Wake up call

I'm no fan of video games - of any kind. They've done nothing for our children but make them fat, dumb, and lazy. And the violent games are even worse. Kids who play these blood-and-guts games are more likely to be aggressive towards others - and even to be suicidal.

Don't be duped into thinking they're just games. There's nothing fun or funny about them.

I guess it's been a year ago now that I wrote about an American Psychological Association (APA) report showing that video games are potent teachers of violent or aggressive conduct in real life.

Given that interactive video is such a power teaching medium, it's not much a of a leap to think that a game that trivializes human death and equates winning to the number of murders, thefts, and other violent crimes would have a profound impact on these kids' subconscious. The result: An increase in violence and aggression among kids.

The American Psychological Association isn't alone in its conclusions. Recently, another study came out showing just how powerful videogames are as teaching tool - for better or for worse.

The study was headed up by a father/son team. The father, J. Ronald Gentile, is a leading researcher on effective teaching at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York. The son, Doug Gentile, is a top researcher on the effect media has on kids.

What they found was that video games use the exact same teaching tools employed by good teachers. To see how these video game "lessons" transferred into real-life experiences, the researchers divided 2,500 students up into three groups: 430 elementary school students, 607 middle school students, and 1,441 adolescents averaging 19 years old.

Once again, I'm reporting the results of a survey, so I wouldn't say they have pinpoint accuracy. But the overarching trend is undeniable. See for yourself:

For the elementary school students, those who played only violent video games experienced a 73% increase in aggressive behavior compared to kids who played a mix of violent and non- violent games. They had a 263% increase in aggressive behavior compared to kids who didn't play any violent games at all.

I won't go into the minutia of the rest of the study. The "263% increase" speaks for itself. It's hard to argue with a number like that. Even if was only half that amount, that level of increased aggression would still be far too high.

Bottom line: There's nothing wrong with video games in and of themselves. It's the content I'm worried about (not to mention the anti-social, sedentary lifestyle they promote). Kids aren't going to censor themselves. It's the parents' job to do it. Like it or not, it's part of what you signed up for when you decided to have kids in the first place.

Wake up and smell the coffee, Mom and Dad. It's your job to protect your kids - and it's your job to lay down the law. It's called being a parent - not a "friend." I'm sure they'd have enough of those as it is - if they put down the games long enough.