DO VIDEO GAMES MAKE KIDS VIOLENT?
The debate is back with the release of one of the most technologically realistic games ever
DO VIDEO games mess up children’s minds and encourage violent behaviour?
Video games these days have become so advanced that it’s difficult to distinguish a video game from a live-action movie.
The game Red Dead Redemption II, due for release later this month, is a typical example. It’s one of the most advanced video games ever made, with artificial intelligence and graphics so mind-blowingly realistic that it’s hard to believe you aren’t watching an actual cowboy movie.
The characters look and behave like real-life actors. Their skin, clothing and hair look real, and their movements are fluid and life-like. But that is not the most impressive part.
Red Dead takes realism to a whole new level. Just like in real life, the player’s head and facial hair actually grow over time, and his clothes get soiled. Just like a real person, he has to get a haircut, shave and do laundry; otherwise, he won’t be allowed into classy gatherings.
Landscapes, buildings and animals are hyper-realistic, and the non-playable characters are eerily human-like. They have their own daily chores, are able to converse with you, and even have memories.
If you rob someone and they see you later, they will remember you.
Every aspect of the game is designed to make you forget that you are looking at a fictional world, and it succeeds spectacularly. Video games have certainly come a long way since Pong and Donkey Kong.
While video game creators keep pushing the boundaries of technology, a major question looms around the long-term effect of video games on gamers, especially younger ones.
As video games become more and more realistic and increasingly violent, the debate rages on about whether they corrupt morals and encourage violent behaviour.
Games like Red Dead Redemption come under heavy criticism because their underlying premise is crime and violence.
Many fear that games like these strip kids of their morals and encourage violent behaviour, and this is fuelled by media outlets that linked American mass shootings to violent video games and movies.
Yet, the video game industry is booming. The industry is estimated to be worth nearly $150 billion (R2.2trillion), and with the establishment of the e-sports industry, where players compete professionally to win millions in prize money, gaming has gone mainstream.
But are video games harmful in the long run?
According to studies done by the American Psychological Association, there is a link between playing violent games and violent behaviour. Other scientists disagree.
Cristopher J Ferguson, professor of psychology at Stetson University in Florida, states that, “speaking as a researcher who has studied violent video games for almost 15 years, I can state that there is no evidence to support these claims that violent media and real-world violence are connected”.
Dr Daphne Bavelier, professor at the University of Geneva, has studied the impact of video games on the brain for many years and has made some amazing discoveries.
Her team found that while excessive video gaming is potentially hazardous to health, moderate amounts of play actually deliver some unexpected benefits.
They found that, contrary to widely-accepted beliefs about video games, gamers actually have better vision, are better at focusing their attention and are better multitaskers.
Other research has found a positive link between gaming and problemsolving abilities.
How do parents reconcile these vastly contradictory viewpoints? As a parent of three boys, I was faced with this dilemma and decided early on that I needed to take a stance on gaming, because the inescapable reality is that video games are everywhere.
Statistics show that around 80% of children under the age of 8 play some kind of video games, and my boys were no different. There was simply no hiding from this issue.
But the question remained: should I allow video games, or not? I was wary of going to extremes.
Having been a parent and a teacher for a number of years, I knew that it causes more harm than good.
If I went to the extreme of forbidding video games entirely, I would be depriving my boys of something they were passionate about, and they would probably despise me and go behind my back and play at friends’ homes, which is far worse. I’ve seen that happen too many times, and sometimes with disastrous results.
On the other hand, if I were too lenient, that could lead to them spending an inordinate amount of time playing games, and that would lead to all sorts of problems.
So what was the verdict?
I decided to take the middle road and allow my boys to play video games, but with the proviso that it is done within reasonable limits, during designated times and with respect for age restrictions. This approach has worked extremely well for us, not just with gaming, but with all technology.
I closely monitored the boys’ behaviour during and after gaming to pick up on any behavioural changes.
Above all, I took an active role by joining them on occasion, to understand the games they pay. I have to confess, I really enjoyed it.