Video Game Ratings.
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Violent Crime Offenses and Video Game Sales
1996-2007
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Violent Video Games Linked to Child Aggression.
By: Anne Harding
About 90 percent of kids in the United States ages 8 to 16 play video games, and they spend about 13 hours a week doing so (even more for boys). Now a new study suggests virtual violence in these games may make kids more aggressive in real life.
Kids in both the U.S. and Japan who reported playing lots of violent video games had more violent behavior months later than students who did not, according to a study done back in 2009.
In the United States, Dr. Craig Anderson and his co-workers studied students and how the way the student acted was related to the video games they played 3 to 6 months later.
There were three groups of kids Dr. Anderson studied:
181 Japanese students ages 12 to 15
1,050 Japanese students aged 13 to 18
364 American students age 9 to 12
With the Japanese students ages 12 to 15, researchers looked at how much the students played five different violent video game genres: fighting action, shooting, adventure, and others.
The other group of Japanese students, ages 13 to 18, picked their favorite game type and the amount of time they spent playing them every week, and the researchers measured the amount of violence the games had.
Finally, with the American students, they had to list their three favorite games and how much they played them.
Dr. Anderson and his co-workers found that their research showed that both Japanese and American students who spent more time playing violent video games did become more aggressive and violent over time than the students who did not play violent video games.
Some of the students in the research stated that they played violent video games to let out stress. According to the International Media Violence Commission last December, the report found that violent images could cause aggressive thoughts and feelings that the student may already have in their mind. If these violent thoughts and feelings are repeated over and over because the student continues to play certain kinds of violent video games, it will more likely influence the student’s behavior.
Kids in both the U.S. and Japan who reported playing lots of violent video games had more violent behavior months later than students who did not, according to a study done back in 2009.
In the United States, Dr. Craig Anderson and his co-workers studied students and how the way the student acted was related to the video games they played 3 to 6 months later.
There were three groups of kids Dr. Anderson studied:
181 Japanese students ages 12 to 15
1,050 Japanese students aged 13 to 18
364 American students age 9 to 12
With the Japanese students ages 12 to 15, researchers looked at how much the students played five different violent video game genres: fighting action, shooting, adventure, and others.
The other group of Japanese students, ages 13 to 18, picked their favorite game type and the amount of time they spent playing them every week, and the researchers measured the amount of violence the games had.
Finally, with the American students, they had to list their three favorite games and how much they played them.
Dr. Anderson and his co-workers found that their research showed that both Japanese and American students who spent more time playing violent video games did become more aggressive and violent over time than the students who did not play violent video games.
Some of the students in the research stated that they played violent video games to let out stress. According to the International Media Violence Commission last December, the report found that violent images could cause aggressive thoughts and feelings that the student may already have in their mind. If these violent thoughts and feelings are repeated over and over because the student continues to play certain kinds of violent video games, it will more likely influence the student’s behavior.
Curfews are Ineffective in Preventing Crime
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Curfews compromise children’s rights
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An Analysis of Curfew Enforcement and Juvenile Crime in California
By: Mike A Males and Dan Macallair
One study of the relationship between curfews and crimes involving young people in California from 1985-1999 is that curfew enforcement (even the strongest) has no effect on crime, youth crime, or youth safety no matter what the time period, jurisdiction, or type of crime measure studied. This is a surprise.
Instead, it appears that curfews for young people in California have no real crime reduction or safety benefits whatsoever. In studying different kinds of research on curfew laws, they do not seem to be reducing crime or improving safety.
In 1997, for example, the city of Los Angeles arrested 11,500 youth for curfew violations, 150 times more than in 1990. There was a forty percent decline in the rate of serious youth crime from 1990 to 1997. But adult crime also went down at the same rate, for each type of crime. There was also no real decline in serious crime in the 1990s in the cities that had serious curfew laws, like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. Instead, crime was no greater, and in most cases was less, than San Francisco, which had no curfew laws.
Instead, it appears that curfews for young people in California have no real crime reduction or safety benefits whatsoever. In studying different kinds of research on curfew laws, they do not seem to be reducing crime or improving safety.
In 1997, for example, the city of Los Angeles arrested 11,500 youth for curfew violations, 150 times more than in 1990. There was a forty percent decline in the rate of serious youth crime from 1990 to 1997. But adult crime also went down at the same rate, for each type of crime. There was also no real decline in serious crime in the 1990s in the cities that had serious curfew laws, like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. Instead, crime was no greater, and in most cases was less, than San Francisco, which had no curfew laws.