Research update: the joystick generation: video games have measurable social effects on adolescents.

The potentially negative effects of video games have received tremendous amounts of attention in recent years. Following violent acts by children supposedly influenced by violent video games, laws were enacted to prevent children from purchasing such games in Indianapolis, Ind., and St. Louis, Mo.; Australia and Germany have also enacted similar laws (Vastag, 2004).

Video games have been increasing in popularity for adolescents and are widely available through the Internet, with dedicated gaming consoles, and on mobile phones (Wood et al., 2004). As the popularity of video games increases, so does the concern about their effects. Media content, including video games, affects both attitudes toward violence and acceptable gender roles (Beasley & Collins-Standley, 2002).

A significant amount of supposed video game-related crimes has spawned research on the effects of violent video games (Anderson, 2004). However, the research on violent video games is limited to its physical effects (physical activity that is replaced by playing video games), behavioral effects (the ability to predict violence and aggression as an outcome of playing video games), and gender issues related to video games. The area that will be focused on here is the effect of video games on social skills in adolescents.

Social skills are an important part of child development (Spence, 2003). Social skill deficiency can cause emotional, cognitive and behavioral problems with high levels of anxiety or anger. Research has indicated that aggressive and other related behaviors have a negative effect on social skills. Animosity, which was found to be detrimental to social skills, was also a significant outcome of video gaming (Shao et al., 2004).

Research reviewed by Gihnan and colleagues (2004) on extracurricular activities found that having a social network is important. Participation in structured extracurricular activities proved to be positively correlated with positive social self-concept across multiple studies. Further, structured activities also provide opportunities to interact with competent adults, who in turn provide knowledge and skills, can challenge youth, and can serve as role models.

Playing video games usually does not involve a social network. As evidenced by Messerly (2004), 90 percent of college students surveyed knew other students or they themselves had their social or academic lives interrupted by video games, by which they were confined to their rooms for long durations and no longer responded to human interaction while playing. This alienation from human contact made social relationships more difficult to maintain since they spend so much time chained to their computers" (p. 30).

Research demonstrates the importance of social skills in life and relationships, while other research indicates a lack of social interaction when playing video games. This makes it difficult to ascertain if the effects of video games on social skills are negative or positive.

The research related to video games and social skills follows one of three patterns: aggressive/negative behaviors, gender issues and positive effects of playing video games. First, it is important to look at the motivations of video game habits in adolescents.

Motivations

Harris and Williams (1985) examined the reasons people play video games and the effect playing had on school performance. Their study included 152 high school students from three cities. Reasons for playing (in order of importance) included excitement, mastery, having nothing else to do, having friends who play and to make themselves feel better. Those who spent the most money and time on games did so because of the above reasons (versus those who spent less money and time).

Realistic sound effects and settings and high quality graphics were found to be the most important influencing aspects of video games in a study by Wood (2004) on 381 participants (242 males, 140 females) aged 14 to 50 years old. Other factors that influenced game play were rapid absorption rate (how quickly you can get into the game), multi-player features, beating non-player characters, and building alliances and multi-player communication.

Shao et al (2004) found two significant patterns when they studied 1,228 Taiwanese students in grades 5 to 8. The average age the subjects started to play games was 8.82 at the first or second year in primary school. The study determined that the favorite games were ranked as action and adventure, role playing, car racing, shooting and fighting. Another study found that 99 percent of the games listed as favorites had a medium to high level of violence (Gentile et al., 2004).

Effects of Playing Video Games on Social Skills

Aggressive and Other Deviant Behaviors 

Research has examined the relationships between aggressive behavior and video games and has found these to be associated, but the mechanism underlying the association is not consistent across studies. The most prevalent conclusion is that violent games (not video games in general) influence aggression. Anderson and Dill (2000) examined 200 college students and found violent video game play and aggressive personality account for major portions of both aggressive behavior and non-aggressive delinquent behavior.

Violent video game play was also shown to predict both aggressive and non-aggressive delinquency more than time spent playing all types of video games. A subsequent result was that for college students, total time spent on video games had a potential detrimental effect on academic grades.

