Sunday, January 13, 2013

Do Video Games Cause Violence

"Incoming!” “Take cover!” “Flank!" are just some of the words that could be heard while playing war games such as Call of Duty or Medal of Honor.  When someone thinks of video games they tend to think of war games.  The media has put a lot of negative feedback toward video games.  Opponents who are against gaming state such things as video games cause people to become violent, that they become anti-social and that gaming is overall a waste of time.  The negativities toward interactive entertainment are not all bad.  In fact, there are a lot of perks in playing video games.  Video games do not make people violent or anti-social and it helps improve valuable real life skills such as hand-eye coordination, memory, decision making, and judgment.

The biggest question that is being asked by non-gamers is: Do violent video game make people more violent?  There are many people out there that would argue that, yes; violent video games do make people violent.  Ever since the invention of video games, there have been parents who argue that video games are too violent and that their children are becoming aggressive because of the computerized entertainment.  The gaming industry complied with the parents and formed the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) which gives video games the simple letter-rating that can be seen on all of the video game case covers. The ratings are there to inform parents as well as gamers which age group a particular game is toward.  The letter “E” is for everyone from any age group.  The letter “T” is for teens from thirteen to seventeen.  The letter “M” is for mature from eighteen or older.  Then you have the rare rating of “AO” which stands for adults only, which is basically a sex game.  To this day, some parents neglect the ESRB rating, allowing their children to play such games as Call of Duty which is rated M.  Often when there is a shooting at a school some people will instantly blame video games, believing that by playing a violent video game such as Halo or Resident Evil, that the player themselves become violent.  A psychologist from New York by the name of Dr. John Ryder would argue that video games do not make people violent. “‘Usually violence begets violence, not watching it on TV or play-acting in a video game. There is no reason to assume that doing that will make someone more violent. That is just ridiculous.’” says Dr. Ryder (Kotecha).  Psychologists like Dr. Ryder point out that violent behavior can often develop with children who are raised in an aggressive surrounding.  Let’s say that a child is growing up in a family where the father is abusive to the mother or both parents disrespect their child.  Theoretically speaking, the child would most likely become aggressive because of viewing his or her father being abusive or by being abused themselves.  So it’s safe to say that video games do not make people more violent.

The next biggest issue that non-gamers argue about is that video games cause people who play them to be antisocial.  With today’s technology, that statement is most likely the opposite.  With the ability to play games online with other gamers with such thing as Xbox Live or PlayStation Network they are socializing.  There is a class of games known as massive multiplayer online (MMO) such as EVE Online, World of Warcraft, and Star Wars The Old Republic where gamers often times have to perform “active teamwork and high-level project management” (Steinburg) to be able to do well in some in-game missions. Even before games became capable of being played on the worldwide web, gamers often times met during game releases.  While standing in long lines to get their hands on the next big thing in gaming, gamers often times communicate about topics such as gaming, comics, and life.  Today’s technology allows gamers to become more social than ever.

How does gaming improve hand-eye coordination?  Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York have conducted studies that suggest that video games actually “boost visual skills” (Roach).  Gamers are focused on their surroundings as they drive a vehicle through a war torn residential street or walking through a lush forest full of adventure. "‘It is certainly good training for people in situations where they need to detect things in their visual environment at any time in any location, like ground troops going through uncharted territory,’" (Roach) said brain and cognitive sciences Professor Daphne Bavelier.  Through the research at the University of Rochester in New York, researchers discovered that avid gamers have increased attention abilities.  Also researchers from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk have actually designed some video games that help children with attention deficit disorders, which help instruct them to control their brainwave patterns.  Tests have been conducted between gamers and non-gamers as well.  The first test had a small circular object on a screen that would flash for 1/160 of a second. Gamers noticed the split second object more than the non-gamers.  The second test showed one to twelve small objects on a screen simultaneously and the participants had to type how many objects they had seen.  Gamers tend to be correct on the number of seen objects compared to non-gamers.  The final test would flash black letters on a screen quickly and one letter would be white.  Gamers would pick out the white letter and be able to identify what letter it was more often than non-gamers. Why is this important?  Because gamers have a good eye for detail, these skills could be beneficial in the workforce. Lets say that an avid gamer is fully employed as a police officer.  The skills he has developed from video games could very well enhance his observational skill while on the job.  He could notice a slight mound within a criminal’s jacket without much effort, or even identify a weapon concealed within the criminal’s clothing.

Memory is an important human ability. How do video games help improve memory?  Some games require a gamer to memorize certain sequences or sounds to be able to complete a certain mission. Video games such as Alpha Protocol and Splinter Cell require gamers to remember passwords to get past highly secured doorways.  Sometimes a gamer has to memorize a certain password throughout the whole game, and other times only having to remember it for a few minutes.  This helps gamers memorize better in real life as well.  With this enhanced memory, gamers can remember phone number more effectively or important dates of the year.

Can games really improve decision making and judgment?  There are some games out there that have an emphasis on the skills of decision making and judgment such as The Walking Dead and Mass Effect.  While playing these games there are times in-game where the player has a short period of time to decide from several choices and each decision has a huge impact to the game’s storyline. For example, in Mass Effect, you have a huge decision to sacrifice one of your team members in order to successfully complete a certain mission. Each team member is highly skilled in a certain trade which makes them important in-game, but the gamer still has to make that emotional decision to sacrifice a team member.  The Walking Dead does an impressive job of testing a gamers judgment.  The gamer has to decide to either save a child or an elderly person from certain death within a very short period of time.  A video games fast-paced atmosphere helps gamers with their real life decision making. Let’s say that there is a maintenance professional, who is an avid gamer, encounters a boiler with no water in the gage glass.  A boiler with no water is no good.  In fact any maintenance professional will know that by adding water to a boiler with no water will cause an explosion.  This gaming maintenance professional will be able to make the smart decision to immediately shut down the boiler without any hesitation.

In all, video games are not a waste of time.  In fact, gaming helps enhance a person’s hand-eye coordination, memory, decision making, and judgment.  Also releasing some built up stress or anger from the busy workweek. Video games do not make people more violent or anti-social. So go to your local game store and give video games a try.