To children, the Super Mario Brothers probably are as familiar as Mickey Mouse. Indeed, a recent survey of youngsters ages 6 through 12 found that more of them could identify Mario than Mickey Mouse.
“Few adults realize what a huge force video games have become in children’s lives,” says David Sheff, who cites this study in “Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars and Enslaved Your Children” (Random House, $25).
In the Super Mario Brothers games that play via the Nintendo system, brothers Mario and Luigi Mario face numerous obstacles in their attempts to rescue a princess.
Approximately half of U.S. households have video-game systems. Children who don’t play such games at home can meet Mario and Luigi and other video-game characters at friends’ houses or at video arcades. According to Nintendo, the industry leader and manufacturer the Mario Brothers products, there are more than 70 million video-game players in the United States.
Video games aren’t something parents should ignore, says Sheff. But as he concluded in research for his book, many do: They monitor and restrict television viewing, but let their children play video games as long as they want, which in the extreme could be 8 to 10 hours a day.
“Parents say `Thank God the kids aren’t watching TV.’ They have no concept of what the games are like,” reports Sheff, who does play certain video games with his children.
Parents and others who have taken a closer look at video games give them mixed reviews. On one hand, some games are fun and develop useful cognitive skills. On the other, some are violent and sexist. Some youngsters become so engrossed in playing that they tune out the world. But for many others, video games are a way to connect with friends or even a joystick-wielding mom or dad.
How can you make sure your kids reap the benefits without the problems? Get involved, experts say. Find out about the games and how they affect your child. (The Sega company, for example, recently announced that it will label its games: GA for general audiences, MA-13 for mature audiences with parental discretion advised, and MA-17 for adults only. The labels serve as warnings to parents, but do not prevent store owners from selling videos to minors. Nintendo of America has not developed a rating system, but its guidelines for NES, Game Boy and Super NES games don’t allow nudity, profanity, sexual violence, displays of blood or body dismemberment, or encouragement of illegal drug use.)
Here are their pros and cons on this form of entertainment, and tips on coping with the video-game invasion at home.
What kids learn
“I got interested in video games when I tried to play,” says Patricia Marks Greenfield. “My 11-year-old son could master them quite easily, but I couldn’t at all. I wondered what cognitive skills he had that I lacked.”
Greenfield, who is a professor of psychology at UCLA specializing in cognitive development and has written a book about the effects of TV and related entertainment, sees video games as an important cultural tool.
“The toys and games of any society prepare young people for adult occupations,” she points out. In the case of video games, that preparation is for the world of computers. Just as a toy telephone makes the real thing seem familiar, video games demystify the high-tech world that intimidates so many adults. The youngster who manages to hook up a Sega Genesis or Nintendo game system, she says, probably will not be daunted by such tasks as setting a VCR clock or using a word processor.
The games also enhance other skills, Greenfield says. One example is the ability to learn through discovery. Unlike traditional board games, where players read the rules before they begin, video games are mastered by trial and error.
“You learn by interacting with the game,” says Greenfield, author of “Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games and Computers” (Harvard University Press, $20.50). “That happens to be the best way to learn how to use a computer program.”
Video games also improve certain spatial abilities. In some games, players must translate flat screen images into mental pictures of three-dimensional spaces, and navigate within those spaces. The same skill is required in many occupations that rely on computers. For example, laparoscopic surgeons operate through tiny incisions under the guidance of viewing instruments. Indeed, a recent letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association predicted that a new generation of “Nintendo surgeons” would revolutionize medicine.
“The military use video games extensively for training and personnel selection,” says Greenfield. “The link was obvious during television coverage of the Gulf War. We saw the same screens the pilots saw, with bombs being dropped on targets. It looked like a video-game war.”
Concerns About Content
Battles, explosions, fighting and other violent themes are prevalent in video games, which feature such titles as “Bloody Wolf,” “Toxic Crusaders,” “LHX Attack Chopper” and “Death Valley Rally.” Here’s how “Street Fighter II,” a popular Nintendo game, is described on the box: “Get ready to rumble! From across the globe come eight of the wildest fighters anyone has ever known. Hear your spine crack as Zangief smashes you to the pavement! Can you survive?”
