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Yet Another Academic Essay on Violence and Video Games

March 10, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

It’s time to get a little academic on you.

This week the writing assignment in my Treatment of Children and Adolescents class was a paper on violent video games. We were given 3 academic articles and had to make an argument, either way, about youth and violent video games.

Originally I was worried about the assignment. There is a lot of research out there with a lot of different results, many times opposing. I expected 3 articles that focused on the negative impact video games have on kids. To my surprise, the views expressed in the articles were balanced, and I was able to make a solid argument that I was happy with.

For your reading pleasure, here’s what I ended up with (with added pictures!):

Many parents today are concerned with how much time their children spend playing video games. The main concern seems to be around violent video games and the possible harm it could be causing youth today. It is understandable why parents are so concerned when we are increasingly surrounded by headlines that seem to be centered around youth and violence. Many members of the media, government, and society in general have placed the blame for these violent incidents on video games. These games are named the cause of increased aggression in children, while that may not necessarily be the case. Careful monitoring and limit setting surrounding video game play may help protect youth from potential harm.

There is a lot of research on violence, video games, and youth. Much of the research agrees that there is some kind of link between violent video games and aggression (Hasan and Bushman, 2013 & Kronenberger, et al., 2005). Some researchers even agree that there is a link but that we cannot be exactly sure that video games cause aggression. Some even go as far to say that violence in video games may be part of normal development for children (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010). The reality is that we cannot be sure, but we can look at some of the evidence and draw conclusions based on what we see.

Research has shown us over and over again that there is some kind of link between increased aggression and violent video games. Hasan and Bushman (2013) found that individuals who played violent video games had a measurable stress reaction during video game play. They also found that those same individuals were more likely to show aggressive behavior after the violent video game play. The stress reaction makes perfect sense when you think about the fact that violent video games are meant to simulate stressful life or death situations. When we have turned off the game, the stress reaction may linger for a while later and cause us to be more aggressive.

Video games are not the only media linked to aggressive behavior. Kronenberger, et al. (2005) conducted a study which showed that youth who were more aggressive were more likely to watch violent media on television or in the movies. Those that engaged with this violent media were also more likely to play violent video games, regardless of how much time total they spent playing games. From this we can draw the conclusion that aggressive individuals who engage in violent video game play also engage in other activities that may have an impact on their aggressiveness.

None of the research done has been able to show a cause and effect relationship. The studies done by Hasan and Bushman (2013) and Kronenberger, et al. (2005) are both correlational, like most other studies done in the field of psychology. The researchers in these studies all noted that a limitation of the study is that they cannot prove causality. This means that we can show that there is a relationship between aggressive behavior and violent video game play, but that we do not know which way the relationship goes. Violent video games could cause aggressive behavior. Individuals who are naturally aggressive may be drawn to violent media as a way to have fun. Or a third factor that we do not know about could be the cause for both.

(Image via NY Times)

Another way to look at violent video game play is that it may just be a new form of expressing normal human development. The Harvard Mental Health Letter (2010) argues that children, especially boys, naturally play aggressively through horseplay. Today they can do so through video games rather than wrestling, but the impulse to express your dominance and skill through play is still the same. Another point that the Harvard Mental Health Letter makes is that although violent video game play has increased over the years, violent crimes involving youth have decreased since 1996. Perhaps video games have given youth an appropriate outlet to express their aggressiveness without physically harming anyone.

We may not know what exactly it is, but the link between violent video games and aggression in youth is there. The way our children are playing is changing and increasingly becoming more digital and less visibly obvious to parents. One of the biggest ways to help prevent aggression issues related to video games is for parents to check the ESRB ratings and make sure their children are not playing games too mature for their age. Other ways to help prevent aggression problems are to play games with children to understand the content, place game consoles in common areas so that game content is visible, set clear limits on the amount of time allowed for video game play, and to encourage youth to spend time playing with others in the real world (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010). If these steps are taken it is more likely that youth will be able to play in a healthy way and still enjoy an activity that they find engaging.

(Image via BET)

References

Harvard Mental Health Letter (2010). Violent video games and young people. Harvard Mental Health Letter, 27(4).

Hasan, Y., Begue, L., Bushman, B. (2013). Violent video games stress people out and make them more aggressive. Aggressive Behavior, 39, 64–70.

