Do computer games make you aggressive?
Ten-year-old Eric loves computer games - like many other children and teenagers.
Normally, strategy and construction games are on his programme. This time, however, he wants to play a multiplayer shooter. In it, two teams compete against each other as virtual soldiers. The scenario is very comic-like and the characters are highly exaggerated. The violence is funny and harmless. The weapons, however, are
modelled on real ones. By looking through the scope of the sniper rifle, you can select specific areas of the body, such as the head. Is that suitable for children?
What happens when young people play such games? The topic has been the subject of controversial debate for years. In general, violence in the media has been thoroughly researched internationally. In the recent past, numerous studies have been published
with tens of thousands of test subjects have been published.
Whoever is brutal on screen is also brutal in real life? It's not quite that simple.
So you would think that a clear statement would be possible. However, it is not quite that simple. Every study design has its weaknesses. Does the participant answer honestly to the question of how they would behave in a certain situation? Is it really down to the games if someone stands out as aggressive? Or do aggressive people simply like to play violent games? How can aggression be measured? In experiments, scientists are investigating whether video gamers are more likely to inflict pain on others after playing games, for example by punishing the «victims» with a loud noise. The results show a connection between violent computer games and aggressive behaviour. On the other hand, such conditions seem very artificial. How can other factors such as the social environment or real experiences of violence be ruled out? Many studies also take into account the environment and the experience of the players. «But of course not all factors can be controlled in any study,» says Martina Zemp, a psychologist at the University of Zurich. Accordingly, the results and statements vary greatly.
Emotionally anaesthetised
According to a 2009 study by Cypriot developmental psychologist Kostas Fanti, the participants in the experiment became emotionally numb after just nine short scenes of violence.
emotional anaesthesia set in. Afterwards, they rated the scenes less negatively and their sympathy for the victims decreased significantly. In this context, a rumour that has persisted for years is interesting: The US Army uses first-person shooters, games in which the player shoots at enemies from a first-person perspective, to desensitise their recruits. Evidence
However, the only thing that can be proven is that in 1996, a modification of the commercially successful
shooter Doom with the US Navy. However, the so-called Marine Doom focussed on tactical aspects. At the end of the 1990s, the US Army finally came up with the idea of using computer games as a direct means of recruiting young people. The free series «America's Army» was therefore released for propaganda and advertising purposes, which was notable for its high degree of realism.
However, not when it comes to the visualisation of violence: here the games are significantly more moderate
than other shooters. But perhaps the depiction of violence is not so decisive. This is the conclusion of a study by the Universities of Oxford and Rochester. According to the study, it is not violent computer games that are responsible for feelings of aggression, but game mechanics that are perceived as unfair and experiences of frustration. Regardless of whether it is an action game such as «GTA V» or a casual game
like «Tetris». However, only short-term effects were investigated and the test participants were adult students.
Tips for parents
- Parents should obtain information before buying a game. A good guide is PEGI, a Europe-wide recognised system for game ratings, which issues age recommendations and content labels . Symbols are used to quickly identify the age at which a game is suitable and whether it contains depictions of violence. Regardless of this, parents know their children's level of development best and recognise how they react to certain games.
- In addition to traditional computer and video games, apps that can be downloaded to tablets and smartphones in seconds are becoming established. There is usually no age labelling here. However, many of these devices have child protection functions so that parents retain control over what is played.
- In general, active measures are preferable to restrictive ones. This means: talk to your child about media and agree rules together that they understand. In this way, you can teach them how to use games and the like in a self-determined way.
Meaningful meta-analyses
According to Martina Zemp, it is very important «to bear in mind that the results may look different for children and adolescents, as they are influenced by
developmental stage in the cognitive processing of depictions of violence and are therefore
of violence and are therefore particularly vulnerable». Meta-analyses take a more comprehensive approach than individual studies. They aim to minimise methodological weaknesses and individual hits by providing a cross-section of studies. The meta-analysis carried out by American researcher Craig Anderson in 2010 included 136
studies with over 130,000 children and young adults.
The result: violent games reinforce aggressive thoughts. They also reduce the ability to empathise. Tobias Greitemeyer and Dirk Mügge from the University of Innsbruck present a comparable result in their meta-analysis. According to them, there is an effect, but it is not particularly large. A meta-analysis by Markus Appel and Constanze Schreiner from the University of Koblenz-Landau comes to a similar conclusion. «In light of the impressive data available, the finding can be regarded as empirically well established
that violent games can contribute to increased aggressive behaviour in children and adolescents,» says Martina Zemp. However, she qualifies: «The current scientific consensus is that violence depicted in the media is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for violent behaviour.
necessary or sufficient condition for violent behaviour.»
Violent games are a risk factor for aggressive behaviour. But being male is also one.
In other words: If you shoot in a game, you don't necessarily have to do so in real life. However, in an unfavourable combination with other risk factors such as a violence-affirming social environment or real-life experiences of violence, shooting games can certainly lead to aggressive and violent behaviour. An American study by Anderson and colleagues from 2010 compiled a ranking of risk factors for delinquency in adolescence. Violence-orientated media content is ranked fifth in this list. To put this in context, the factor «male gender» is in third place in this ranking. «Poverty» comes after media content as a risk factor. Violent games are therefore one of several cogs in the wheel.
New topic of conversation
Can we end the discussion now? Certainly not. Many more studies will follow. The long-term effects in particular have not yet been sufficiently analysed.
There is also new material for discussion lurking on the horizon. The first VR glasses will be launched on the market this year. These are worn on the head and project images onto a screen
a screen close to the eye or directly onto the retina. Reality is left out of the equation. The immersion in virtual reality is incomparably deeper than when gaming in front of a screen.
in front of the screen. It remains to be seen what effects these intensive gaming experiences will have. Eric's parents will certainly be following this development with interest.
