertise the games to children. In both cases, the senators found much to criticize.
Too Much Violence
Senators Lieberman and Kohl heard from a number of witnesses who testified that many popular video games are far too violent for children. The violence of Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, the senators were told, teaches kids to be insensitive to human suffering.
Violent video games, said California attorney general Dan Lungren, not only teach kids "to demean and destroy" but also "have a desensitizing impact on young, impressionable minds."
After hearing testimony and seeing demonstrations of the most violent video games, Senator Lieberman declared: "These games are no mark of a civilized society."
Lieberman and Kohl told video game companies to voluntarily cut back on violence in video games. If you don't, Lieberman told the companies, the government will step in and do it for you.
Both major video-game companies, Sega and Nintendo, came under criticism. But the senators had some good words for Nintendo, which limits the amount of violence it allows in video games.
Sega officials defended Night Trap and Mortal Kombat as games intended for older teens and adults, not children. Sega also announced that it had established a rating system for video games similar to movie ratings: PG for children under 13; MA-13 for players 13 and over; and MA-17 for players aged 17 and over.
Misleading Commercial
Senator Lieberman also criticized Sega in particular for one of its TV commercials. He said that the commercial promoted violence and targeted kids under 13. The TV commercial shows a boy gaining the respect of his friends after winning Mortal Kombat. At the end of the commercial, the boy angrily knocks over a tray of cookies given to him by friends now frightened by the boy's fighting ability. The boy roars, "I said I wanted chocolate chip!"
Bill White, vice president of Sega of America, said that Sega had aired the commercial before it established a rating system, and that the commercial was taken off the air.
Realistic Violence
Video-game players have been zapping aliens and wiping out bad guys for more than 20 years. So why have critics only now mounted a serious attack on video-game violence?
There are two reasons, say critics. The first reason is that today more violence seems to sell more products. and Nintendo, for make versions of Mortal Kombat, but Sega's much more violent version widely outsells Nintendo's tamer version. Sega's Mortal Kombat was, in fact, the best-selling video game in 1993-selling more than 4 million copies.
The other reason critics are upset is that video-game violence is becoming more realistic. In early video games, such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders, players wiped out crude cartoon images. But today's video games feature real-looking people. In Night Trap, the characters are played by real actors. In Mortal Kombat, the fighters are realistic animated drawings. Instead of just wiping out a cartoon image, today's video gamers try to kill realistic-looking characters--and that say critics, tends to teach children that human life is cheap.
Video-Game Defenders
Of course, not everyone thinks that video-game violence is harmful. Many people argue that the concern over video-game violence, like the concern over TV violence (CE 4) is much overblown. These people point to the fact that no studies firmly prove that people who play violent video games tend to become more violent in real life.
Some players look upon video-game critics as (in the words of one player) "know-nothing, interfering boobies."
"They're spoilsports," says Tom Jennings, a video-game player. "There are always some people who will say that something new and exciting is wrong and dangerous--no matter what it is."
Other players agree that some games should not be used by children. They say that most video games are harmless fun and not as violent as Mortal Kombat.
"There are some games you want kids to stay away from," says LeeAnne McDermott, editor of a video game magazine. "But there are a lot more games you can feel good about kids playing."
None of this, however, persuades critics such as Senator Lieberman. He has asked the Federal Trade Commission FTC) to investigate how video-game companies try to see their products to kids. And he and Senator Kohl plan to hold a second series of hearings on video-game violence next month.
Source Citation
"Critics zap video games: senators urge government action to curb video-game violence." Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication 3 Jan. 1994: 1+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2015.
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(“Critics”)
Firefight: should teens play violent video games?
Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication, September 5, 2011
Warning! Your favorite video games may be hazardous to your health. Call of Duty, Halo, and other top titles arm players with weapons and send them in search of enemies. Often the more people players gun down, the more points they earn.
