A new study has shown that violent video games cause emotional arousal in teens, more so than nonviolent games. Although not proven, this could have an impact on your child’s health and well-being in the long run. This study was presented yesterday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Violent video games are thought to have a different type of short term effect on brain function compared to non violent games. The kids in the study were subjected to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is a technology used to map the brain and determine brain activity in different regions.
Kids were randomly given a violent and a non violent game to play, after which they were given a list of words. Some of the words on the list were violent and written in different colors. The teens were asked to name the color of the words.
In another test the teens were asked to count objects on a screen. These tests were done to measure the attention of the subjects, while looking at brain activity.
Basically, the teens that played violent games showed less brain activity in areas that are associated with self-control, and more activity in areas linked to emotional arousal.
There is no real “result” yet to the study, aside from the fact that there is a difference in brain activity depending on the type of game a child plays. More research will be necessary to understand long term effect. As a result, there is no way to tell yet whether this temporary effect the study found is in any way connected to violent behavior.
However, kids who play violent games show less sensitivity to violent images, and are more prone to aggressive behavior. These are results we were already aware of from studies done in the past. Violent games are not proven to be unhealthy by definition, but in any way they are also not healthy. There is really only one upside to them, but it relates to all videogames, not just violent ones: another study done with videogames showed that they could distract from pain. It would not be a bad idea for doctors to set up a video game in their office for painful procedures such as shots. Parents could also take note and be a bit less stringent on their child’s game-time when the child is ill.