Q: Can you please offer guidance on Fortnite? It seems to be all that kids 11-14 are doing these days. I do not allow my children to play, but saw my godson play and was horrified – the guns all look real, but the deaths show no blood. As a person who grew up in… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Aggression
I’m concerned about my 21-year-old making wooden guns for her cosplay costume based on a violent video game character – what should I do?
Q: My 21-year-old daughter and her 26-year-old boyfriend are making wooden replica guns and other weapon accessories for a cos-play convention based on the action video game, “Fallout 4”. I expressed my concerns about these games and how they can affect young peoples’ behavior and views on violence. My daughter’s response – of course – was… Read more »
I’m 14-years old and don’t like playing first-person shooter games like my friends – what should I do?
Q: I am 14 years old, and currently debating my choice of friends. They all play first-person shooter (FPS) games, while I choose other kinds of games. They often tell me how great their games are but criticize mine. When they clamor for the new Call of Duty, I freak out over the new Sonic… Read more »
Never learning violence.
Dear Readers, Last week, the New York Times featured an article entitled “Unlearning Gun Violence”, which discussed the work of an epidemiologist who, after a decade of fighting TB, HIV, and cholera in Africa, returned to a life-threatening epidemic in his hometown of Chicago—violence. He uses the same techniques that worked in Africa, teaching perpetrators and… Read more »
How can I keep my kids from being frightened by scary media this Halloween?
Updated October 25, 2019 Q: My kids (10 and 7) have been invited to a number of Halloween-themed parties this year that are being held at their schools and at the homes of a few of their friends. Several of these parties will have scary movies, scary music, and in one case (the school’s) a… Read more »
The Mediatrician’s response to a recent New York Times article on Media Violence
After reading a recent article in the New York Times about the connection between media violence and aggression in real life, Dr. Michael Rich felt compelled to respond, writing the following letter to the editor: Asking whether video games “cause” violent behavior is asking the wrong question. As a parent, I constantly make risk-benefit analyses… Read more »
Latest Studies Added to the CMCH Database of Research
Check out some of these studies recently added to our database of research. Lin, M.P., et al. (2011). Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors associated with internet addiction in a nationally representative sample of college students in Taiwan. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(12), 741-746. Do young people with Internet addiction also have psychological problems? Lyndon,… Read more »
Connections in News, Media, and Research: Women’s History Month
March is celebrated as Women's History Month. Before the end of the month, we wanted to share with you some interesting research, news, and media relating to women's health, gender stereotypes, and more. March is also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and often these two issues go hand in hand. Take a look at this… Read more »
Will playing hunting video games cause my son to be more aggressive and desensitize him to violence?
Q: Hello, I am the mother of a 10-year-old boy. We don’t allow violent video games in the house, but we do allow him to play first-person shooter hunting games (Duck Hunter, Cabela’s, Big Buck Hunter, etc.), which he loves, especially as he takes a hunting trip with his father every year. My fear is… Read more »
Recently Added Studies on Children, Media, and Health
Here are some studies that were recently added to the CMCH Database of Research. Behm-Morawitz, E., & Mastro, D.E. (2008). Mean girls? The influence of gender portrayals in teen movies on emerging adults' gender-based attitudes and beliefs. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 85(1), 131-146. This study found that teen movies imply a sense of normality… Read more »