Video Games, Violence Exposure in

Exposure

Data on content-specific video game use is scarce, and so it is difficult to know what percentage of time is spent playing violent video games specifically. However, ownership and use of video game consoles (including television set-based consoles such as the PlayStation 3, the X-Box 360, and the Nintendo Wii, as well as handheld video game players such as the PSP and Nintendo DS) has been increasing for more than a decade, with more than 80% of households owning a video game system. Computer ownership and use has also risen to more than 80% of American homes, providing another platform for video game play. Although television viewing is still the number one media activity in most households, the proportion of time spent playing video games is increasing, with some estimating combined use of video game consoles and computer games at more than an hour a day. Survey evidence suggests higher levels of home computer and videogame use among older children and adolescents, particularly males, than among other demographic groups. Video game play is often combined with other media-centered activities such as television viewing and listening to music.

Parental Rules

Rules are likely to fit into one of two categories: regulation of time spent video game playing and regulation of video game content. In homes with video game systems, less than a quarter of parents have rules stipulating how long their children can play. Even fewer have rules regulating the content of their children's video games. Rules regarding video game use decline as children grow older.

Types of Games

A wide variety of games with violent content is available and falls into several categories. A shortened list of those genres most associated with violent content is listed here.

First-person shooters. First-person shooters (FPS) emphasize action and shooting from the point of view of a character being controlled by the player. FPSs often emphasize finding powerful weapons and aiming and firing at enemies or other objects in the game environment. Examples of the genre include games from the Doom, Half-Life, and Halo series.

Third-person shooter. These games also emphasize action and shooting, but players control characters they see on-screen from a third-person perspective. Examples include Metal Gear Solid and the Tomb Raider series.

Fighting. Players fight a computer-controlled opponent or a human-controlled opponent in one-on-one combat. Examples are games from the Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Super Smash Bros, series.

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