Video gaming exists today as a symbiotic relationship among many self-preserving organisms. All must strike a gentle balance between exerting their will and killing their host. Even if others find it obsolete, the young must engage in values clarification to develop a decision-making process that fosters ethical behavior (Funk. Jeanne 1993).
More than any other aspect of these new video games, it’s the accuracy of the simulations – the carnage, the blood, and the guts – that is so advanced. Realism is the Holy Grail of the video game industry. And the latest technology leaves little to the imagination – the simulations seem less fake, and therefore more effective.
Add to this the fact that in the last few years, video game manufacturers have chosen to amplify gruesome violence (note that 49 percent of young teens indicate a preference for violent games, while only 2 percent prefer educational ones). (Funk, Jeanne 1993) to make it a mainstay in their products seems a direct result of where the television and movie industry have taken their content. What worries most parents and educators here is the desensitizing effect on-screen violence has on kids, and how it fosters a need for more graphic real-life displays of carnage and mayhem to keep kids interested. Graphically violent video games like Doom, Postal, Duke Nukem, and Mortal Kombat are games way past the curve. Some claim that these are mind control devices (Videogame- mind control?).
Author Schmitt (2004) states the many disadvantages of video games. He goes on to list several of the drawbacks of video game playing. He states in no unequivocal terms, “If pursued as a solitary activity, playing video games can decrease important social interactions with family and friends. A child’s interactions with friends may become limited to pumping them for information about hidden passageways and secret doors.” Schmitt lists several good reasons to advice people not play video games. He also not only listed that but he also listed ways to keep us from playing them altogether or how to encourage children to play more healthy activities (Schmitt 2004 p. 33-56).
In terms of the educational principles related to this issue, any teacher or coach of young people will tell you that hands-on experience is what teaches best. Repetition of movements and the hand-eye connection are invaluable for learning most skills. And especially with children, hands-on learning is usually a lot more fun and interesting than the alternatives. It is precisely this that makes interactive video games so potent a learning tool. As researcher Patricia Greenfield points out, “Video games are the first medium to combine visual dynamism with an active participatory role for the child. (Provenzo, Eugene. 1991). Video games have the distinct advantage between itself, the television and the movies – it lets you put your hands on it, aim and fire.
Thus, it is really no surprise that violent games are very habit-forming. Parents interviewed are alarmed at not just the violent images in the games, but the amount of time their children spend playing them. It proves how effective these things are. More than 60 percent of children report that they play video games longer than they intend to play. The interactive quality, the intensity of the violence, the physiological reactions, all serve to connect the player’s feelings of exhilaration and accomplishment directly to the violent images. And “good feelings keep the player wanting to play. Countless parents try desperate to keep video game play within certain time limits, but it’s a huge challenge … a parental battle they so often lose. Once kids get hooked, it’s difficult to unhook them. Both home and arcade games make extensive use of reinforcement schedules for both the acquisition and maintenance of the habit (Provenzo, Eugene. 1991).
According to Jane Healey, in her classic book Endangering Minds here are the basic elements that make video games addictive:
- The player experiences feelings of mastery and control. The less sense of power the child or teen feels in his or her life, the more this element may become important as an addictive factor. In fact, studies show that generally, boy’s preferences for violent video games are associated with low-competence – in school, in personal relationships and in general behavior. For girls, more time playing video or computer games is associated with lower self-esteem.
- The level of play is exactly calibrated to the player’s ability level. Rather than coping with the challenging problems in the real world, young people are easily drawn into following the more made-to-order sequence in video games.
- The player receives immediate and continual reinforcement, which make the games particularly addictive.
The player can escape life and be immersed in a constructed reality that seems to be totally in his or her control. (The First Fighting Game That Let You Just Be Friends).
