Definitional Argument Kristie - Final

Cover:

Children of all ages play all kinds of games. From preschool to nursing homes and board games to baseball. Let's take some time to explore the different views of how specifically video games have an effect on children as they develop into adults. We'll review different studies and the how the same information can be interpreted when looking at the outcome from different angles. This information is valuable to moms and dads, teachers and psychologists and even video game developers and marketing agencies. Ultimately, video games have their good and bad aspects, yet overall can have a positive impact when used in the right atmosphere. The best part of the information we will review is the fact that we will take time to explore both opinions and views and explore the possibility that both have value in the long run. After taking the first set of feedback from my peers, I genuinely valued the reminder that I should read my piece out loud to grasp the "read-ability" of the information and point I want to make. Because I don't have too much of my own personal experience with video games, I pulled most of my information from research and studies done over time and the results of those studies. I feel that I was able to balance the information and report both sides and opinions and want to make sure that my audience has a fair opportunity to create their own judgment from the information that is presented.

Childish Games

Kristen Parkhurst

ENC 3310, Spring 2009

It seems like everyone has an opinion about the effect of gaming on children. The internet is full of information, statistics, case studies and psychological examinations from experts to active parents and teachers. Media plays a large part on how we develop and what we will become. Business Week reported that Americans spent over $21 billion purchasing video games in 2008. This was compared to an estimated $18 billion in 2007. Studies show that a large percent of these games are played by children. With this number on the rise, we can afford to ask the question, “How do these games affect our children”. Let’s take the time to review some of the pros, the cons and the questions that come along with both.

Games are played by children of all ages, from preschool to high school. Yes, children play video games as early as preschool. Although they may lack the motor skills needed to play some of the video games that use a controller, this does not mean that video games for preschoolers do not exist. Studies show that children ages 2-5 play video games for 28 minutes a day on average (Gentile 2004). Most games created for this age are educational and need some sort of supervision. Every gaming company has something for the preschool child. From Play Station to Nintendo, games offer every famous character. Kids can count and learn numbers with Elmo, sing along with Blue’s Clues or build with the ever famous Lego’s. As children grow older, the number of gaming hours increases, but the number of educational games played decreases. As early as 2005, The National Institute of Media and Family reported a study of 2000 8-18 year-olds. The found that 83% of these 3rd to 12th graders have at least 1 video game system in their home and almost 50% had one in their room (mediafamily.org). As the number of gaming hours increase so do the gaming options.

Gaming companies create games for boys and girls with every interest imaginable. Not only do boys and girls play different types of games, but on average they play different amounts of games. Pediatrics for Parents reported that for the elementary and middle school ages, boys play 13 hours of video games per week while girls play 5.5 hours per week (Gentile 2004). Johannes Fromme, a professor at the University Of Magdeburg, Germany published an article on http://gamestudies.org in 2003. He was able to report on what games are preferred by boys and girls. The outcome was similar to the common traits or habit differences between boys and girls. Girls prefer activity games and games that solve problems or puzzles while boys prefer action and sports games. So, the question is, how do these games affect our children?

Different types of associations have been established to support the management, marketing and selling of the home gaming industry. To provide ratings on the different types of games available today, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was established in 1994. The ratings range from EC – Early Childhood to AO – Adults Only. Although games do not have to be rated, most games in the United States and Canada choose to be rated by this organization. In addition, most retailers in the United States not only post the ESRB rating scale, but enforce it when selling their products to customers of different ages. The ESRB has a helpful active website, www.ESRB.org that can be used for many options. The ESRB website lists the actual ratings, has Parental Resources, answers FAQs for retailers, game creation companies and parents as well as gives the game creation companies the access to register their games to be rated. The Entertainment Software Association (www.theesa.com) was also established in 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and changed to its current name in 2003. The ESA is “dedicated to serving the business and public affair needs of the companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers and the Internet.” The Entertainment Merchant Association (www.entmerch.org), established in 1997 has a mission statement of “To protect the right to sell and rent entertainment software; promote the sale and rental of entertainment software; and provide a forum engaged in the sale and/or rental of entertainment software. Each of the associations listed are non-profit associations or organizations.

So, the ESRB rates the different types of games available. What kinds of games are there and how do they affect our children? With my personally limited gaming experience, I get my gaming information from friends and colleagues. The most popular types of games are sports games, music and entertainment or fighting games. With fighting games being some of the most popular games available and played, the effects of violent games on children is probably the most controversial topic debated. Child psychologists are passionate about the studies that show increased violence in children who play video games compared to those who do not. On the other side of the argument, the ESA conducts studies to combat the negative press and data presented by different media.

The level of violence is determined by the ESRB Ratings. Even the second lowest rating of “E” has “mild violence” included. Is this information taken into account by those who read fact like, “A majority of 4th to 8th grade children prefer violent games” and “Almost all (98%) of pediatricians believe that violent media have a negative effect on children” (Gentile 2004)? To deflect these claims, The ESA reminds us that common sense overcomes the effect of violent video games and human nature wins out in the end. They claim that blaming violent video games for violent acts is a convenience, simplistic and is out and out wrong. EAS has retaliated with statistics such as, “Violent crime, particularly among the young, has decreased dramatically since the 1990’s. During this same period of time, video games have steadily increased in popularity and use, exactly the opposite of what one would suspect if there was a causal link.” This is just one of the hot topics in the great gaming debate.