The violent games are popular with teens and adults alike, but they don't score big with everyone. Some researchers and lawmakers say the gory games make teens aggressive and violent. They argue that young people shouldn't be allowed to play them without parental consent.
Other researchers disagree, however. They say violent video games are just that--games--and that playing them is no more harmful than watching graphic movies or TV shows. Even the U.S. Supreme Court justices are sticking up for the games. The nation's top judges recently overturned a California law that barred stores from selling violent video games to minors.
What do you think? Are the intense games harmless fun or hazardous to your health?
GAME STOP
Violent video games can be just as dangerous as the assault rifles used to gun down the enemy in Medal of Honor, some researchers say. Psychologists Douglas A. Gentile and Craig A. Anderson have been studying the effects of the games for more than 30 years. The Iowa State University professors recently analyzed more than 150 studies of video games and violence. "[We] found consistent evidence that violent games increase desensitization [and] aggressive thoughts, feelings, physiology, and behaviors and decrease helpful behaviors," they say.
Plus, the more teens play, the more the games' savage scenarios sink in, believes Melissa Henson of the Parents Television Council. That group lobbied in support of the California law. When teens play a game repeatedly, the scenarios in it can become a little too real, she says. "Prolonged exposure to violent images, such as violent video games, can result in more aggressive behavior," Henson told Current Events. "[The repetition from playing often] reinforces certain ways of thinking, certain patterns of behavior."
Even some teens think the games are no good. Raven Laddish, 15, of California, avoids titles such as Grand Theft Auto, in which players steal cars and shoot people. "Those types of games don't really appeal to me," she told Wired.com. "I just don't feel that it's a good message to send to teens."
PLAY ON
The assault on violent video games needs to stop, says psychologist Christopher Ferguson. "Although there are some studies that find links between violent games and mild forms of aggression, there are also studies which find no evidence for any links at all," he told CE. The Texas A&M International University assistant professor is conducting his own long-term study on video games' effects on youth violence and bullying. "I've found ... no evidence of harmful video game or television violence effects," he says.
Besides, the games' combative content isn't anything most teens haven't seen before, others argue. In the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling, Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out that even fairy tales are violent. In the original version of "Hansel and Gretel," for example, the children kill the witch by baking her in an oven. "Certainly the books we give children to read--or read to them when they are younger--contain no shortage of gore," Scalia wrote in the Court's decision.
When it comes down to it, teens are smart enough to know the difference between real life and fantasy, says Evan Jones, 16. "[I get] an adrenaline rush during the game, and the need to win, but afterwards it's just fine," the California teen told reporters. "I see violent video games as an outlet to aggression and stress."
Source Citation
"Firefight: should teens play violent video games?" Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication 5 Sept. 2011: 7. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2015.
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(“Firefight”)
The games kids play: are mature video games too violent for teens? (News Debate)
Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication, February 7, 2003
PRESS START and you become Tommy Vercetti, an ex-convict with nothing to lose. You race down the streets of Vice City, scoring points by stealing cars, robbing banks, dealing drugs, and killing women.
The deadly gun battles and wild car chases are all part of the action of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, one of the hottest video games around. But is the gory game harmless fun?
Some people aren't so sure.
Vice City and a few other popular video games have mature ratings, meaning they might contain violent content, strong language, and nudity. M-rated games are recommended for people 17 and up.
Even though M-rated games are meant for adults, their popularity often extends all the way down to elementary schools. And as kids and teens clamor to play the games, the debate is heating up over whether those kids are old enough to walk the violent streets of Vice City.
Real Life Vice?
Researchers say playing M-rated games could spark violent behavior. They say studies have shown that people who play violent video games are more aggressive. "It increases the likelihood youngsters are going to react to conflict with aggression instead of cooperation," Iowa State University professor Craig Anderson told the Star Tribune.