Kronenberger, W. G., Mathews, V. P., Dunn, D. W., Wang, Y., Wood, E. A., Larsen, J. J. Lurito, J. T. (2005). Media violence exposure in aggressive and control adolescents: differences in self- and parent-reported exposure to violence on television and in video games. Aggressive Behavior, 31, 201-216.

I wish I could provide the actual links to the articles referenced, but I don’t have digital access to them. Otherwise, that’s what I’ve got.

The point of the assignment was to have us write a concise, understandable, academic (that may be an oxymoron there…) paper that we might provide to parents of our future clients. I think I was successful.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear what you have to say, whether you agree with me or think I’m full of crap.

Super-Ego: When Heroes Need Help

March 3, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

A few months ago I backed a Kickstarter for a comic about a therapist who provides services for superheroes. When I saw the description for Super-Ego by Caio Oliveira, I knew I had to have it and pulled out my wallet to help. This week I received a digital copy of the book and decided that I couldn’t wait until the hardcover arrived to review it.

(Image via Comic Rocket)

First off, I want to assure everyone that I’m going to do my best to provide this review spoiler free.

The story follows Dr. Eugene Goodman, a.k.a Dr. Ego. Apparently he’s the go to guy when it comes to superheroes with emotional issues. He wears a mask and uses the alter ego name because “masks only talk to masks”.

Not getting along with your sidekick? Talk to Dr. Ego.

Deep seeded rage issues due to trauma in your origin story? Talk to Dr. Ego.

Pressures of fighting villain after villain getting to you? Talk to Dr. Ego.

As I was reading this book, I really started to tie it to Mark Waid’s Irredeemable. The main character of Irredeemable is a once hero/now villain with a lot of emotional baggage and pain to sift through. The stress of his difficult childhood, added with the pressure of being everyone’s savior and not being able to tell anyone who you really are makes for a lot of issues to work through. Ultimately, he can’t handle it and becomes the world’s worst nightmare.

irredeemable-1

(Image via Dad’s Big Plan)

In Super-Ego, our mild mannered therapist, Dr. Ego is trying to stop that exact kind of thing from happening. I tried to picture being in his shoes and having the weight of being responsible for the mental stability of these guys (who could either save or destroy the world with a flick of their wrist) in my hands. Talk about pressure.

Think about it. In just about all of my courses we have talked about responsibility. That what our clients do or don’t do is not on us. We provide the best care we can, and what they do with it once they leave the office is on them. But what happens if your client leaves the room and destroys the city? Or the planet? Or the universe?

(Image via Forces of Geek)

Regardless of what perspective you take on responsibility, those kinds of actions would be hard to live with.

Super-Ego brought up some interesting insights, but there were also some parts of the story which I took issue with.

To keep it spoiler free, I’ll just say that there is a twist that completely changes the nature of the story. The implications of the twist and the direction the characters go after said twist are concerning to me. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about them, but I’m definitely glad that I purchased the book.

I wish that the creator had focused more on the things that made the story interesting before the plot twist and spent more time with what it would be like to be in a therapy room with superheroes. They are some of the most trauma exposed, anxiety filled, isolated, and socially awkward individuals anyone could work with. I’d love to see a book that looks more at that piece.

(Image via Contraversao)

Overall, I felt that this book was pretty good. It was thought provoking, and make me take a look at myself as a future therapist. It had action and humor, and the art was wonderful. (I tend to base many of my comic purchases based on whether or not I like the art style). And while I may or may not use this book with my clients, I will definitely be keeping on the shelf in my office.

Legends of the Knight: Batman Never Gives Up

February 24, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Some films inspire us because of a particular character, pivotal moment, or storyline. Others are just inspiring in and of themselves. Legends of the Knight is one of those movies.

This weekend I had the pleasure of watching a screening of Legends of the Knight in San Francisco hosted by the director, Brett Culp. I had previously seen the trailer, and knew it was going to be a moving film…but I didn’t realized exactly how touching would be. Let me tell you, I cried…a lot.

(Image via Geek-o-Rama)

The film may have been a tearjerker, but (for those of you who don’t like sad movies) don’t run away! They were good tears. Important tears. The stories presented in this film are stories everyone should hear. Stories of triumph, of heroism, and of compassion. Stories of Batman, and of the real people who love him.

When Brett Culp started work on this film, he had no idea what he had on his hands. He began with an idea of creating a documentary about how stories affect people and change their lives. He liked the contrast of looking at how real people were changed by fictional stories, which led him to narrowing it down to stories about Batman.