College students who played a violent video game behaved more aggressively toward an opponent than did students who had played a non-violent video game. Overall, violent video games provide an environment for aggression, with simultaneous exposure to modeling, reinforcement and rehearsal of behaviors.

The General Affective Aggression Model (GAAM) emphasizes that the enactment of aggression is largely based on knowledge structures (e.g., scripts, schemas) created by social learning processes (Anderson & Dill, 2000). Based on the GAAM, short-term increases in aggression are expected whenever exposure to violent media primes aggressive thoughts, increases hostile feelings or increases arousal (all else being equal). Anderson and Dill also suggested that long-term media violence influences the development, learning and reinforcement of aggressive behaviors. Research by Dorman (1997) supported this work. They found that playing a video game seems to lead children to exhibit behaviors similar to those portrayed in the game, including aggressive behaviors.

In a recent review of this type of research, Vastag (2004) concluded that children younger than 10 years old showed increased aggression immediately after playing violent video games. Carnagey and Anderson (2005) studied 141 undergraduate students in two experiments and found that violent video game play increased hostile effects exclusive of other factors. Further experimentation revealed that when violence in a video game was rewarded, there was an increase in aggressive thoughts, feelings and actions.

They also found that prior exposure to video games led to more incidents of physical aggression as reported by participants. This study was also able to rule out competition as the sole influence on aggression. This does not mean that competition in a game does not affect aggressive behavior; rather that competition is not the only influencing factor.

Effects of Video Games on Gender Views and Behavior

Video games also have the ability to affect gender views and roles. First, there is a difference in playing habits by males and females. Males play games to master them and for competition, whereas females preferred the less aggressive and less demanding games. Males also rated multi-player options as more important than did females (Wood et al., 2004).

Lucas and Sherry (2004) examined socially-constructed, gender-related influences for playing video games. Video games are often considered to be part of the "boy domain." Boys may be directed toward and girls steered away from video game play, regardless of intrinsic interest and possible benefits. Data from surveys were collected from 593 college students (approximately half male, half female) at two universities. Results indicated that females were less likely to be video game players, played for fewer hours and did not seek out game-play situations for social interaction as much as males.

The other gender-related issue is the potential for stereotyping that can occur based on the content of games. A study by Beasley and Collins-Standley (2002) looked at 341 Nintendo and PlayStation games to examine the presence and role of genders. Gender role stereotyping was based on the presence or absence of female characters and the types of clothing those characters were wearing in the games. They found that there were more characters of indeterminate gender than there were female characters and female characters were more likely to be seen in low-cut clothing and with bare arms than male characters, and approximately 40 percent of all female characters had disproportionately large chests.

These video game characteristics can lead to negative social functioning. This study used social learning theory and gender schema theory to analyze their results (Beasley & Collins-Standley, 2002). Accordingly, children exposed to gender role stereotyping in the media, including video games, may develop those attitudes themselves, which could lead to inappropriate social views and behavior.

Positive Effects of Video Games

While there is a significant amount of research that indicates negative outcomes of video games, there is also research that indicates there are positive effects, including positive social outcomes. Lucas and Sherry (2004) suggest that video game play is a forum for interpersonal communication for three different reasons.

First, video games can serve as a central activity for interpersonal interaction, providing an activity for friends to participate together (like playing cards or engaging in physical recreation). Second, online video gamers can promote interaction with others across the game network and establish new friendships. Third, video games and their characters can provide a source of pseudo-social relationships for the game player.

Almost one quarter of participants in the study by Harris and Williams (1985) said they play because their friends play, supporting the idea that video game play can be a social activity or at least socially motivated. It is possible that games do facilitate social interaction because many require team play and getting to know other players (Messerly, 2004).

Other research concludes that positive benefits from playing video games include enhanced problem solving skills, better communication skills and team-building skills (Wood et al, 2004). Another benefit from video game play was later success in high-tech professional fields (Lucas & Sherry, 2004). Video or computer games use different skills not found in other learning strategies. For example, the ability to choose different solutions to a difficult problem and see the affect on a fictional game allows students to experiment with problem-solving in a relatively safe environment (Dorman, 1997).