As children and youth are playing these games for ten or more hours a week, they are not solving and negotiating conflicts with their peers, and they are missing priceless opportunities to gain needed cooperative learning and social skills. For example, if one had to look into the debate on excessive violence in video games, it will all be traced to the game Mortal Kombat. This game from Midway was a hit in 1992. Children were exposed to graphic presentations of carnage and bloody fighting that included decapitated heads, spilled blood with body organs out in the open. But since it was not yet complicated and children wanted more bloody scenes, Midway, the company responsible for creating it, designed another one called Mortal Kombat II. One can just imagines the bloody scenes in this second one. (The First Fighting Game That Let You Just Be Friends).
Indeed, these creators of bloody video games are even proud that every uppercut, jump kick and roundhouse is “far more than the first game”. Creators are happy that their new designs show arms ripped out of their sockets, characters cut in half and so on. This was done so that the young players can have a solid way of proving that one could learn the game’s myriad button combinations. Some of the disadvantages being pointed as foremost in this issue are the following:
• “If allowed to dominate your child’s leisure and study time, video games can decrease development of skills in sports, music, and art. Performance in school can be affected if reading and homework are neglected
. • If pursued as a solitary activity, playing video games can decrease important social interactions with family and friends. A child’s interactions with friends may become limited to pumping them for information about hidden passageways and secret doors.
• Violent games can give the notion that violence is normal. These games can be addicting and distracting since children’s priority will be on them and not on their studies” (Disadvantages of Video Games 2004). With video gaming, the young people’s attitude toward information is increased. There are educators who believe that these video games can be used to teach in the classrooms. There is an element of competition that makes the play a possible positive effect when carried till the classroom set-up (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction).
Being open to information means taking in a tremendous diversity of facts. Though most people only use a small fraction of what they take in, they never know until they scan everything what particular idea will prove valuable. Sometimes, people dismiss information because they can’t easily make the connection between disparate sources of knowledge. Particularly with the latest trends in technology, people can show adverse reactions to issues they can’t relate to. It’s as if people experience feelings of loss. Most are bewildered by the amount of information that flows to them, and they need a sorting mechanism to deal with that information effectively.
And one sees why it is so. The real selling point with these games is that one gets to pull the trigger; one inflicts the damage, rather than just watch someone else do it. As graphic as the violence is on TV and in the movies, it cannot quite compete with a medium where one, not an actor, can control the action. It’s a whole new level of involvement – and it can be very terrifying.
The information superhighway concept envisions the extension of digital networks into homes across the country. Telephone and cable TV companies are vying for the right to bring this service to every home. However, the economics are very complex, and the current media hype has extrapolated the possibilities way beyond what can actually happen. It will happen, but not until the cost vs. performance of networking is advanced by several orders of magnitude.
Indeed, no matter how we look at it, we are embarked on a course that leads to more and better technology. The opportunity is there for those who utilize this exciting capability. Indeed, technology continues to grow at record-breaking speeds. There has never been anything like this unprecedented level of change throughout human history. Technology shows an unbelievable level of improvement as time goes on. What we need to do is to properly assess which of these technologies have an enormous increase in our and positive effect on our children’s lives. In the end, all these makes life interesting for those of us forced to keep up. So, with all the evidence to suggest that these games are dangerous – that they are modeled after military killing simulators, that they are super violent and graphic, that the user is rewarded for killing, and that kids are playing with these games way too often – and for too long – it is particularly egregious that they are being marketed to kids, and marketed in ways that highlight all that is bad for them. What kind of message does this send?
Perhaps it is best said by another on-line ad for Kingpin that gives us a good picture of what lies ahead. “The Creators of Redneck Rampage are about to bring you a new, urban drama that finally proves that crime pay.” (Kingpin: Life of Crime). As we ourselves tolerate these games and even label them fun, we are also telling our children that slower-paced, less emotionally arousing screen fare is boring. Arouse instead of awaken; excite instead of examine; splatter instead of study – this is what we’re telling them. And they’re listening.
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Videogame- mind control? Accessed 2 Sept 2005 at:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread37141/pg1