Batman is the perfect choice for his movie. Because he has no superpowers, and because he is the most human of superheroes, most of us can see ourselves as Batman in some way or another. As the tagline for the film says “We are Batman”, and Culp has put together a compilation of stories that tell us how we are just that.

(Image via Psychology Today)

I could go on and on about the contents of the movie, and talk about each of the stories, but I feel that it might ruin it for some of you. Instead I’ll encourage each of you to go to the film’s website and order a copy, or look up (or request) a screening near you: here. Otherwise, I’d just like to discuss some of what struck me about the film and Culp’s Q&A session afterward.

There were many shots in the film of kids dressed up like Batman, running around, jumping, and climbing on things. What impressed me about the film is that they weren’t all little white boys. There were many children of color, and girls included in the mix. I think this attests to Culp’s view that any one of us could be the caped crusader, and so can any child with enough imagination.

I don’t know how many young children would be able to sit through this movie, but I do know that it was refreshing to see a diverse group of kids relating to this iconic figure.

(Image via The Mary Sue)

The other piece of the movie itself that I wanted to touch on was something that attracted me as a mental health professional. Someone in the film mentioned that superheroes do what they do so that others may never have to go through the same horrible experience they went through. That they help others to heal themselves in some way, and to protect them from the evil they know is out there.

In many of my classes, we’ve talked about the fact that somewhere around 80% (or more) of those who enter the mental health field do so because they have suffered some trauma or mental health issue in their past. As professionals, sometimes we feel as though we need to help others in order to help protect them from the pain we have felt. To make things better for them than they were for us. In a sense, we are doing the same thing as most superheroes. We are Batman.

(Image via Kickstarter)

If there’s any takeaway from the movie, it is that.

After the screening, Brett Culp held a Q&A session for all of us to answer any questions the movie might have brought up. During this session, it was easy to see how passionate he was about telling the stories of these individuals, and to the message their stories brought forth.

Culp wanted to make sure that the distribution of the film was “in the spirit of Batman” just as the movie itself was. To accomplish this, all of the screenings across the country benefit a local charity, paying it forward. The proceeds for the screening I attended went to the Bay Area chapter of Make A Wish, which is responsible for SF Batkid, who received a lot of press last year. Anyone can request a local screening at wearebatman.com.

Another interesting fact that came up during Q&A was that Legends of the Knight really was inspired by Batman. In order to find people to include in the movie, Culp Googled “inspired by Batman” to reach out to individuals whose lives had been changed because of the Dark Knight. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that it would be so simple.

Once the ball got rolling on the production of the movie, people would find Culp and reach out to him to be included in the film. Some of the stories made it, and others didn’t. Many people would send him messages saying that they had the biggest collection of Batman stuff in the country. His response? “That’s awesome! How does that help make the world a better place?

(Image via Funny Junk)

Batman is such an important figure in our culture because we have made him so. He has helped shape us as fans, and we have helped shape him. He is more than any one artist, writer, or producer, and Brett Culp has shown us that in a beautifully inspiring documentary.

The one thing he wanted his audiences to take away from seeing Legends of the Knight is that each person should realize "There’s a little Batman in me, too. How can I use it to make a difference?”

A fantastic message for a fantastic film.

There are so many more things I could say about this movie, Brett Culp, or the stories involved, but I feel as though I’m beginning to ramble. I will probably be coming back to this subject again eventually.

(Image via Facebook)

I encourage all of you to order a copy of the Blu-ray or DVD online, or to attend or request a screening. It is definitely worth your time.

Geeks: Adolescents Trapped in Adult Bodies?

February 17, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Another week, another discussion around the spiderweb of geekiness that has come up in my classes.

This semester I’m taking Group Psychotherapy, and our first assignment was to come up with what we consider our cultural identity and have it ready for a group discussion in class. Now, I know the go to for most people is their ethnic culture. I also know (as someone brought up in class) that most white people tend to identify with some other group (religions, hobbies, interests, professions, etc.) rather than an ethnic group as a culture. I was upset when my classmate pointed this fact out, because to me it implies that all of those other things that people identify aren’t a “real” culture and that the only “real” culture is ethnicity.

(Image via University of Texas)

On the other hand, I completely fell into the stereotype she just described. Given the assignment to identify and discuss my culture, I scrambled to pull together anything I could that would sound acceptable. Do I talk about my family being German? No…aside from a few traditions handed down, I don’t really identify as German, and my family is from all over Europe anyway. What the hell was I going to do?

