Tag Archives: video games

Morality

Why Don’t Kids Pay Attention?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

Researchers report that there is a correlation between how much time kids spend in front of video games and television, and their ability to focus in school.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

Elementary school-age and college-age participants who exceed two hours per day of screen time are as much as twice as likely to be above average in attention problems.

In addition, the researchers “conclude that TV and video game viewing may be one contributing factor for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.”

Why does playing video games and watching TV cause attention problems?  The report explains:

If we train the brain to require constant stimulation and constant flickering lights, changes in sound and camera angle, or immediate feedback, such as video games can provide, then when the child lands in the classroom where the teacher doesn’t have a million-dollar-per-episode budget, it may be hard to get children to sustain their attention.

Some food for thought.  Our 12-year old son plays video games, but we are now requiring that for each hour over one hour daily that he wants to play, he must read for the same amount of time.  Anybody else have ideas about how to limit screen time for kids?

Morality

Do Violent Video Games Affect Your Kids?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

An Iowa State University research team says “yes” and that they have the data to prove it.  According to ISU:

Iowa State researchers, led by Distinguished Professor of Psychology Craig Anderson, have collaborated on a new study that analyzes 130 research reports on more than 130,000 subjects proving exposure to violent video games makes more aggressive, less caring kids — regardless of their age, sex or culture.

Dr. Anderson, the lead researcher, goes on to draw the following conclusions from the research:

We can now say with utmost confidence that regardless of research method — that is experimental, correlational, or longitudinal — and regardless of the cultures tested in this study [East and West], you get the same effects. And the effects are that exposure to violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior in both short-term and long-term contexts. Such exposure also increases aggressive thinking and aggressive affect, and decreases prosocial behavior.

Now what does this practically mean?  You’ll have to read the detailed report to find out, but my amateur take on it is that watching extreme violence all the time is bad for your child, and probably bad for you, as an adult, as well.  If you have a child who is is already prone to aggression and anti-social behavior, violent video games are not going to help – they will hurt.  This seems obvious, but I guess the ISU research team wanted to publish the “final word” on it, although there is never the final word on anything scientific.

At least this study gives parents some more ammunition in dealing with their kid’s video game playing.