Computer games have become an indispensable part of society since the 1980s. It all started very simply, but it has now grown into a billion-dollar industry with more money than the film industry. Young and old, man, woman, children; everyone plays video games. The market is responding to this with a wide range of games in a variety of genres. If children are given complete freedom, they come into contact with things that are inappropriate for their age group. Since the beginning, a lot of research has been done on the influence that video games have on children. The results? According to a large body of research, video games are bad for children. But, according to an equally large proportion of studies, video games actually have a positive influence on children. Some of the (contradictory) conclusions of the different studies:
- Games make children aggressive
- Games make children more social
- Eye-hand coordination improved
- Children are socially isolated by games
- Children become less aggressive through games
- Problem solving skills improved through games
And we can continue like this for a long time. In short, the studies reveal nothing useful. This is, unfortunately , often due to the financiers of the studies. Many investigations into games are either conducted by fierce opponents or by fierce proponents. As a result, the studies often come out very positive or very negative.
Fortunately, there have also been a number of studies in the past few years that were less objective and quite thorough. One of these studies comes from the BBFC, the British film classification (the British version of the Kijkwijzer). A number of interesting conclusions have been drawn, including:
- Parents are willing to let their children play violent games because ,they’re just games.,
- People who play games almost unanimously agree that violence in games has not made them more violent, nor have they seen this in friends who play violent games.
- Children find violence in games too scary, especially in games for adults.
- Parents are not very concerned about violence in video games. Their children, according to them, are stable enough not to be affected by the violence.
- Gamers find violence in films and television more serious and realistic than violence in video games.
- Children allow themselves to be forced to play certain games by peer pressure. The amount of negative press a game receives influences this.
- Parents are more concerned about the people their child comes into contact with in chat rooms and during online games.
From these conclusions we can see that children often find violence in games too scary, but they often play these games anyway because their friends play these games. Their parents let them play those games because ,it’s just a game anyway., An interesting combination of circumstances that ensures that children come into contact with games that really go too far for them.
Tips for parents
Looking at the above conclusions, we see two problems for parents. On the one hand, there is the problem that they themselves do not see the problem in violent games (which is much less the case when the parents also play games themselves). On the other hand, there is the problem that parents are (rightly) concerned about who their children interact with on the Internet. That is why I would like to give all parents the following tips:
- Children, younger children, should not play violent games. POINT!
- Don’t fool yourself by saying, ,If they don’t play it here, they play it at their friends’ house., They won’t play it if you’re there!
- If your children are a bit older (12+), you can consider letting them play violent games, but make sure you know what they are playing.
- Check out the viewing guide icons on the packaging of a game, 16+ is too violent for younger children.
- Play the games your children play yourself, or play along with them. This shows the children that you are interested in their hobbies and you can see what they are actually playing.
- Keep a close eye on what your child does on the Internet and in online games and who they interact with. You don’t let your child stroll unattended through the Amsterdam red light district, so don’t let them do this ,digitally,.
- Don’t blame the makers of the games, they only listen to what the consumer wants.
Children really enjoy games, it challenges them and can stimulate all kinds of thinking skills. So let them play (responsibly) gaming. They certainly won’t suddenly start attacking school with a machine gun.