Harmful Effect of Video Game Play

            Chapter 10 starts with the importance of risks, and harmful effect of video game play. Nielsen included some studies, and researches for questions like “Can violent video games make you more aggressive?” and “Do video games cause players any harm?”, and he also brought up with two research perspective: the Active User Perspective and the Active Media Perspective” in terms of theories and methods, important studies, and criticism (Nielsen pg.223). The Active User perspective focuses on the effects of media on attitude and behavior and what effect the game has on the player, but on the contrast, Active Media perspective concentrates on meaning, role and function of media, and what the player does with the game.  One of the important Active Media perspective study by Anderson and Dill showed that male players played more violent video games, and spent more time playing than women, and the more a participant played violent games, the more likely it was that player had engaged in criminal activities (Nielson pg229). However, there are some problems in studies. Study showed that people who show preference for violent games are more aggressive behavior than those who play more peaceful games, and there are too many different variables for the terms of aggression that can be contradictory. Therefore, the Active Media perspective for examining the effect of video games was determined as problematic. In the Active User perspective studies, addiction is topic in the research performed by British psychologist. Mark Griffiths said that

“A videogame addiction affects only a very small minority of players. there appears to be many people who use video games excessively, but are not addicted as measured by these criteria”(Nielsen pg 242)

I agree with this. Most game players tend to feel sick and tired of playing game after playing for months. For example, I know that casual game is very attractive to play, but I have never seen people who regularly play that game for more than a year and withdrawal symptoms by not playing those games. But, as he said, small minority of players, I have seen, were very addictive to playing game with some games which were like WoW, and Civilization series. Except those games, I could hardly find people addicted to other games, most of players just play game to relieve their stress, not being additive to games. 

            In the conclusion of Ch. 10, there were no such a definitive answer to the questions regarding the harmful effect of the game but he points out that games will be more part of our lives so that people will need more specific studies about the effects.

Here’s my questions to you guys, have you ever been addicted to games? what game?