I could out myself in class and talk about gay culture…What about geek culture? I could talk about that. But how is that going to look up against my classmates discussing the struggles of African Americans, or Latin cultures and their pulling together as families in tough times? Would it be disrespectful?

I’ll be honest, up until it was my turn to talk, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to say. Luckily, one of my classmates brought up Anime as a culture, and I decided to just go with it.

(Image via Muling)

I brought up geek culture and what that means to me. That it means being who I am, enjoying what I do, and loving what I love, regardless of what people may think.

As far as I can tell, there were no negative reactions to what I was saying. My professor smiled genuinely when I mentioned Therapeutic Code and the geek therapy movement. The classmates who spoke up seemed interested and asked questions. One classmate made a comment that made me think, though.

She asked me if I identify with adolescent culture because I identify so much with video games, comic books, cartoons, young adult movies, etc. In the moment, I kind of laughed and said that I guess I never really grew out of my adolescence. Now that I think about it, I wish I had told her no.

Just because someone likes geeky things, or things that teenagers typically like, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t an adult and identify with “adult” culture as well. (What the heck is adult culture anyway?)

So I like to play Pokemon and watch Twilight and Hunger Games in my spare time. I also work 40 hours a week, pay my rent, take my car to the shop, make my own doctor’s appointments, and hold down a household with my fiance. I’m 30 years old, I’m getting married next year, and I’m on my way to a solid career. So what if I share the same dress, slang, and interests as a 15 year old boy?

(Image via Fanpop)

I don’t mean it in an argumentative way. I’m not upset at my classmate for making assumptions. I’m more upset at myself for not using her question as a way of showing my classmates a different point of view.

The jocks and drama kids from high school grow up to be athletes and actors. Sometimes they end up as professionals, sometimes they pursue it as a full time hobby. We never ask them if they still identify with adolescent culture or if they haven’t grown up. We worship them for their talents. Yet the geeks of high school are on the bottom of the totem pole throughout life.

If we can change how people see geeky hobbies, we can help geeks everywhere feel more confident and comfortable with themselves. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but it’s important for geeks to have a safe space to be themselves and let loose about what they love. It’s especially important when they’re in the room with their therapist.

Which is why I wish I had said something in class with a room full of future clinicians. They are the future of therapy, and I hope that if the topic comes up again I can bring attention to this concept.

I do have to say that my professor made a good point at the end of my turn speaking. She said that my young clients probably connect with me well, not necessarily because of my cultural identification, but because I bring myself to the session. I am me, and I don’t care who knows.

In a way, she said part of what I wish I had said.

That it is important to be who you are and feel comfortable in your own skin.

(Image via TOTAL Nigeria)

Are Kids and Adults So Different?

February 10, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

To my surprise, the geek therapy concepts have made their way into my classes over the past couple of weeks. It’s really exciting, and has started down a path toward other, related ideas. Or maybe it’s more like a spiderweb of ideas. My mind has been a bit all over the place lately.

(Image via SuperHeroHype via CBR)

In any case, the lecture in many of my classes has started me thinking, and I’d like to focus on one of those lectures today. Hopefully later this week I will be able to deliver another tidbit of wisdom from school, if life doesn’t throw me anymore virus or paperwork pile shaped curveballs.

The first geeky reference I’d like to look at came during my Treatment of Children and Adolescents course. Of course that’s where we’d be talking about geeky stuff, right? A lot of what we consider a part of geek culture stems from things we loved in childhood. Games, superheroes, cartoons, action figures, movies, etc. For the most part, these were our relevant interests back then.

When discussing how to gather information when interviewing a child or adolescent, my professor said that one of the best things we can do as clinicians is to make observations about the client’s interests. If a kid is wearing a Batman shirt, ask her about Batman. If they’re wearing a Pokemon backpack, find out about their favorite Pokemon.

The other point he brought up is that sometimes, the best question to ask is “What was the last movie you saw?” Pop culture influences our lives in ways we don’t even notice, and our opinions and beliefs influence the pop culture we consume. My professor’s follow up to the movie question was that the Hunger Games was very big in finding out how his clients felt about certain issues and what their values are.

