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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for video games
5 results foundAuthor: Byron, Tanya Title: Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review Summary: - The internet and video games are very popular with children and young people and offer a range of opportunities for fun, learning and development. - But there are concerns over potentially inappropriate material, which range from content (e.g. violence) through to contact and conduct of children in the digital world. - Debates and research in this area can be highly polarised and charged with emotion. - Having considered the evidence I believe we need to move from a discussion about the media 'causing' harm to one which focuses on children and young people, what they bring to technology and how we can use our understanding of how they develop to empower them to manage risks and make the digital world safer. - There is a generational digital divide which means that parents do not necessarily feel equipped to help their children in this space - which can lead to fear and a sense of helplessness. This can be compounded by a risk-averse culture where we are inclined to keep our children 'indoors' despite their developmental needs to socialise and take risks. - While children are confident with the technology, they are still developing critical evaluation skills and need our help to make wise decisions. - In relation to the internet we need a shared culture of responsibility with families, industry, government and others in the public and third sectors all playing their part to reduce the availability of potentially harmful material, restrict access to it by children and to increase children's resilience. - I propose that we seek to achieve gains in these three areas by having a national strategy for child internet safety which involves better self-regulation and better provision of information and education for children and families. - In relation to video games, we need to improve on the systems already in place to help parents restrict children's access to games which are not suitable for their age. - I propose that we seek to do that by reforming the classification system and pooling the efforts of the games industry, retailers, advertisers, console manufacturers and online gaming providers to raise awareness of what is in games and enable better enforcement. - Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe - this isn't just about a top-down approach. Children will be children - pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim. Details: Nottingham, UK: Department of Children, Schools and Families; Department of Culture, Media and Sport, 2008. 224p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2018 at: http://childcentre.info/robert/extensions/robert/doc/6f4474a71e4794a8c119a0c8fb8ab8ef.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review Shelf Number: 115676 Keywords: Computer CrimesInternet CrimesInternet SafetyOnline GamingVideo Games |
Author: Byron, Tanya Title: Do We Have Safer Children in a Digital World? A Review of Progress Since the 2008 Byron Review Summary: 1. In the last two years there has been significant progress on improving children's digital safety which I am pleased to highlight in this report. As the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) enters the next phase of its work, I think it is a good time to take stock of progress so far and consider priorities. I hope this report will help UKCCIS to build on its successes, as in the fast-paced digital world the UK and UKCCIS will need to speed up to stay ahead as the world leader in child digital safety. 2. In the first phase of this work I have been impressed by the public awareness campaign which I think gives clear and concise messages to help parents educate their children. 3. I have also been struck by the improvements to educational resources which are enabling our children and young people to develop the resilience and skills they need to negotiate their digital lives. These skills will in turn help them to educate their children, as today's children are tomorrow's parents. 4. The UK is a world leader in improving children's digital safety. The establishment of UKCCIS is a significant achievement, bringing together a range of influential organisations with an interest in, or a responsibility for, keeping children and young people safe on the internet. The council is to be congratulated on publishing the first UK child internet safety strategy in December 2009. 5. In preparing this report, I have gathered evidence through talking to UKCCIS executive board members, children and young people, parents, wider stakeholders and a survey of 148 members of UKCCIS. 6. The recommendations in this report are intended to support the recommendations in my 2008 review and the ongoing work of UKCCIS. I planned for my 2008 recommendations to be delivered over a five-year timescale, so I would not expect them all to have been completed by now. For this reason this report does not deliver a recommendation by recommendation audit of my 2008 review. Details: Annesley, UK: Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 224, 2018 at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/709/7/do%20we%20have%20safer%20children%20in%20a%20digital%20world-WEB_Redacted.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/709/7/do%20we%20have%20safer%20children%20in%20a%20digital%20world-WEB_Redacted.pdf Shelf Number: 119455 Keywords: Child WelfareComputer CrimesInternetInternet SafetyVideo Games |
