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Video
games and aggression linked says study A Stanford University study found that when Grade 3 and Grade 4 children's television and video game consumption were reduced to under seven hours per week for 20 weeks, their verbal aggression decreased by 50 per cent and their physical aggression decreased by 40 per cent. If kids are accessing games like the highly popular Grand Theft Auto, it is no wonder why. As a Grand Theft Auto player, you are a convict, with mob bosses to meet using public telephones along your journey. You are stealing cars for the mafia's part shop. You are a sniper on a rooftop, victimizing people at random. ____________________ The game just described could legally be played by a boy or girl in grade 3 or 4, nine years of age or even younger. Mike Dyer is a long-time video game fan. He says he is not attracted only to the violence in video games. "It has to be a good game, first and foremost," he says. "Look at NHL 2003," Dyer says. "It has checking and fighting but I've played hockey and that's the way it really is." Dyer also points to a game called Civilization. "You start during early times in world history, learning about it and architecture; you learn about electricity and other practical stuff. And, yes, you have battles, too, but it's not all violence," Dyer says. Currently, there is a rating system designed to
protect children, but it has no legal teeth, according to Todd Kralik,
owner of GamePower, a Peterborough game retailer. Kralik says more than half the video games he gets into his store depict some level of violence. But unlike the movies, there is no legal imperative to stop children from seeing these games. Kralik's store's membership policy acts as a filter of sorts, in terms of who gets access to what games. To get a membership at his store you have to be an adult, and that means kids can only get games with the approval of an adult. "We discuss with the family from the beginning - including taking notes on the account, right on the computer - whether or not Johnny gets to rent the M-rated games," says Kralik. "If parents don't want their kids to have M-rated games, we respect that and don't rent them out. But we can't be the parents ourselves," he maintains. Tell us about your experience with video games and behaviour. Email peaceful@newsroom5.com |
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