First person shooter video games

[We Never Know]

I still hold that first person shooter games shouldn't be played by kids. Sadly parents buy the kids the games, put them in their room to keep them out of their hair.

Heck when I play car games with my grandkids, the next time I'm driving it crosses my mind to drive a little faster, etc, but as a stable(ok somewhat stable ) adult I know better.

IMO the games main purposes are giving the perspective of using guns and shooting people.

First-person shooter games are a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the player character in a three-dimensional space.

Though more study is needed this is something to think about


Gaming Causes Poor Emotional Regulation

"One of the biggest negative effects of video games can lead you to struggle with regulating your emotions properly. Studies show that people diagnosed with Internet gaming disorder are more likely to be aggressive, depressed, and anxious.

The main mechanism that leads to those comorbidities is their inability to regulate and control their emotions, such as anger, sadness, fear, or other emotions"

Video Games and Mental Health: How Gaming Affects Your Mental Health.


The health effects of too much gaming

"Gaming has also been associated with sleep deprivation, insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders, depression, aggression, and anxiety, though more studies are needed to establish the validity and the strength of these connections. There has also been concern that exposure to the extreme violence that is commonly found in video games can desensitize teens and young adults to such violence, causing emotional problems and even leading to young people committing acts of violence."


The health effects of too much gaming - Harvard Health

 

[Revoltingest]

Oh, you're gonna get it from apologists
for The Gaming Industrial Complex.

 

[We Never Know]

Oh, you're gonna get it from apologists
for The Gaming Industrial Complex.

Of course. Most everyone are all for studies unless they don't align with what they want.

 

[Debater Slayer]

The Harvard article is unrelated to the thread title, since it's about gaming addiction (which is unhealthy regardless of age) rather than the specific type of games being played. It's also worded tentatively due to the lack of sufficient evidence for some of the correlations and concerns mentioned therein.

As for first-person shooter games, some are rated 13+, some are rated 17+, and some are for adults only. I generally trust media experts on rating boards when they say that a specific game is appropriate for kids who are 13 or older, and you won't find any FPS games rated below that. Usually, they're rated M (17+).

I also realize that some of the rating criteria are a tad too culture-specific, though. For instance, a game containing the F-bomb has to get an M (17+) rating per the ESRB, but showing some blood and a lot of shooting doesn't necessarily result in an M rating.

It should also be noted that video-game censorship is far heavier in some countries than others. Australia and Germany have notoriously stringent and uncompromising rating boards, while the US and the UK are more lenient.

There's no evidence linking FPS games to a greater propensity to carry out real-world violence, though, and most shootings we read about in the news are due to other factors such as gang violence, poverty, untreated mental illness, an unhealthy upbringing or family environment, etc.

 

[Quintessence]

The details are important.

Back when a lot of these studies were first done, there was less heterogeneity in the medium. I haven't honestly kept up on it since then and instead focused on far more pressing problems in the industry.

One of those problems is related to the presence of violence in video games and that's to think about the effects developing that content has on the artists who make it, in an industry now notorious for things like abusive levels of crunch time and sexual misconduct. This sort of disregard for their own employees becomes less surprising when you become aware of another pressing problem in the industry - the exploitation of their own customers with psychological tricks to trap you in a game's monetization schemes.

In short, the industry is pretty ugly these days in places. Dunno how much you want to dive into those other topics in this thread, though.

 

[We Never Know]

The Harvard article is unrelated to the thread title, since it's about gaming addiction (which is unhealthy regardless of age) rather than the specific type of games being played. It's also worded tentatively due to the lack of sufficient evidence for some of the correlations and concerns mentioned therein.

As for first-person shooter games, some are rated 13+, some are rated 17+, and some are for adults only. I generally trust media experts on rating boards when they say that a specific game is appropriate for kids who are 13 or older, and you won't find any FPS games rated below that. Usually, they're rated M (17+).

I also realize that some of the rating criteria are a tad too culture-specific, though. For instance, a game containing the F-bomb has to get an M (17+) rating per the ESRB, but showing some blood and a lot of shooting doesn't necessarily result in an M rating.

It should also be noted that video-game censorship is far heavier in some countries than others. Australia and Germany have notoriously stringent and uncompromising rating boards, while the US and the UK are more lenient.

There's no evidence linking FPS games to a greater propensity to carry out real-world violence, though, and most shootings we read about in the news are due to other factors such as gang violence, poverty, untreated mental illness, an unhealthy upbringing or family environment, etc.

IMO profits outweigh everything else.
Example.. cigarettes which denied things for years, then finally admitted the health risks but are still freely sold as long as you're old enough to ruin your health.

"WASHINGTON - Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to two studies appearing in the April issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Furthermore, violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor, say the researchers.

"One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games," said psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., and Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. "The other study reveals that even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants."

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2000/04/video-games

Or..

The evidence that video game violence leads to real-world aggression | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Heavens forbid your child play the first-person shooter games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; they might think they can cast spells!

 

[Heyo]

I still hold that first person shooter games shouldn't be played by kids. Sadly parents buy the kids the games, put them in their room to keep them out of their hair.

Heck when I play car games with my grandkids, the next time I'm driving it crosses my mind to drive a little faster, etc, but as a stable(ok somewhat stable ) adult I know better.

IMO the games main purposes are giving the perspective of using guns and shooting people.

First-person shooter games are a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the player character in a three-dimensional space.

