Video Games Video Games and and ChildrenChildren

James DaltonFall 2009

Separate from traditional media

They are separate from television or movies because they allow players to become a part of the action rather that just passively viewing it

Users can manipulate movements and environments There seems to be a divide within the gaming industry,

games tend to be purely educational or meant to be entertaining

Educational games are usually made for children There are advantages and disadvantages to children that

play video games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsMFsdS3aqU&feature=related

Violence and aggression

There are many opinions and studies on this subject May teach kids of different ways to be violent and ways to

get away with it Repetition of violent acts may cause violent behavior Aggressive or violent kids may be attracted to violent games Blurs the line between real and fiction With out an adults explaining to kids that it is not ok to act

like this in public they may not understand what is acceptable conduct

Catharsis Theory – Emotional release from viewing violent acts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH38gqvPUuA

Social Interaction

MMOG and MMORPG have features that can let kids talk to others

Within the game socially

Club penguin – Offers a safe chat mode where kids can select their comments from a menu. Filtering within the game prevents swearing and personal information from being divulged

- Criticized for teaching kids consumerism – earn coins within

the game and spend them on virtual products

Interaction with technology

Interacting with games and computers at a young age will help kids with becoming familiar with technology early

Interactive pets Webkinz – a new generation of toy that kids buy from a

store then use a code to access the website where they are able to take care of the pet In various ways like improving its health

Motor Skills and Spatial Cognition

Studies show that there is a correlation between the development of motor skills and video game use

Nintendo Wii is a great tool for strengthening hand eye coordination

Spatial Cognition - concerned with the acquisition, organization, utilization, and revision of knowledge about spatial environments. These capabilities enable humans to manage basic and high-level cognitive tasks in everyday life. Numerous disciplines work together to understand spatial cognition in humans and in technical systems.

Addiction

A 2007 Harris Interactive survey suggest that gaming addiction is on the rise

Nationally, 8.5 percent of youth gamers (ages 8 to 18) can be classified as pathological or clinically "addicted" to playing video games.

Most youth play video games and many feel that they may be playing too much.

Nearly one-quarter (23%) of youth say they that have felt "addicted to video games", with about one-third of males (31%) and a little more than one in ten females (13%) feeling "addicted.

" Forty-four percent of youth also report that their friends are addicted to games. With nearly 8 in 10 American youth (81%) playing video games at least one time per month, including 94 percent of all boys playing, this certainly raises concerns about video game addiction.

Video game addiction is not part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18joS1IP2oc

Addiction…

My social experiment

I asked my roommates a couple of simple questions while they were playing video games too see how they would answer me

Both my roommates have played videogames since childhood

The questions:- What classes they had next week - Was temple on a mon-fri or mon-wed schedule next week

-Both of my roommates were immersed in the game and didn’t break eye contact when asked the questions.

-The first time I asked each question they responded with one word

-The second time they seemed to understand the questions but had a hard time coming up with a legitimate answer

Physical effects

obesity video-induced seizures. postural changes muscular and skeletal disorders: such as tendonitis, nerve

compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tangential Learning

Learning by being exposed to something that the user might already enjoy.

Example: - WW2 games - using dead space - loading screens - databases within games - referential objects in game that are more obvious may clue

users that other things within the game are “real”

Questions

Do aggression and violence in games cause aggression and violence in children or are aggressive and violent children attracted to those types of games?

Do you think video game companies should be more responsible by create games that are educational and entertaining?

What gaming system or platform do you think is most beneficial to children.

Computer, Wii, PS3, XBox360