Overall, there is significant research that has been conducted on the social effects of video games; some negative, others positive. The overwhelming conclusion, however, is that there is a link between violent video games and aggression which could result in negative social behavior. The best way to deter negative effects of any type of video game is parental or adult involvement. Parents should supervise the types and amount of games their children are playing and encourage a variety of leisure activities which have been proven to have the most positive effect on social skills.

Recreation professionals also can play a role in the video game habits of adolescents. They can provide a variety of leisure activities for youth to participate. Recreation settings can also offer non-violent video games in a supervised setting (perhaps an after-school program), therefore limiting the negative effects (aggressive behavior and social isolation) and providing a healthy environment in which to play.

Other Resources:

Video game ratings: wwvv.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

Information on video game ratings: http://parentingteens.aboutcom/cs/ videogames/a/gameratings.htm

Resources to help determine if there is a social skill problem: www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_ skills/soc-skills.html

Resources for parents in monitoring the media influence on their children: www.mediawise.org

References

Anderson, C.A. (2004) An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 113-122.

Anderson, C.A. & Dill K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the Laboratory and in Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772-790.

Beastey, B. & Collins-Standley, T. (2002). Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an Indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games. Mass Communications & Society, 5(3), 279-293.

Carnagey, N.L, & Anderson, C. A. (2005). The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior. Psychological Science, 16(11), 882-889.

Dorman, S. M. (April 1997). Video and computer games: effect on children and implications for health education. Journal of School Health, 67(4), 133-138.

Gentile, D.A., Lynch, P. J., Linder, J. R., & Walsh, D. A. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 5-22.

Gilman, R., Meyers, J., & Perez, L. (2004). Structured extracurricular activities among adolescents: findings and implications for school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 41(1), 31-41.

Harris, M.B. & Williams, R. (1985). Video games and school performance. Education, 105(3), 306-309.

Lucas, K. & Sherry, J.L. (October 2004). Sex differences in video game play: a communication-based explanation. Communication Research, 31 (5), 499-523.

Messerly, J. (March 2004). How computer games affect CS (and other) students' school performance. Communications of the ACM, 47(3), 29-31.

Shoo, I. C., Jie-Zhi L., & Der-Hsiang, H. (2004). Video game addiction in children and teenagers in Taiwan. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 7(5), 573-581.

Spence, S. (2003). Social skills training with children and young people: theory, evidence and practice. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 8(2) 84-96.

Vastag, B. (2004). Does Video Game Violence Sow Aggression? Studies Probe Effects of Virtul Violence on Children. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291, 1822-1824.

Wood, R.T., Griffiths, M.D., Chappell, D. & Davies, M.N.O. (2004). The structural characteristics of video games: A psycho-structural analysis. Cyber-Psychology & Behavior, 7(1), 1-10.

Research into Action: Ways to Avoid Social Isolation

Parental Involvement

* Parental involvement is important for lessening the potential negative affects of video games.

* When parents are involved in determining which games their children play, they can eliminate inappropriate games by being aware of the rating system for games.

* Parents should also explain why certain games are not appropriate or provide answers when children are confused by content of games.

* Recreational organizations can offer information, training or orientation for how to select and supervise their children's video game habits.

Activities

* The best way to avoid social isolation is to develop a broad leisure repertoire.

* The best activities are those that are structured and involve social interaction with both peers and adult role models. Recreation professionals should keep this in mind when designing programs for youth.

* A variety of leisure activities can help ensure that addiction to any one activity (video games or other) will not occur. Recreation professionals therefore should aim to offer a variety of activities to meet a variety of interests.

* Video games can be a positive activity when appropriate games are selected.

* Recreation professionals can provide programs that include video games but should avoid addicting activities such as long tournaments.

* Offer activities that have similar characteristics to the ones youth indicate they like about video games. These activities would provide excitement and opportunities for social interaction and mastery of a skill.

Jami Barenthin is graduate student in Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois with a concentration in Sport Management. She completed her master's degree in May. Her career focus is recreation and sport marketing. Marieke Van Puymbroeck, Ph.D., CTRS, is an assistant professor at Indiana University. Her interests are leisure and health, care giving and therapeutic recreation.