Questionnaire for Adults:

1. How many hours a day does your child play video games?
2. What's the most recent game you have bought them?
3. What game do they play most often?
4. Do you ever buy your children games that are targetted at older ages eg. 15 or 18s?
5. Do you have any problems with your child playing violent video games and if so, what are the major concerns?
6. After playing violent video games, does your child behave differently and if so what happens?

Questionnaire for Children:

1. How many hours do you play video games a day?
2. What is your favourite genre of video game?
3. What are your 3 favourite video games and why?
4. Have you ever played a 15 or 18 rated game?
5. If so, what made you want to play it?
6. Do you think there should be age restrictions on games?
7. Can you see any problems that could be associated with playing violent video games?

info from www.mediaawareness.ca

Violence in general, and sexual violence in particular, is also a staple of the video game industry. The current trend is for players to be the bad guys, acting out criminal fantasies and earning points for attacking and killing innocent bystanders. Although these games are rated M, for mature audiences, it's common knowledge that they are popular among pre-teens and teenaged boys.
"As easy as killing babies with axes."(Source: Advertising copy for the game Carmageddon) For example, players in Grand Theft Auto 3 (the best-selling game ever for PlayStation 2) earn points by carjacking, and stealing drugs from street people and pushers. In Carmageddon, players are rewarded for mowing down pedestrians -- sounds of cracking bones add to the realistic effect. The first-person shooter in Duke Nukem hones his skills by using pornographic posters of women for target practice, and earns bonus points for shooting naked and bound prostitutes and strippers who beg, "Kill me." In the game Postal, players act out the part of the Postal Dude, who earns points by randomly shooting everyone who appears -- including people walking out of church, and members of a high school band. Postal Dude is programmed to say, "Only my gun understands me."
The level of violence in the gaming habits of young people is disturbingly high. In MNet's 2001 study Young Canadians In A Wired World (which found that 32 per cent of kids 9 to 17 are playing video games "every day or almost every day"), 60 per cent cited action/combat as their favourite genre. Stephen Kline of Simon Fraser University reported similar findings in his 1998 study of over 600 B.C. teens. Twenty-five per cent of the teens he surveyed played between seven and 30 hours a week and when asked for their one favourite game, their choice was "overwhelmingly" in the action/adventure genre.

facts from mediafamily.com

Effects Of Video Game Playing On Children

Positives:

Video game playing introduces children to computer technology.
Games can give practice in following directions.
Some games provide practice in problem solving and logic.
Games can provide practice in use of fine motor and spatial skills.
Games can provide occasions for parent and child to play together.
Players are introduced to information technology.
Some games have therapeutic applications with patients.
Games are entertaining and fun.

Facts:

The U.S. video game market reached nearly $10.5 billion in sales in 2005. with the projected world-wide market expected to grow to $46.5 billion by 2010 (BusinessWeek Online, 2006).
A recent report showed that 45% of heavy video game players and nearly a third of avid gamers are in the 6 to 17 year old age group (NPD Group Inc., 2006).
The Federal Trade Commission reported that 69% of unaccompanied 13-16 year-olds were able to purchase
M" rated video games from retailers (Federal Trade Commission, 2004).
Of computer and video game purchase in 2005, as reported by the NPD Group, 49% were "E" rated games, 4% were "E10+", 32% were "T" rated games, and 15% were "M" rated games (Entertainment Software Association, 2006).
A study of over 2,000 8 to 18 year-olds (3rd through 12th graders) found the 83% of them have at least one video game player in their home, 31% have 3 or more video game players in their home, and 49% have video game players in their bedrooms (Roberts, Foeher, and Rideout, 2005).
In the same study only 21% of kids reported that their parents set rules about which video games they can play, 17% reported their parents check warning labels or ratings on video games, and 12% reported they play video games they know their parents don't want them playing (Roberts, Foeher, and Rideout, 2005).

Negatives:

Over-dependence on video games could foster social isolation, as they are often played alone.
Practicing violent acts may contribute more to aggressive behavior than passive television watching. Studies do find a relationship between violent television watching and behavior.
Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative.
Game environments are often based on plots of violence, aggression and gender bias.
Many games only offer an arena of weapons, killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting.
Playing violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004). Questions have been raised about early exposure to violent video games.
Many games do not offer action that requires independent thought or creativity.
Games can confuse reality and fantasy.
In many violent games, players must become more violent to win. In "1st person" violent video games the player may be more affected because he or she controls the game and experiences the action through the eyes of his or her character.
Academic achievement may be negatively related to over-all time spent playing video games. (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004)

Questions to ask:

Is the violence rewarded or punished? What are the consequences? How graphic is the violence? Is the violence against humans or inanimate objects? Is the violence sexual?