Though more study is needed this is something to think about


Gaming Causes Poor Emotional Regulation

"One of the biggest negative effects of video games can lead you to struggle with regulating your emotions properly. Studies show that people diagnosed with Internet gaming disorder are more likely to be aggressive, depressed, and anxious.

The main mechanism that leads to those comorbidities is their inability to regulate and control their emotions, such as anger, sadness, fear, or other emotions"

Video Games and Mental Health: How Gaming Affects Your Mental Health.


The health effects of too much gaming

"Gaming has also been associated with sleep deprivation, insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders, depression, aggression, and anxiety, though more studies are needed to establish the validity and the strength of these connections. There has also been concern that exposure to the extreme violence that is commonly found in video games can desensitize teens and young adults to such violence, causing emotional problems and even leading to young people committing acts of violence."


The health effects of too much gaming - Harvard Health

Your articles don't support your thesis. They don't focus on FPS and they don't claim causation. In fact, I have never heard of such a study.
This comes up every now and then, especially after it has been found that a shooter has played FPS. It seems to be a convenient scapegoat.
But no study I've heard of has established causation, only correlation. I.e. the emotional problems may have led to excessive gaming, it may have been the other way around or there is a common but hidden reason. Against a causation speaks the fact that millions of people play these games without developing any symptoms.

 

[Revoltingest]

Your articles don't support your thesis.

I disagree.
The evidence that video game violence leads to real-world aggression | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

 

[Soandso]

Anything can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, and videogames aren't unique or any worse in this regard. Anyone looking to make video games into the latest scapegoat for today's problems would be wise to remember scapegoats of the past, like the satanic panic in response to D&D in the 70s-90s

Just remember, the entire world has access to these same things that we in the US do. Why don't our first world nation friends have these issues to the same degree that we do?

 

[The Hammer]

Of course. Most everyone are all for studies unless they don't align with what they want.

Your links are about the dangers of excessive gaming as far as I can tell, which is fine as gaming addiction is a thing. But, I didn't see anything about violence, FPS, or dangers of kids that play video games in appropriate and non self-destructive manners.

 

[The Hammer]

I disagree.
The evidence that video game violence leads to real-world aggression | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

"The meta-analysis does tie violent video games to a small increase in physical aggression among adolescents and preteens."

^ This doesn't seem to be as big of an issue as this below.

"Results showed that only football players and wrestlers were significantly more likely to get involved in a serious fight than other athletes. In fact, they were 40% more likely to be aggressive, even off the field. Athletes of other sports showed no association with aggression."

Are Certain Sports Making My Teen Aggressive?.

I think we should be more wary of violent sports, which increase violence much more significantly. These actually train you to actually be able to hit people, and efficiently.

 

[Heyo]

I disagree.
The evidence that video game violence leads to real-world aggression | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

I was still typing my answer to @We Never Know's first post, to which I replied, when he posted the second source.

And while this new source (article) supports his thesis, I question whether the studies do. And, as the article admits, I'm not the only one. We'd have to look at the methods of the underlying studies of the meta study to find their flaws.
Some possible flaws: badly randomized samples, measuring elevated aggression without a cool-off period (you'll also have more aggression after a squash match), no or bad comparison groups, bad maths (statistical analysis). And I'm not overly critical here as such flaws have been found in such studies.

 

[F1fan]

The far right needs to classify violent video games as "woke" so that are motivated to ban them. But then, these are kids who will be in the market for guns when they are barely old enough, and an heavily armed America is what the far right wants. More mass shootings from emotionally unstable youth? That's the price we pay for freedom.

I was still typing my answer to @We Never Know's first post, to which I replied, when he posted the second source.

And while this new source (article) supports his thesis, I question whether the studies do. And, as the article admits, I'm not the only one. We'd have to look at the methods of the underlying studies of the meta study to find their flaws.
Some possible flaws: badly randomized samples, measuring elevated aggression without a cool-off period (you'll also have more aggression after a squash match), no or bad comparison groups, bad maths (statistical analysis). And I'm not overly critical here as such flaws have been found in such studies.

I think there is a lot of data that is incomplete. It will take many more years to get adequate data to see effects. I think even this will not reflect the influence of video games since mental health access is so limited in the USA. It may take decades to see long term effects on those using games.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

It's the very common scape goat, along with "violent" music like Metal and Rap.

 

[Heyo]

I still hold that first person shooter games shouldn't be played by kids.

While I did critique your sources, I agree with your opinion. Parents should adhere to the age restrictions given for the games.

 

[We Never Know]

Heavens forbid your child play the first-person shooter games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; they might think they can cast spells!

False equivlance. If people used Harry Potter wands to cast spells, not much would happen.

 

[We Never Know]

Your articles don't support your thesis. They don't focus on FPS and they don't claim causation. In fact, I have never heard of such a study.
This comes up every now and then, especially after it has been found that a shooter has played FPS. It seems to be a convenient scapegoat.
But no study I've heard of has established causation, only correlation. I.e. the emotional problems may have led to excessive gaming, it may have been the other way around or there is a common but hidden reason. Against a causation speaks the fact that millions of people play these games without developing any symptoms.

Its about violent video games. FPS games in IMO top the list.

 

[We Never Know]

Your links are about the dangers of excessive gaming as far as I can tell, which is fine as gaming addiction is a thing. But, I didn't see anything about violence, FPS, or dangers of kids that play video games in appropriate and non self-destructive manners.

Its about violent video games. FPS games in IMO top the list.

 

[Soandso]

False equivlance. If people used Harry Potter wands to cast spells, not much would happen.

Well... I mean elder scrolls games are very violent. They even have visceral kill animations