Yet Another Violent Video Game Study Releases Findings

[wraggster]

Fresh from the "Study finds violent video games do X to kids" pile, we now find — shock — playing them results in "a greater variation in Heart Rate Variability." This isn't straight out one's pulse quickening. HRV is "the oscillation in the interval between consecutive heartbeats" — more or less, a measure of minute changes in heart rate.

The research concludes that violent video games can have effects on your body's autonomous systems, without you even being aware of it. In this instance, kids who played violent games had a greater HRV during sleep but still reported they'd slept fine. Makes sense. Games can have effects on your voluntary systems beyond your control, too. Like Dead Space making you $#@! your pants.

There's debate on whether HRV means anything, but the researchers indicate they're going to use this research to study links between violent video games and aggression and, of course, "video game addiction."

http://kotaku.com/5089647/yet-anothe...eases-findings

[BoazAdreal]

Yeah... It all comes back to a little thing called "self control" that our society seems to not understand. Violent kids are not violent because they play video games, they are violent because they weren't taught that you release emotions through a different avenue and that video games are there for fun not for escaping your problems in life.

[bstickq1]

What a worthless study. For all we know they used Gears of War for the violent game and Chessmaster for the non violent one. There are plenty of non violent games that can get your heart racing, Tetris is an obvious example. This simple fact means that heart race isn't a factor, if it were maybe we should be worried about children exercising.

[pibs]

Like the great greeks once said "everything in moderation"

[Auriman1]

Don't they have anything better to study with their big bag of research money?

[Brainy142]

NEWS: Scary games boost heartbeat! Scientists are scared that gamers hearts will beat too fast. RE4 has been banned around the world.

[devdj]

not more propaganda bull$#@! we have heard enough of this crap but its time we fight back against these facist capitalist pricks once and for all and may we pwn them all lol

[Hao S.W.]

I agree with you. Just because some one were to play say Doom 3 ,for example, at midnight doesn't mean they'll be scarred and changed for life and if it bothers them they should stop playing. I for one think its TV that engourages violence rather than video games.

[chuggman]

What a worthless study. For all we know they used Gears of War for the violent game and Chessmaster for the non violent one. There are plenty of non violent games that can get your heart racing, Tetris is an obvious example. This simple fact means that heart race isn't a factor, if it were maybe we should be worried about children exercising.

I agree that we are not given any information on this study. However if you give kids Gears of War; Star Wars Battlefront, Super Smash Bros series and/or Halo series. It is quite possible that the kids are much more violent. However if we change the game selection we could get a completely different result using Mario Golf, Animal Crossing, Backyard Baseball, Namco Museum, Zoo tycoon, Roller-coaster Tycoon.
Gaming does keep some of us in my home from the exercise thing; but so does facebook, IM, Homework, and ect.

[bstickq1]

I agree that we are not given any information on this study. However if you give kids Gears of War; Star Wars Battlefront, Super Smash Bros series and/or Halo series. It is quite possible that the kids are much more violent. However if we change the game selection we could get a completely different result using Mario Golf, Animal Crossing, Backyard Baseball, Namco Museum, Zoo tycoon, Roller-coaster Tycoon.
Gaming does keep some of us in my home from the exercise thing; but so does facebook, IM, Homework, and ect.

Then we should ban action figures, as in almost all cases kids are engaging them in violent battles with each other.