Author: Cunningham, A. Scott: Engelstatter, Benjamin Title: Understanding the Effects of Violent Video Games on Violent Crime Summary: Psychological studies invariably find a positive relationship between violent video game play and aggression. However, these studies cannot account for either aggressive effects of alternative activities video game playing substitutes for or the possible selection of relatively violent people into playing violent video games. That is, they lack external validity. We investigate the relationship between the prevalence of violent video games and violent crimes. Our results are consistent with two opposing effects. First, they support the behavioral effects as in the psychological studies. Second, they suggest a larger voluntary incapacitation effect in which playing either violent or non-violent games decrease crimes. Overall, violent video games lead to decreases in violent crime. Details: Unpublished Working Paper Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1804959 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1804959 Shelf Number: 122026 Keywords: Media ViolenceVideo GamesViolence |
Author: McLean, Lavinia Title: The Effect of Violent Video Game Play on Gamer's Views of Victims of Crime Summary: This research was designed to explore the relationship between violent video game play and attitudes towards victims. As the violent genre of games become more popular and as the graphics and content becomes even more realistic and immersive, there has been concern that this media form offers a different perspective on violence to players than more passive forms of media. Much of the research in the area of violent video game research has focused on changes in players in terms of aggressive behaviour, following exposure to these games. The present research was designed to explore any changes in affect and cognition, in terms of attitudes, that may be associated with video game play, and also to explore any factors that may moderate or mediate these changes in players, with a particular emphasis on adolescents and female gamers. The overall aims of the thesis were to establish i) the attitudes of gamers towards victims of crime ii) the role of moral disengagement strategies in violent video game play iii) the nature and experience of female violent video game play. The aims were addressed through four stages of linked research utilising a multi method design including a survey of adolescents (n=206), semi structured interviews (n=50), an online and paper survey (n=605) and analysis of a female gamer online discussion posts, in order to explore the impact of violent video game play The principal findings of this thesis noted young people who played violent video games reporting less concern for victims of crime, and attributed more blame to the victims of crime, particularly non serious victims and those that could be viewed as culpable for the crimes. While moral disengagement has been proposed as a mechanism through which people may justify immoral conduct, in the current studies the video game players were less likely than sports players to endorse moral disengagement strategies. They were found however to use a specific set of moral disengagement strategies (cognitive restructuring) than sports players and this may be related to the structures of the games, both virtual and sporting. In relation to female gamers, gaming was found to be a key element of the female gamers' identity, with females discussing the integration of gaming into their daily lives on a number of different levels. Similar to previous research, the social elements of gaming was highlighted while simultaneous difficulties with Page 12 of 281 online interaction emphasised for female gamers. The results of the studies are discussed in relation to the experience of gaming and the possible mediating and moderating factors that may explain these effects. The results suggest that cognitive distortions, developmental stages, gender and differences in identification with game characters may explain differences in attitudes towards victims which were observed. These concepts are discussed in relation to risk and protective factors that may be important in understanding any relationship between violent video game play and less positive attitudes towards victims. Details: Nottingham, UK: Nottingham Trent University, 2015. 281p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/27924/ Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/27924/ Shelf Number: 140494 Keywords: Victims of CrimeVideo GamesVideo Violence |
Author: Anti-Defamation League Title: Free to Play?: Hate, Harassment and Positive Social Experiences in Online Games Summary: This report explores the social interactions and experiences of video game players across America and details their attitudes and behaviors in a rapidly growing social space. Globally, video games are a $152 billion industry. Fifty-three percent of the total population of the US and 64 percent of the online population of the US plays video games. Video games have functioned as social platforms over the past three decades, with players around the world interacting with one another while playing games online. As with other social platforms, these interactions can be both personally enriching as well as harmful. In this report we provide an analysis of key findings from a nationally representative survey designed by ADL in collaboration with Newzoo, a data analytics firm focusing on games and esports. The survey found that 88 percent of adults who play online multiplayer games in the US reported positive social experiences while playing games online. The most common experiences were making friends (51%) and helping other players (50%). The games in which players most reported positive social experiences were World of Warcraft (59%), Minecraft (55%), NBA 2k (51%), Overwatch (49%), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (48%), and Fortnite (47%). In spite