Grand Theft Childhood Offers Unbiased Research on Game Violence

March 3, 2008 1:02 pm Nadia Industry News

Dr. Cheryl Olsen, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, has some enlightening news to share everyone: video games are not as harmful as you think they are.

Olsen, who works as a researcher at the Massachusetts General Hospital, goes against conventional wisdom in her book by stating that much of the previous research on gaming has flaws because the researchers were focusing on teenagers and adults instead of children.

“The most-publicized studies,” said Olsen, “came from a small group of experimental psychologists studying college students playing nonviolent or violent games for 15 minutes. It’s debatable whether those studies are relevant to real children…”

Essentially, this confirms every gamer’s instinct: these are games! They’re not real, people!

This book is a refreshing departure from most studies that have condemned video gaming as ultra-violent and an agent of aggressive behavior among children. Instead, Olsen found that video games helped 12- to 14-year-olds relieve stress and let out anger in a healthier manner.

“This included playing games to ‘help get my anger out,’ to forget problems, to relax, and to feel less lonely.” Take that, yoga mat!

Additionally, Grand Theft Auto (the book got its title from the game) is not as scary of an influence as parents might think. While the series does feature an exorbitant amount of violence, sex, bloodshed and general mayhem, the 12- to 14-year-olds playing it do not see it as real life.

“[What] we found is that most children who play GTA don’t see the characters as role models, and don’t see the game as like real life,” stated Olsen. Instead, she said, “the ‘unreality’ is one thing they like about the series.”

Grand Theft Childhood, written by Olsen and co-authored with Dr. Laurence Kutner, is due out in stores in April.