Reasons children give for playing video games:

It's fun
Like to feel in control
Releases tension
Relieves boredom
Develops gaming skills
Feel a sense of mastery

Bottom line:

Many video games are fun and appropriate.
Violent video games may be linked to an increase in aggressive behavior.
There are many questions about the cumulative effect of video games, computers, and television.
Parents are urged to monitor video game play the same way they need to monitor television.

What to look for in choosing a game:

Be aware of advertising and marketing to children. Advertising pressure contributes to impulse buying.
Check the age ratings video game descriptors found on the box. Read other reviews (check Kidscore). Become familiar with the game.
If there are violence and sexual themes in the title and cover picture, you can assume these themes are also in the game.
Look for games involving multiple players to encourage group play.
Pick games that require the player to come up with strategies, and make decisions in a game environment that is more complex than punch, steal, and kill.
AVOID the "first person shooter", killing-machine games.

Video game ratings carry one of seven logos showing age recommendations:

EC (Early Childhood): may be suitable for ages 3+. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.
E (Everyone): may be suitable for ages 6+. May contain minimal violence, some comic mischief and/or mild language.
E10+ ( Everyone 10+): may be suitable for ages 10+. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes.
T (Teen): may be suitable for ages 13+. May contain violent content, mild or strong language, and/or suggestive themes.
M (Mature): may be suitable for persons ages 17+. May contain mature sexual themes, more intense violence and/or strong language.
AO (Adults Only): have content suitable only for adults. May include graphic depictions of sex and/or violence. Adult Only products are not intended for persons under the age of 18.
RP (Rating Pending): Titles have been submitted and are awaiting final rating.
The games will also list content descriptors describing the violence, language, tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, and sexual themes and sexual violence in the game.

Tips for Parents:

LIMIT game playing time.
CHECK the age game ratings and descriptors on the box.
USE other content sources and reviews to help you choose a game.
CHECK KidScore for parent generated game reviews.
AVOID the "first person shooter", killing-machine games.
REQUIRE that homework and chores be done before game playing.
DO NOT PUT video game consoles or computers in children's bedrooms.
PLAY AND ENJOY a game with your child; check in as your child moves into deeper levels in the game.
TALK about the content of the games. Ask your child what's going on in the game.
EXPLAIN to your children why you object to certain games.
ASK your local retailer or rental store to implement policies preventing the sale or rental of M-rated (Mature) games to children or youth.
Finally, ENCOURAGE your child to play with friends, or other activities away from the video game set.

edited proposal

i am editing my proposal as my original one is focussed on proving something and it may turn out to be impossible. A better proposal title would be, 'children and video games: what are the issues?' This means that i do not have to prove anything, however, the effects debate will still be significant to my edited` proposal and will make the new proposal very audience based. I will discuss the range of opinions which will come from:
1. kids
2. parents
3. 'experts'
4. media theorists

Children and the Media: Research from Japan

i read this article about whether the digital revolution is having a physiological effect on children. These are some of the main facts that i highlighted:

'the penetration of media into the home is, however, making it difficult to provide children with such a normal environment. If a child is exposed for long hours to, for instance, television and video games during the periods of frontal association cortex development, that experience will be wired into the brain's record of its own development, and will affect the child's subsequent perception of the environment and emotional life'

'spending long hours using media equipment like television, video game machines and computers reduces the amount of time a child spends doing physical exercises'

'the strong attraction which televison, video, video games and computers has on children has robbed them of time to exercise, to relate to others, and to use their imagination. Elemtary school children have four hours of free time every day after school, of which they spend 70-75% playin with media. This means a lack of physical exercise and fewer hours with which they spend outdoors with their freinds'

'physical movement stimulates sensory integration of the brain and lays down the basis for the higher cognitive functions'

'one of the consequences of a lack of physical activity among children is that an increased number of them may grow up without proper devlopment of sensory integration'

'another outcome of insufficient physical activity is becoming overweight'

'while the average child spent an average of two hours and forty-four minutes watching televison and playing video games, severly overweight children, those significantly above the standard weight, were spending three hours fifty-five minutes - or more than an hour longer - in front of an electronic screen'

'the fact that the number of overweight children has increased since about 1985, exactly when video games started becoming popular, however, leads us to suspect that increased media entertainment, too. has robbed children of oppurtunities for physical activity'

'in virtual reality, it is impossible to physcially experience the joy and fun of using the body or to learn to change emotional gears through human interaction'

'excessive media entertainment for healthy children indirectly hinders the development of the body - by denying the time available for real-world interaction'

'too many hours spent immersed in such a world may hinder the proper development of social skills owing to reduced physical and psycholgical interaction with real-world people'

'online interpersonal relationships can foster the social skills necessary for healthy interpersonal relationships, such as being able to understand the facial expressions of others, and cultivate empathy'

'contact with media in excess of four hours a day will lead to not only problems of overweight through lack of exercise but a variety of other problems stemming from a reduction in interpersonal interaction'

critical look at violence in video games