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Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

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Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#41

Post by macjohnmcc »

Waterluvian wrote: post #14

Somewhat Tangential: Without any instruction my 2 and 4 year olds know how to turn things into weapons to beat each other with. Like puppies they seem to be testing limits to rough play. What surprised me is what happened when I didn't intervene: a few times the older one completely dominated and got his way. But more often than not the older one displayed empathy and tried to apologize and give kisses and give the y…

When my son was around 4 I was playing GTA and was not playing it violently when I took a car from someone and they tried to pull me out he said "Hit him dad! Hit him!" but never in his life (he is 21 now) has he struck anyone. It was just a game to him.

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#42

Post by dfsegoat »

Ensorceled wrote: post #24
Waterluvian wrote: post #14

Somewhat Tangential: Without any instruction my 2 and 4 year olds know how to turn things into weapons to beat each other with. Like puppies they seem to be testing limits to rough play. What surprised me is what happened when I didn't intervene: a few times the older one completely dominated and got his way. But more often than not the older one displayed empathy and tried to apologize and give kisses and give the y…

> I think kids have more ability to self regulate than we typically treat them as having. This "kids need adult supervision" is a relatively new thing, we used to be sent out to play as kids for HOURS (be home by dinner) and ran the woods and parks or played murderball (soccer with tackling) and other forms of roughhousing, all without serious mayhem. Parents would let us "work it out" if there was a fight.

Having grown up in the manner you describe, and being a parent of several young kids - I do find the prospect of them having a similar childhood pretty terrifying.

I am forever thankful for a childhood like that - but letting my kids run amok in this day and age for hours brings me a lot of anxiety. It is an interesting paradox that makes me a bit sad.

edit: for the record, we have them in wrestling / jiu jitsu - so their plate is still full re: physical activity and social interaction.

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#43

Post by Dirlewanger »

person_of_color wrote: post #23

I'm a rabid anti-gamer and I will tell you they are a gateway drug to antiproductivity.

I love video games, but I agree. You also have nothing to show for the time (I don't buy the "if you had fun, it was worth the time" argument). Hobbies where you can learn/hone new skills are more valuable. With video games, there's nothing to show for it.

The only scenarios where I think they're beneficial is when they're enjoyed with friends (preferably in-person), or for the elderly to help with hand-eye coordination and keeping their minds active and busy.

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#44

Post by jccalhoun »

nchase wrote: post #8
nchase wrote: post #5

This reminds me of when I was at grad student in that area. It was really frustrating to read all of the studies from e.g. Anderson and Bushman asserting the links between violent media and aggression. These publications were headline-grabbing, but some of the study design was laughable. The whole state of affairs led me to leave the discipline (which led me to a career as a software engineer). I'm glad that I did, b…

PS: if you want a real treat, take a look at how some of these studies measure "aggression". My favorite was where they used the volume of hot sauce poured into a cup as the measure of aggression. Hopefully they've come up with some better ways of measuring it since then.

Anderson and Bushman never met something that didn't cause "aggression." And in the several studies coauthored by Anderson that I have read I have not seen a definition of what they mean by aggression. I remember one mentioning "raising your voice."

Then the news media just reads the abstract and says "a new study shows videogames make you violent!"

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#45

Post by thepete2 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #25
Darmody wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why it's so important to let them play. They end up figuring out a lot of important things by themselves that it would be almost impossible otherwise.

It's kind of like watching kids invent society. Really quite fascinating to watch.

who knows, maybe they come up with something better

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#46

Post by CiceroCiceronis »

hliyan wrote: post #12

Perhaps in the case of some individuals, there may even be a negative link: finding a non-destructive outlet for violent tendencies. I recall seeing a recent article (the title and site escapes me) that posits something similar with regards to the rise of internet pornography and a seeming reduction in serial killings.

Probably not the article you were referring to, but I’m reminded of this interesting piece I discovered the other day; https://jacobitemag.com/2018/04/24/uncanny-vulvas/

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#47

Post by vsareto »

chillwaves wrote: post #22
emteycz wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People with ADHD are very likely to find themselves abusing drugs, or videogames. Not even dopaminergic drugs are causing ADHD, so why would games? Or what do you want to study? Yes, people with ADHD are likely to abuse games, that's well established.

Why is the prevalence of kids addicted to video games on the rise? People are too quick to say "causation/correlation" but often times there is overlap. One can encourage the other.

Hot take, but:

1. more games being produced because the industry is larger and the barrier of entry was reduced

2. more and easier ways to access them: free-to-play models, relatively stable $60 top-end price even after 2 decades of inflation

3. more socially acceptable and includes more than the nerdy kids from ~20 years ago. You could get bullied for playing EverQuest when I was a kid.

4. streaming platforms complements it and probably encourages playing games more often

5. more "addiction innovation" through game mechanics

6. maybe a long shot, but both parents often working now means less time spent with kids

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#48

Post by thatguy0900 »

gww wrote: post #11
chillwaves wrote: post #7

Can we do a study on a link between video games and ADHD or dopamine deficiency? https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/adhd-and-video...

This is entirely my own experience but the friends I had in high school/university always clocked in way more hours in WoW than I could doing repetitive tasks such as reputation grinding, crafting, dailies, raiding etc. I always wondered if it was something to do with ADHD or possibly the medications they took. The latter seems less likely as they played even more when they were off their meds.

I took add meds in high school, they made me obsessed with yugioh. It was very strange, I didn't really like the game much when I wasn't on them, but as soon as I started back up I would spend all day theory crafting new decks

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#49

Post by abfan1127 »

Ensorceled wrote: post #24
Waterluvian wrote: post #14

Somewhat Tangential: Without any instruction my 2 and 4 year olds know how to turn things into weapons to beat each other with. Like puppies they seem to be testing limits to rough play. What surprised me is what happened when I didn't intervene: a few times the older one completely dominated and got his way. But more often than not the older one displayed empathy and tried to apologize and give kisses and give the y…

> I think kids have more ability to self regulate than we typically treat them as having. This "kids need adult supervision" is a relatively new thing, we used to be sent out to play as kids for HOURS (be home by dinner) and ran the woods and parks or played murderball (soccer with tackling) and other forms of roughhousing, all without serious mayhem. Parents would let us "work it out" if there was a fight.

I emphasize "work it out" so often with our kids.

Funny story. my 4yo was playing with the neighborkids around the same age. the neighbor girl came to me to tattle, saying they weren't sharing. I told her you need to work it out with them, use your words and manners. Clearly not the result she was looking for, she turned and yelled "He said you have to share!" I clarified with the other kids "that's not what I said! Work it out!"

Re: Ten year study: No link between violent video games and aggressive behavior

#50

Post by sjg007 »

dfsegoat wrote: post #42
Ensorceled wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think kids have more ability to self regulate than we typically treat them as having. This "kids need adult supervision" is a relatively new thing, we used to be sent out to play as kids for HOURS (be home by dinner) and ran the woods and parks or played murderball (soccer with tackling) and other forms of roughhousing, all without serious mayhem. Parents would let us "work it out" if there was a fight.

Having grown up in the manner you describe, and being a parent of several young kids - I do find the prospect of them having a similar childhood pretty terrifying. I am forever thankful for a childhood like that - but letting my kids run amok in this day and age for hours brings me a lot of anxiety. It is an interesting paradox that makes me a bit sad. edit: for the record, we have them in wrestling / jiu jitsu - so…

What makes you anxious about it?
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