An article from the psychcentral blog virtually destroyed the idea that American teenagers that play video games are socially inactive and more prone to violence. The Pew Internet and American Life Project conducted a national survey, and the results disproved virtually all of the negative stereotypes about teens and videogames.
As an avid videogame player with lots of experience in many different types of games, I knew from the start that virtual games and physical violence had no correlation. When I'm playing a 'violent' game, I'm not fantasizing about blowing up the school or running over pedestrians. The thought that someone could think that violent gaming leads to violent actions simply astounds me (although I can only speak for myself).
The survey's results only back up my ideas. Virtually all of America's teenagers have reported playing some kind of videogame. Now, if every teenager in America were playing games, then why hasn't America drowned in social inactivity and rampant violence? The answer is simple: because there's no correlation between this digital medium and social disorder.
If anything, the video game industry has actually improved the lives of young adults. The survey reported vast amounts of social interactions among many different types of videogame players. About half of those surveyed reported to playing games in which they learn about moral, ethical, and social issues. And while our nation may be doing poor econimically, the videogame industry shows no signs of economic trouble.
I believe that the debate over video games and their effect on young teenagers has gone a long way, but is almost over. With the Pew Internet and American Life Project's survey results, it's only a matter of time before others can accept the fact that videogames are okay.
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3 comments:
I agree that for the vast majority of teens, video games don't cause them to become sadistic killers. I think that there are just a handfull of nuts who decided that they can behave in real life the same way they see characters act in games. Now all teens get stereotyped as "wannabe murderers" acting out our violent tendencies through video games.
Also, people have been watching movies for a long time,right? There are tons of popular movies that have some violence. But when "moving pictures" were first introduced, kid didn't weird out and start shooting themselves or each other and I don't think that video games have had such an effect either.
Wow, my post is over the exact same subject, and I could not agree with you more. Gaming is definitely a social acitivity; many of the greatest games are incredibly boring unless they are played with others. This study is a great way to break through the negative stereotypes that face serious gamers.
I agree. There is no significant correlation between video game violence and actual violence. People need to stop hating on video games!
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