It seems like once a week we’re hearing about studies proving that video games cause people to do violent things or video games don’t cause people to do violent things. Well the, soon to be released, book Grand Theft Childhood sheds some light on the whole ‘study’ thing.
Aside from most of the studies pulling their focus groups from 18-24 year olds, they also tell you that most studies only test gamers for 15 minutes. A 20-year old plays a game for 15 minutes and we’re supposed to tell if that affected his whole life? I think that’s ridiculous. And so does Grand Theft Childhood.
Grand Theft Childhood questions these short studies and their relevance to people who weren’t asked to play video games, but wanted to play video games. They also wanted go into the study with objectivity, not searching for a specific result; yet another refreshing distinction between the authors Drs. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson and every other person who has done a study on this topic.
Of all the pieces I’ve read about this book, on sale April 15 (plug!) my favorite comes from the Amazon.com editorial review. "Grand Theft Childhood gives parents practical, research-based advice on ways to limit many of those risks. It also shows how video games — even violent games — can benefit children and families in unexpected ways."
Even the review shares in the objectivity. Now go, order.
[via Slashdot]
