Task 7 The Issues

Violence

The research, led by psychologist Christopher Ferguson and published in the Journal of Communication, not only found that there was no link between violent media and behavior but also questioned the methodology of previous studies suggesting the two were related. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/longterm-us-study-finds-no-links-between-violent-video-games-and-youth-violence-9851613.html

Violence in video games has inspired a massive debate About whether or not video games can cause violence in kid, in my own opinion, if parents actually enforced the rule of the age rating there would be no problem with violence in video games

Rating

"Minors want mature games, and publishers know this. Take, for example, Bungie’s conclusion to the adventures of Master Chief, Halo 3. The ESRB rating cites Blood and Gore, Mild Language, and Violence as justification for a Mature rating." http://www.gatheryourparty.com/2012/05/03/issues-with-game-ratings/

Rating games should really be more enforced, the amount of younger games that come on 18+ games floods the amount of people who are over 18, this is also an issue due to younger games having a bigger influence on mature games, as parents give the games to kids without reading the age rating, then there attacking the company for have made a inappropriate game just makes he parents look bad. If you could in game have to confirm your age rating would be more suited for larger game franchises.

Education

"The fact is that many video games can offer an enriching, even educational experience for children. In today’s high-tech world, it is clear that the more comfortable your child is with technology, the better equipped he or she will be to stay on top of the fast-moving tech world."http://www.education.com/magazine/article/benefits-video-games/

Education in video games is already here, even in the most unlikely of video games, for instance MineCraft - in this world you create anything you wish, this brings out he imaginative in kids, and can also teach them about the world, it can give them social skills that they on there own probably wouldn't learn in a day to day basis.

Stereotyping

"Issues regarding race and ethnicity are typically avoided in many discussions, because people fear being portrayed as a racist. Instead of voicing their opinions, most people are content to pretend that racism doesn’t exist." http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/28/racial-stereotypes-in-video-games-how-do-we-change-them/

Stereotyping in games from my opinion is wrong not in the sense that it shouldn't happen, but that it's already there and it doesn't always mean its always a bad thing, When you call someone a "Kid" you are giving them a stereotype, not all stereotypes mean something bad, saying for example when you start yelling "go back to your own country" then your giving them a racial stereotype that can offend someone.

Addiction

"The problem of video game addiction isn’t as simple as playing too much or really enjoying video games. Addicted gamers played video games twice as much as casual gamers (24 hours a week), are more than twice as likely to have ADD/ADHD, get into more physical fights, and have health problems caused by long hours of game play (e.g, hand and wrist pain, poor hygiene, irregular eating habits). Many need treatment to improve their academic performance and return to normal functioning." http://www.video-game-addiction.org/video-game-addiction-articles/new-facts-about-video-game-addiction-problem-more-widespread-than-expected.htm

Coming back to the issue of parents being the main problem with kids in video games they have the control to stop there kids at anytime from playing to long, The Addict stereotype does not apply to everyone who gets it the person could just get really into a game then not realize how long they have been playing, this gives them the addict title, even if they never do that again.