ENG 3E/4E

According to Anderson (2003): “A well-designed video game is an excellent teaching tool. But what it teaches depends on the content. Some games teach thinking

skills. Some teach math. Some teach reading, or puzzle solving, or history […] In moderation, such games are good for youth […] You can’t simply use the game ratings, because many games rated by the industry

as appropriate for children and for teens contain lots of violence.”

By age 18, children will see 200, 000 violent acts and 70, 000 murders from the media

60% of female characters are sexualized

Nearly 2 out of 3 TV programs contain violence, averaging 6 violent acts an hour

*According to Dr. P. Jaffe and the Centre for Research of Violence Against Women and Children (www.crvawc.ca)

According to Pediatric Digest, the association between media violence and aggressive behaviour is comparable to: Calcium intake and bone mass; Lead digestion and lower IQ; Condom use and HIV; Smoking and lung cancer

*aggressive behaviour (emotional impulsivity) is more so related/linked to media (violence) consumption in households that have no set out rules about media usage

Aggression: behaviour intended to harm

Violence: severe forms of physical aggression (i.e. assault, stabbing)

Media Violence: media portrayals of intentionally harmful behaviour directed at: Real or imaginary Human or non-human

This is your creative, artistic side

This is your logical, rational, and predictive side

In essence, the left brain gets turned off; moreover, logical implications no longer have meaning—they just don’t understand why this bad behaviour is wrong

The written word must travel through the eye, then to be decoded, and finally to the emotional center;

The spoken word must travel through the ear, then to be decoded, and finally to the emotional center;

Unfortunately, the visual word/images go straight from the eye and into the emotional center, completely bypassing the decoding station.

There is a significant relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviour

Immediately after consuming some media violence, there is an increase in aggressive behaviour tendencies because of several factors:1. Aggressive thoughts increase2. Aggressive (or hostile) emotion increases3. Heart rate increases, which tends to increase

dominant behavioural tendency4. Youth learn new forms of aggressive behaviours

by observing them, and will reenact them almost immediately afterwards if the situational context is sufficiently similar

*According to Dr. Craig Anderson, Professor of Psychology and President of the International Society for Research on Aggression

1. It creates more positive attitudes, beliefs and expectations regarding aggressive solutions to interpersonal problems (between people); in essence, youth come to believe that aggression is normal, appropriate, and likely to succeed;

2. It leads to the development of aggressive ways of thinking about how the social world works (always paranoid or hostile);

3. It decreases the cognitive accessibility of nonviolent ways to handle conflict; it basically becomes harder to even think about nonviolent solutions to conflict;

4. It produces an emotional desensitization to aggression and violence (violence must be more extreme in order to react to the negative imagery or content—nothing seems to shock the individual anymore);

5. Repetition increases learning of any type of skill or way of thinking, to the point that it becomes fairly automatic to attain these new skills (i.e. holding a gun in a shooting game, or the timing between rounds)

Further research suggests that aggression results from exposure to violence, despite what gender or age

Short-term exposure increases aggression immediately

Long-term exposure increases aggression into adulthood

Premise: to engage in theft of automobiles, robbery of stores, and attain a great deal of money

What this means: you are a criminal, and if you kill enough people, steal enough cars, sell enough drugs, then you will have enough money to buy sex from prostitutes. After you are done with them then you can kill them and steal your money back.

Message: it is glorifying to engage in illegal and unethical behaviour because you are rewarded financially, as well as progressing to the next level.

Essentially it is “Wii Murder” Premise: a voice tells you what your mission is and you

must comply by carrying out the assassination What this means: it gives the illusion that you are not in

control of what is being asked of you, yet you are the one that is holding the bat or the shard of glass

Message: Wii has been associated with family games like Tennis or Bowling, so it gives the impression that this type of behaviour is “okay” or it “isn’t that bad,” thus exposing youth to murder in the first person with the hand-held controller. They then internalize those behaviours and violent images under the illusion that it is not “their” choice, so not taking responsibility for the violence

*Recent research suggests that sleep deprivation and realistic video games can cause depression and even suicide

Perhaps linked to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amongst our military combatants, as they get the illusion of control in the game to attain the sense of control in battle

*According to Lt. David Grossman Teaching Our Kids To Kill and www.killology.com

Experimental testing concluded that violence in “E” rated games (for everyone) found an increase in aggressive behaviour by 45%

“E” rated games resulted in similar effects to those “T” rated games (teens); therefore, children and adolescents increase their aggression nearly the same amount

“Otto Matic”, a game marketed to children

You can see the movements of the shooter

There is no blood shed, but you get points and collect coins for “killing the enemies”

You can shoot enemies with a variety of guns, or you can electrocute them

“Soldier of Fortune”

See the game (enemies, opponents, world) through the eyes of the shooter: you

You are in control; you are holding the gun

•Military professionals are hired to make the games more “authentic”;•Advice on wounds, blood spatter, and body position after a variety of gunshots and/or weapons used

“Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXBDkevx5lM

“This game is not harmless entertainment. It is telling a story about women and men that is dangerous. It is teaching violence against women and exposing men and boys (and

girls and women) to graphic behaviors of the worst kind”

—Dr. Karen Gill

www.thefreeradical.ca

“Host Martin Sheen and world-renowned experts take you on a frightening tour of media violence and the impact it is having on our society.

“Military expert Lt. Col.David Grossman explains how the same methods the military uses to train our soldiers to kill are being used by movies, television and video game developers to influence our children.”http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/28092420