Another popular argument is the overall health of the avid gamer and the increased popularity of video games. The National Institute of Media and Family reported that in 2005, children ages 8 to 18 spent more time (44.5 hours per week) in front of a computer, television and game screen than any other activity in their lives except for sleeping. In 2006, The American Obesity Association estimated that 30.3% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 are overweight with more than 15% reaching an obese weight. The numbers are similar for ages 12 to 19. Even the ESA comments on the importance of health and physical activities. Tighter school budgets have decreased Physical Education classes in our schools. More serious medical issues have increased over the years as well. The American Obesity Association determined that Type II Diabetes has increased over the past decade. Other medical issues include Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and even seizures. With all of our time in front of a game, computer or TV, children don’t play outside as much. It is really because they are preoccupied with the games or do the games cause so much violence that it is no longer safe to go outside and play?

Recently, the gaming community has responded to this increase in health awareness. One of the most popular gaming systems today is the Nintendo Wii. The Wii gets the gamer out of their seat and physically participating in a virtual game. Wii recently even came up with their Wii Fit set of games. These games include simple activities like walking or complex games of soccer that the gamer can play with a friend online. Either way, Wii burns calories and reverses the stagnant still gamer. Exercise has been replaced with “Exergames” (www.theesa.com). Even before the Wii gaming system became popular, most gaming consoles (Nintendo, Play Station and Xbox) had a games available called Dance Dance Revolution (better known as DDR to those fanatics). DDR is a game that is played on a platform or mat that consists of different colored arrows or boxes for the gamer to step on. The gamer’s goal it to step on the right color arrow or box at the same time as the music beat. This popular game is played in arcades and homes across the states. YouTube has clips of DDR prodigies, parties have the DDR theme and arcades have contests. This is a great way for the avid gamer to incorporate their daily recommended exercise into their favorite pass time. As always, every great argument has a rebuttal. With adults (big kids) having busier schedules, could our obesity problem come from games alone, or does the convenient world we live in have something to do with it? Less time to prepare food causes us to feast on fried foods and sweets that if not burned when playing outside turn directly into the obese problem we have today.

The last popular argument I’m going to touch on is going to be the great debate of the effect of games on personal intelligence. From the National Institute of Media and Family saying that children who play an excessive amount of video games have problems keeping up with school assignments to Pediatrics for Parents recommending that children not spend more than a few hours per day in front of an electronic screen (for non-academic use), both indicate that the overall effect of gaming on children is the potential decreased ability to learn. In 2005, ABC News reported a few finds of their own; they reported a statement by Steven Johnson, a social critic and author of the controversial book, “Everything Bad Is Good for You”. Steven said, “All these things that have long been assumed to be rotting our brains, there might be this hidden benefit.” Most games involve problem solving, rewards for completed actions and repetitive actions. This is the common goal of teaching. Once you learn a step in life and rewarded for that action, you repeat that action to receive more rewards. ABC News continues to report that in recent studies, participants were asked to count the number of squares or objects on a flashed screen for 20 seconds with gamers having a 13% higher accuracy rate over non-gamers. Games have been created to teach everything from health awareness to business strategies to surgery. Having to strategize and analyze different situations from different perspectives creates quicker response time, increases awareness and attention to detail.

So what are those pros and cons of being actively involved with video games? Well, the use of video controllers can increase hand to eye coordination. This is great as companies move to increase automated productions, but this could also increase the possibly of someone developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Video games call for increased concentration for an extended period of time. This can improve a our overall ability to actively concentrate on one subject for an extended period of time, however this could also decrease our ability to stay tuned in to our surroundings or create the ability to only concentrate on one activity at a time. With the job market calling for multi-tasking activities, this could cause issues in the long run? Gaming calls for problem solving while increasing reaction time and awareness, yet for the most part, keeps us stationary and inactive physically. So now that we’ve heard the pros and the cons, the ups and the downs, the rights and the wrongs, at the end of the day what do we conclude? It almost seems like we have created more questions as we were looking for the answers. We will probably never answer that question of who is right and who is wrong. My conclusion is that all good things in life need balance. A well balanced life with games of strategy and analysis to keep our brains healthy and physical fitness and activities to keep us on our toes and ready to spring to action will help develop our children into the healthy big kids we are today.

Lydia's Peer Grading

ESRB Content Descriptors

Alcohol Reference - Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages

Animated Blood - Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood

Blood - Depictions of blood

Blood and Gore - Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts

Cartoon Violence - Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted

Comic Mischief - Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor

Crude Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “bathroom” humor

Drug Reference - Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs

Fantasy Violence - Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life

Intense Violence - Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death

Language - Mild to moderate use of profanity

Lyrics - Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music

Mature Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references

Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity

Partial Nudity - Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity

Real Gambling - Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency

Sexual Content - Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity

Sexual Themes - References to sex or sexuality

Sexual Violence - Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts

Simulated Gambling - Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency

Strong Language - Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity

Strong Lyrics - Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use in music

Strong Sexual Content - Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity

Suggestive Themes - Mild provocative references or materials

Tobacco Reference - Reference to and/or images of tobacco products

Use of Drugs - The consumption or use of illegal drugs

Use of Alcohol - The consumption of alcoholic beverages

Use of Tobacco - The consumption of tobacco products

Violence - Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment

Violent References - References to violent acts

References:

National Institute of Media and Family @ http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtmlAssociation

American Psychological Association @ http://www.psychologymatters.org/videogames.html

Game Studies @ http://gamestudies.org/0301/fromme/

Pediatrics for Parents, June, 2004 by Douglas A. Gentile @ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_6_21/ai_n9772319

Business Week, The Associated Press January 15, 2009, 7:52PM ET @ http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95NTMEG3.htm

Peer Reviews

Earl's Review