Method
The research was based on a small questionnaire constituting 8 questions. Key questions including: Do you think video games largely influence children’s behaviour? Do you think frequently playing video games is a major cause for health problems in children? Do you think children who paly video games very often are more likely to show aggressive behaviour? This research is designed to obtain a general knowledge of teenagers’ opinion regarding the negative effect of playing video games. So that the option that available within each answer is either yes or no. A group of 13 teenagers aged between 15-18 participated in the completion of this questionnaire. This group is consisted of six females and seven males, in which eight are video game players whereas the remaining five are non-video game players. There were certain difficulties that raised during the research, such as the limited number of participants that involved.
Results
Table 1
Game Player
Non-game Player
Female
2/7 (28%)
5/7 (72%)
Male
6/6 (100%)
0 (0%)
Table 2 participants who shown agreement with these concern (1)
Playing video games lead to Health problems
Playing video games lead to Aggressive behaviour
Female
4/7 (57%)
3/7 (43%)
Male
3/6 (50%)
3/6 (50%)
Table 3 participants who shown agreement with these concern (2)
Playing video games lead to Health problem
Playing video games lead to Aggressive behaviour
Video game Players
3/8 (38%)
4/8 (50%)
Non-video game Players
4/5 (80%)
1/5 (20%)
Table 1 shows the proportion of Game Player and Non-Game Player between female and male in this participating group. As can be illustrated that teenage boys (100%) are more interested in playing video games than girls (28%). This provides a clear outline of this group and establishes a solid basis for further analysis on exploring the distinct views that opposite sex hold on one question. Table 2 reveals the participant’s particular attitude towards certain negative effect of playing video games. It can be seen that females (57%) show greater concern about the health effect of playing video games than males (50%). On the other hand, males seems to have stronger belief in that playing video games may lead to aggressive behaviour. By comparing this result with the information presented in Table 1, it could be suggested the fact males express this concern about aggressive behaviour effect could be due to their experiences with playing video games. Finally, Table 3 provides a clearer results by converting and combining the information that appeared in Table 1 and Table 2 into the same table. As the results displayed, Non-video game players (80%) possess greater concern on health effect than video game players (38%). Moreover, the results are in reverse in regards of aggressive behaviour effect (video game players: 50% ; non-video game players 20%).
Discussion
This research highlights the different attitudes teenagers hold towards the negative effects of playing video games. It can be shown from the result section, teenage females are inclined to pay more attention on the health effect of playing video games, whereas the males are more concerned with the aggressive behaviour effect aspect. This result might be associated with the practical experiences of playing video games. By looking at the findings on the difference between game player and non-game player, the result uncovers the fact that non-game player holds stronger caution regarding the negative effect of playing video games. Due to the limited number of participants involved this research, these results might not be precise enough to demonstrate the conclusion that non-game players shown more concern on negative effect than game players. However, this conclusion in fact comprised with part of the results presented in a government research project called “Computer games and Australians Today”, which was conducted by OFLC (Office of Film and Literature Classification) between 1995-1999 to show the deficiency in current Australian video game regulation(OFLC, 2000). After the completion of the third stage of this project – “National telephone survey” involved 1310 people in total – one of the major findings is uncovered as “Most people associate positive feeling such as enjoyment, happiness, exhilaration, relaxation and challenge, with playing computer games”(OFLC, 1999). It could be suggested that this is the major reason game players are less sensitised with the negative effect of playing video games than non-game players, game players find enjoyment in playing video games rather than being negatively effected by it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this research report is aiming to open a distinct perspective in regards of the studies on negative effects by investigating teenagers’ opinion on this topic. Teenage group is not only a major group of customers that involved in video game industry, but also a large number of this group are directly involved in the experience of playing video games. By studying their attitude towards video game effect will enable us to obtain more precise account of this topic. Furthermore, this study of teenage attitude could be extended, such as narrowing the definition of health problem into particular categories. Teenage attitude studies towards video game effect will benefit us as it is an access to explore on the profound understanding of negative effect studies.
References:
Ko, Marnie. 2000. “Mortal Konsquences” Alberta Report. Vol 27, No 2 pp47-48.
Larkin, Marilynn. 2000. “Violent video games increase aggression” The Lancet. Vol 355, No 9214 pp1525.
Office of Film and Literature Classification. 1999. “Executive Summary” [www.oflc.gov.au] Accessed on 3 September, 2000.
Society for the Advancement of Education. 2000. “Can Video Games Lead to heart Disease?” USA Today. Vol 128, No 2660, pp8.
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Student Name: Julia PU Student No.: 30646723 Unit: EAP101
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Class: Thursday 2-4pm W5C 210 Tutor: Dr Alan Jones