of these findings, the survey also found that harassment is quite frequent. This should give the industry pause. Seventy-four percent of adults who play online multiplayer games in the US experience some form of harassment while playing games online. Sixty-five percent of players experience some form of severe harassment, including physical threats, stalking, and sustained harassment. Alarmingly, nearly a third of online multiplayer gamers (29%) have been doxed. The games in which the greatest proportion of players experience harassment are Defense of the Ancients 2 (DOTA 2) (79% of players of the game), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (75%), Overwatch (75%), PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (75%) and League of Legends (75%). Fifty-three percent of online multiplayer gamers who experience harassment believe they were targeted because of their race/ethnicity, religion, ability, gender or sexual orientation. Thirty-eight percent of women and 35 percent of LGBTQ+ players reported harassment on the basis of their gender and sexual orientation, respectively. Approximately a quarter to a third of players who are black or African American (31%), Hispanic/Latinx (24%) and Asian-American (23%) experienced harassment because of their race or ethnicity in an online multiplayer game. Online multiplayer gamers were also targeted because of their religion: 19 percent of Jews and Muslims also reported being harassed. Twenty-three percent of online multiplayer gamers who have been harassed avoid certain games due to a game's reputation for having a hostile environment while 19 percent have stopped playing certain games altogether as a result of in-game harassment, as other research has suggested. The games that most players either become more careful playing or stopped playing altogether as a result of harassment are Dota 2 (37%), followed by Fortnite (36%), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (36%), NBA 2K (33%), Madden NFL (31%), Overwatch (29%), Apex Legends (28%), World of Warcraft (27%), and League of Legends (27%). Perhaps most notably, only 27 percent of online multiplayer gamers reported that harassment had not impacted their game experience at all, meaning that fully 73 percent of players had their online multiplayer game experience shaped by harassment in some way. The impact of harassment in online multiplayer games goes beyond game environments as well: 23 percent of harassed players become less social and 15 percent feel isolated as a result of in-game harassment. One in ten players has depressive or suicidal thoughts as a result of harassment in online multiplayer games, and nearly one in ten takes steps to reduce the threat to their physical safety (8%). To seek recourse for online harassment, 12 percent of online multiplayer gamers contact a game company and 5 percent call the police. In addition to harassment, the study also explores players’ exposure to controversial topics, such as extremism and disinformation in online game environments. Alarmingly, nearly a quarter of players (23%) are exposed to discussions about white supremacist ideology and almost one in ten (9%) are exposed to discussions about Holocaust denial in online multiplayer games. The survey also measured players' attitudes towards efforts to make online multiplayer games safe and more inclusive spaces for players. A majority of online multiplayer gamers (62%) agree that companies should do more to make online multiplayer games safer and more inclusive for players, and over half (55%) agree that these games should have technology that allows for content moderation of in-game voice chat. We see opportunities for many different stakeholders to take action and do more to address harassment in online games: Games Industry: Game developers and publishers need to take a more holistic approach towards reducing hate and harassment in online games. This includes developing sophisticated tools for content moderation that include voice-chat; comprehensive and inclusive policies and enforcement around hate and harassment that mirror and improve upon the known best practices of traditional social media; and game ratings systems that consider the amount of harassment in specific games, among other improvements. The games industry should also reach out to collaborate with civil society, to educate civil society about the unique challenges of their community and take advantage of civil society's expertise. Civil Society: Just as in recent years much of civil society has expanded their work to include the impact of traditional social media on their issues and communities, so too should civil society use their resources, expertise and platforms to address the impact of games as digital spaces. To aid in this, civil society should engage with and support scholars and practitioners who have been and continue to do crucial research and practice to help fight hate, bias and harassment in games. Government: Federal and state governments should strengthen laws that protect targets of online hate and harassment, whether on social media or in online games. Governments should also, as they do with social media companies, push for increased transparency and accountability from game companies around online hate and harassment. We believe this report provides insight into the power of video games to enrich lives and also a better understanding of ways the game industry can improve. Details: Troy, New York: Anti-Defamation League, 2019. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2019 at: https://www.adl.org/free-to-play Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.adl.org/media/13139/download Shelf Number: 157075 Keywords: Crimes On-line Game Industry Harassment Hate Crimes Social Media Video Games |