Children and Video Games: How Much Do We Know?
Psychiatric Times
October 01, 2007 Vol. 24 No. 12
Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Eugene V. Beresin, MD
Dr Olson and Dr Kutner teach in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and are codirectors at the Center for Mental Health and Media. Dr Beresin is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program at MGH and McLean Hospital and Medical Director of the MGH Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic in Boston. The authors report no conflicts of interest concerning the subject matter of this article.
There is no shortage of hyperbole when politicians of all stripes describe the nature and effects of video games. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney proclaimed, "Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and TV and video games. The Virginia Tech shooter, like the Columbine shooters before him, had drunk from this cesspool."1 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke of the game, "Grand Theft Auto, which has so many demeaning messages about women, and so encourages violent imagination and activities, and it scares parents."2
Some researchers have echoed similar sentiments, noting that Columbine High School shooters Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold were avid computer gamers.3 Several television pundits quickly drew a link between the recent Virginia Tech shootings and video games, as well. (Ironically, Seung-Hui Cho's college roommates found it odd that he never joined them in playing video games.4)
Do these assumptions about video-game violence leading to similarly violent behavior among child and adolescent players make sense? A review of the research gives us insights into which patterns of video game play may serve as potential markers of more serious problems among children and adolescents, and which are normal or even possibly beneficial.
Additional research and case studies may shed some light on parents' concerns, such as whether video games are addictive or dangerous. Finally, we will offer recommendations on what parents can do to reduce potential risks and to maximize potential benefits of video game play. Read More.....
October 01, 2007 Vol. 24 No. 12
Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Eugene V. Beresin, MD
Dr Olson and Dr Kutner teach in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and are codirectors at the Center for Mental Health and Media. Dr Beresin is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program at MGH and McLean Hospital and Medical Director of the MGH Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic in Boston. The authors report no conflicts of interest concerning the subject matter of this article.
There is no shortage of hyperbole when politicians of all stripes describe the nature and effects of video games. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney proclaimed, "Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and TV and video games. The Virginia Tech shooter, like the Columbine shooters before him, had drunk from this cesspool."1 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke of the game, "Grand Theft Auto, which has so many demeaning messages about women, and so encourages violent imagination and activities, and it scares parents."2
Some researchers have echoed similar sentiments, noting that Columbine High School shooters Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold were avid computer gamers.3 Several television pundits quickly drew a link between the recent Virginia Tech shootings and video games, as well. (Ironically, Seung-Hui Cho's college roommates found it odd that he never joined them in playing video games.4)
Do these assumptions about video-game violence leading to similarly violent behavior among child and adolescent players make sense? A review of the research gives us insights into which patterns of video game play may serve as potential markers of more serious problems among children and adolescents, and which are normal or even possibly beneficial.
Additional research and case studies may shed some light on parents' concerns, such as whether video games are addictive or dangerous. Finally, we will offer recommendations on what parents can do to reduce potential risks and to maximize potential benefits of video game play. Read More.....
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