violence

Gaming linked to weapon-carrying in girls?

Does gaming, some wonder, turn teens into psychopaths? Or are all teens, perhaps, just a little bit, you know, someplace else?

During my regular reading of the journal Pediatrics, I happened to come across a study that sought to begin to answer some of these torrid questions.

Researchers at Yale decided that it was about time someone tried to establish concrete data around the notion that gaming affects (or doesn't) the growing mind in a stunting kind of way.

So they anonymously surveyed more than 4,000 teens and asked them about their gaming habits and other aspects of … Read more

Do you play and think about violent video games?

It reads a bit like a run-on Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy:

Men who play violent video games and are asked to think about them for a day exhibit greater aggression 24 hours later than: 1, men who play violent video games but don't think about them; 2, men who play nonviolent video games; and 3, women, even if they play violent video games, and even if they then think about those violent video games.

There is a certain "duh" factor involved in these findings, which were recently published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, … Read more

Facebook friend request gets man in jail

There is now ample reason to believe that the mere existence of Facebook may cause human beings to do things that they know they shouldn't. Such as poke people and send them dead fish, or whatever virtual beings it is that people send to each other.

Somehow, the temptation seems too great, the user interface too attractive, and the immediacy of the communication just too powerful for anyone to resist.

As evidence, might I bring you the alleged behavior of Harry William Bruder from Florida? According to a report from the Pasco Sheriff's Office, Bruder, an employee of … Read more

Study: Violent games 'harmless for vast majority'

Those who worry that violent video games are dangerous for all youths may want to hear what researchers had to say in a recent journal from the American Psychological Association.

According to the Review of General Psychology, the Texas A&M researchers examined 118 teens and found violent video games are actually quite safe for most youths to play. The only youths who shouldn't play violent video games, researchers found, are those who tend to be "highly neurotic, less agreeable, and less conscientious." Those who didn't posses those personality traits were not adversely affected by … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1214: Floppy disks and boobquakes (podcast)

Natali Del Conte joins us in the studio to discuss really important issues such as boobquake day, cartoons, and violent video games. Oh, come on, we also discuss Google's failed attempts to reinvent the mobile phone sales paradigm, unfounded causal links between violent video games and sociopathic behavior, and the dangers of colonization. Good show, guys.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1214

Google Nexus One Gone From Verizon Lineup http://jkontherun.com/2010/04/26/no-nexus-one-on-verizo/ http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-26/verizon-says-it-has-no-current-plans-to-distribute-google-nexus-one-phone.html http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20003397-251.html… Read more

Metastudy: Violent video games raise aggression

This is one of those topics for which researchers seem to have an insatiable appetite, and about which readers tend to hold strong, preformed opinions one way or the other.

But a study aggregating results from 130 research reports on more than 130,000 subjects worldwide has more breadth than most of its predecessors regarding the effects of violent video games on youths (though there is, of course, already a growing chorus of skeptics).

The conclusion of the metastudy, overseen by Craig Anderson, distinguished professor of psychology at Iowa State University and the director of Iowa State's Center for the Study of Violence? … Read more

FTC: Kids can find adult content in virtual worlds

The FTC seems to have discovered something the rest of us already knew. Kids are easily able to access adult content in virtual worlds.

A report released Thursday by the Federal Trade Commission found that minors are exposed to violent and sexually explicit content in online virtual worlds. The congressionally mandated report, "Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks," discovered that while most of the adult content appeared in virtual worlds geared toward teens and adults, some showed up on virtual sites designed for kids. Further, some of the virtual worlds for teens and adults allow or encourage … Read more

Human rights groups: No in-game war crimes

Here's one that will undoubtedly send some gamers into a craze. A study from two Swiss human rights organizations, Trial and Pro Juventute, has found that some video games depict war and battle actions that in real life would violate international human rights laws.

The study attempted to determine if the acts gamers engage in while they play violent titles would "lead to violations of rules of international law, in particular International Humanitarian Law (IHL), basic norms of International Human Rights Law (IHRL), or International Criminal Law (ICL)."

To find out, Trial and Pro Juventute picked up 20 games, including Call of Duty 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Far Cry 2, and others. It had "young gamers" play the games as three attorneys watched to find actions in games that in real life would violate rules and regulations that govern armed conflict.

The organizations said the study is not intended to "prohibit the games, to make them less violent or to turn them into IHL or IHRL training tools." Instead, the groups want to work with developers to ensure that in the future, their games observe real-life human-rights laws.

After evaluating the 20 games, the group found that in many cases, "shooter" games failed to take into consideration international humanitarian law.… Read more

Dante's Inferno makes nannies everywhere furious

Electronic Arts's certainly not afraid of controversy. In fact, the company seems to be embracing it with arms wide open.

At a recent "Naughty or Nice" event in New York, we had the opportunity to play Dante's Inferno hands-on. The Xbox 360 and PS3 video game, which recasts the epic Dante poem as a God of War-type journey through nesting levels of hell, is certainly wearing its M rating on its sleeve (Note: while the ESRB hasn't officially rated this game yet, it's pretty clear there's no other rating it would achieve). The … Read more

Internet not to blame for terrorism

A new report from the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence is yet another indication that the Internet is not the main culprit for society's woes. The report, "Countering Online Radicalization: A Strategy for Action," debunks the myth that the Internet is a major recruiting and training tool for extremists and would-be terrorists. The report focuses primarily on the United Kingdom but has implications for the United States and elsewhere.

The authors found "little evidence to support the contention that the Internet plays a dominant role in the process of radicalization.&… Read more