Maybe someone loves Peeta because he’s a good friend, Gale because he stands up for the people, or Katniss because she would do anything for her family. Maybe they don’t like Haymitch because he’s a drunk, or the people of the Capitol because they’re clueless. Somewhere in there, there is so much material for discussion of what is important to the client. Maybe the actors are just hot, or maybe what the character stands for is the real drive behind the fandom. Whatever the case, discussing favorite characters is also important.

The Hunger Games character alignment chart

(Image via MapleNet)

What my professor was discussing is important in working with youth. I would go further and say that it is important to talk about these things with our clients no matter what the age.

People of all ages consume pop culture, not just those who are under the age of 20. Growing up to develop advanced logic and cognitive skills doesn’t exclude us from enjoying a movie about superheroes, a TV show about time lords, or a book about wizards.

(via Pinterest)

I understand that some of the approaches used with adults don’t work with children. Developmentally, they don’t have the skills to think about behavior, feelings, and thought in that way. Children hide their values, issues, motivations, and aspirations because of a developmental inability to express them. Which is exactly why we use play therapy. Those things come out normally through what children choose to play with, how they choose to play with those things, and what they choose to watch.

Adults do the same thing, and so in some ways, we can use the same approach. Obviously some adults may object to playing with a dollhouse or building blocks, but there are other ways to gain the same types of information.

We can still ask an adult what the last movie they saw was. We can ask them about why they like the movie, who their favorite characters are, and what they didn’t like. Asking someone what the last book they read or what their favorite book is could also be informative. Maybe it was Steve Jobs’ biography, or maybe it was a trashy romance novel, or a detective story. Each of those says different things about the person reading them and what they value.

Even just having interesting decor in the office could prove illuminating. If there are action figures on the shelves, a few posters on the walls, a video game system and a shelf of games, and a wall of books, a lot can be said about what draws the client’s attention. Do they comment on the video games? Do they admire an X-Men poster? Do they scoff at your Star Wars figures? What is said is important, but so is the object of their focus.

No matter what age my client is, I would hope to show interest in what they’re interested in. From asking a kid about their Batman shirt to having an office lined with conversational matter, the leap isn’t so great as it might seem.

People need to know their therapists are interested in them, their lives, and what they enjoy. And their therapists need to realized that knowing about these things can help them form a bigger picture of who their client is and what makes them tick.

As another professor of mine once told me, it’s all grist for the mill.

Little Girls Paint the Super Bowl Pink

February 3, 2014 · Discuss on the GT Forum

I first heard about GoldieBlox last year at NYCC while talking to the women running the Brave Girls Alliance booth. You’ve probably heard of them as well, seeing as they had a very popular (and controversial) ad a while back parodying a Beastie Boys song. They more recently won a free commercial spot which aired during the Super Bowl yesterday.

(Image via PopSugar)

Watch the full ad on Youtube here.

In a separate video on Youtube the CEO and designer of GoldieBlox, Debbie, stated that she is trying to increase the number of women in the engineering field with her new product. She feels as though the answer is to engage girls at a young age with toys designed with them in mind. The hope is to get them excited about building, science, and math.

Debbie designed the toys keeping in mind that girls are very attracted to reading. She uses storytelling in a book that comes with the set as a gateway to building with the toys.

(Image via Wired)

While I agree that there aren’t enough women in science and engineering, I’m not too convinced that making building toys pink and purple will help attract girls to those fields. In general I take issue with making toys pink and purple to brand them for girls, but I understand that our society has built those stereotypes.

The real concern for me is that there are plenty of toys out there to help kids become interested in the more scientific fields. As a little girl my best friend had an erector set, I had K’nex and we both had LEGOs and Lincoln Logs. Our creations were usually massive and took up all of my bedroom, and sometimes most of the living room. I still play with LEGOs, and love stealing the sets my nephews get for their birthdays in order to build them first.

(Image via Pink Dandy Chatter)

Somewhere along the line, I decided that science and math were not for me. I, like many other women, chose a mostly verbal and social field for my career. I think the key is not necessarily to just engage girls with the toys, but to keep them engaged during whatever period it is that kids begin to play with toys less.

If incorporating the storytelling and reading into the process helps keep girls engaged long enough for it to transfer into more women in science and technology fields, then this would definitely be a victory. Regardless of my feelings on the color of the toys, GoldieBlox is a innovative step in the right direction.

In the end is the bigger early childhood development challenge more about gender stereotypes and aethetics or gender stereotypes around fields of interest like engineering?