Experts point to Eric Harris as an example. Harris was one of two teens who opened fire in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, killing 13 people before shooting himself. Harris had a modified version of Doom, an M-rated video game, on his Web site. His version resembled the Columbine shootings--two shooters, unlimited ammunition, and victims who couldn't shoot back.
Some people say games like Vice City should be taken off the shelves because of the way they portray women. "I'm really offended that anybody would sell a [game] that has this kind of violence in it, that kicking a woman to death is a game, is fun," father Howard Winkler told The Olympian.
Just Fantasy
Many parents and teens argue that no normal kid would be transformed by a video game's violence. They say teens are smart enough to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
"The guns, the weapons, blowing stuff up--it's just got something you can't do in real life," said 15-year-old Bryce Conley of Springfield, Missouri. "You might go shoot the cops in the game, but I'm not going to go out and shoot a cop in real life," he told newspapers.
The Interactive Digital Software association says there is no conclusive link between video games and violent behavior. They point out that as video games increase in popularity, youth violence in the United States declines.
What do you think? Should teens be allowed to play mature video games?
Source Citation
"The games kids play: are mature video games too violent for teens? (News Debate)." Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication 7 Feb. 2003: 3. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2015.
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(“The games”)
Gaming the console: are video games bad for you? Read up on the research, and then decide
Current Health Teens, a Weekly Reader publication, March 2012
Try this experiment. Set up your PlayStation or Xbox. Before you start playing, check your pulse. Play for about a half hour. Then stop and take your pulse again.
It's probably faster than it was before, says John P. Murray. He's a psychology professor and visiting scholar at the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston. Murray has studied the effects of media on young people for more than 40 years. "Playing a fast-paced game, especially one with shooting, is like a jolt of adrenaline to your System," he says. "And if you can feel that change your pulse, imagine what else is going on in your body and brain that you can't see."
Scientists are debating whether playing video games can harm people. Nearly all experts in the field see a relationship between gaming and increased aggression, sloppy schoolwork, and even bad dreams. At the same time, some experts believe that video games can be put to good use in the classroom and at home. Here's what you need to know before you get your game on.
Brain Science
Violent games and movies activate areas of the brain associated with aggression, particularly the amygdalae and the limbic system. Brain scans also indicate that people may store the violence they've seen onscreen in the brain's posterior cingulate, a part of the brain that controls memories and emotions. (That's why people who have been victims of crimes or soldiers who have fought in battles often relive terrible events as part of what doctors call post-traumatic stress disorder.)
So why don't you feel aggressive after playing a violent game? The effects aren't huge or immediately noticeable by a game player, but they tend to increase over time, says professor Craig A. Anderson, director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University. "If you smoke a cigarette, you don't feel cancer beginning to form," he points out.
Virtual Violence Versus Real Behavior
Still, many scientists argue that what someone does in a virtual, or make-believe, world doesn't carry over to the real world unless that person has emotional problems to begin with. Patrick Markey, associate professor of psychology at Villanova University, says that people who aren't very "agreeable" (say, the kind of friend who will never give you a ride home because it's out of his or her way) seem more affected by violent video games. "Already high levels of aggression increase in people with personality problems," he adds.
Anderson agrees. "Violent games aren't going to turn a normal kid into a school shooter," he says.
Gaming to Excess
Researchers voice other concerns about video games as well. Anderson points out that recent studies in the U.S. and Singapore indicate that nearly 8 percent of teen gamers show signs of addiction. For instance, instead of paying attention in school, those students are instead thinking about when they'll be able to get back to their video games. Anderson and other scientists are also concerned that risk taking in games might lead to risk taking in real life: Can I drive through that red light and beat that other car? a gamer might think when behind the wheel of a real car.
In the school realm, as video games have become more and more popular, SAT scores linked to communication skills have been declining. Though no one has proved video games cause lower scores, researchers are pointing to this correlation: Teens are spending time playing games that they once spent reading. Educators know that the more a student reads, the higher he or she is likely to score on tests that measure verbal ability.