"A first-person shooter game is one where you approach the world with a deadly weapon, and your job is to kill them before they kill you," Dr. Rich explained. "When you’re playing online, every character out there is another actual person somewhere in the world. Think about the implications of that."
Playing a violent video game, he stressed, is a very different experience from watching a violent movie.
"Unlike when you’re watching Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jean-Claude Van Damme do mayhem to people, in a video game you are directing the narrative. You are the person who is behind the gun," the pediatrician continued.
Video games are possibly the most effective educational technology ever invented. Players are immersed in an environment where they are rewarded for doing well and punished when they don’t. Either way, they get to keep doing it until their performance improves.
But what are the psychological effects of attaining mastery in a game such as the highly popular Grand Theft Auto, in which stealing cars is merely one of the crimes at which players learn to excel?
"Think about it: If you’re being rewarded for killing female hookers, that’s bound to teach you something over time," Dr. Rich observed.
In one study, 53% of parents say they limit their children’s video gaming time. However, when their kids are asked, only 11% report that this actually occurs, Dr. Rich said.
He offered the following tips that physicians can provide to parents in order to prevent problems from video games:
• Set a good example regarding parents’ own media use.
• Don’t rely upon the industry-sponsored game-rating system.
• Keep all of a child’s computer use in public areas of the home. "Don’t let them disappear into the bedroom to use a computer for hours and hours. That’s how World of Warcraft gets out of control," Dr. Rich advised.
• Offer engaging alternatives, like going outside to shoot baskets instead of playing an NBA basketball video game.
• Play every one of the video games in the house with the child. It’s the best way to learn about the actual game content, and it’s also an empowering experience for the child.
"I tell parents, ‘Your kid will clean your clock. There is no way that your thumbs will move fast enough. But it’s great for a kid – who’s spent his whole life being told what to do – to be the master and [to have] the parent be the student. It allows you to share an experience,’ " the physician said.
• Limit video game play to a period after all critical tasks – attending school, homework, physical activity, sleep, sit-down meals with the family – are completed.
Dr. Rich operates a website (www.askthemediatrician.com) on which he fields parents’ questions regarding media and their children. The site contains links to the Center on Media and Child Health, where physicians can obtain free downloads of handouts on media-related issues for their office.
He reported having no relevant financial conflicts.