Sexism is another issue that has been raised by critics. Most characters are male. In the world of video games, females are likely to be captive princesses awaiting the arrival of male rescuers.
“Video games are a powerful medium for transmitting values, so the content is a cause for concern,” says Marsha Kinder, professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television and author of “Playing with Power in Movies, Television and Video Games” (University of California Press, $12).
“With the games, you control the characters on the screen, so you identify strongly with them,” Kinder said. “If you’re allowed to identify only with characters who are violent white males, it’s a problem.”
As yet there’s no evidence that children become more aggressive or sexist under the influence of video games. But some people familiar with research on kids and television violence assume that the games have similar effects.
“All things being equal, youngsters who are heavy viewers of TV violence are more aggressive with other children and less likely to solve problems through cooperation,” says Parker Page, president of the Children’s Television Resource and Education Center, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco, founded in 1984 to develop information programs for parents and teachers on TV’s impact on children.
Others are not concerned. Sharon Harris, a special-education teacher in La Palma, Calif., and mother of two who sometimes takes a turn at the controls of the family Nintendo game, had a change of heart about violent games after she played one. “I said I’d never buy `Contra,’ which is a war game,” she recalls. “Then a neighbor brought it over. I played, and it was a lot of fun. I find the violence on TV much more graphic. The Contra characters are comic-book figures; they don’t seem like real people. And I didn’t find that my boys became more aggressive when they played with it.”
Although Page acknowledges that children are less likely to imitate violence when it’s portrayed unrealistically, he sees the games as part of a larger cultural context in which aggression is all too prevalent.
“A youngster who plays violent video games spends that much more time every day in an `us-versus-them’ world,” Page says. “I feel that might take away from his or her humanity just a bit. The result may not be visible.
“Kids won’t necessarily go around hacking at other children, but they may become more tolerant of kids fighting or being verbally abusive to each other,” he says.
And there may be a connection between violence and sexism. According to Nintendo marketing statistics, about three-quarters of video-game players are boys. When Greenfield recruited children for her research, boys were far more enthusiastic.
“I had to cajole girls into completing the study,” she says.
She’s concerned that girls will be at a disadvantage in the job market if they lack the computer-related skills that video games develop. Part of the problem: Girls are turned off by the violence in video games.
Parents who are concerned about violent video games and their consequences can steer their children toward alternatives that are both peaceful and popular.
Even David Sheff says, “Kids love the Mario Brothers games, which are whimsical, inventive and lots of fun.” And Harris says she finds puzzlelike video games such as “Legend of Zelda” superior to the board games she grew up with.
“Video games have much more depth, challenge and interest,” she says. “You work on them for weeks.”
Though educational video games have been slow in coming (in contrast to the wide selection of educational computer software available for kids), the new “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” game, is a highly successful geography-teaching game.
Video-game manufacturers have responded to charges of sexism, but with mixed results. According to Sheff, girl-oriented offerings like “The Little Mermaid” and “Barbie” simply aren’t exciting enough to compete with the likes of “Street Fighter II.” But there’s also “Metroid.”
“It’s a game about repulsive creatures from space,” Sheff says. “The main character is Samus, who’s dressed in a spacesuit. You assume it’s a typical male hero doing battle against the forces of evil. But at the end Samus takes off the space helmet-and turns out to be a girl.”
Television has been called “the plug-in drug,” but video games are more involving.
“It’s an issue of power,” notes Kinder. Part of the excitement is testing one’s abilities and getting immediate feedback, she says. The fact that most young children can outplay their parents is another attraction. As Kinder points out, “Video-game characters are often powerful little guys who defeat big guys.”
Advice for parents
Your children may be able to outplay you at video games, but they still count on you to “know the score.” Following are some suggestions for constructive parental guidance:
– Limit play time. What those limits should be depends upon your child. But it’s safe to assume that if the games make a child frustrated and grouchy, he’s playing too much. Steer kids to other activities; make sure they take a break once in a while and get exercise. And here’s something to tell them if they resist: Shorter playing sessions make for higher scores, according to Kevin Sullivan, marketing manager for the game manufacturer Hudson Soft USA Inc. Tests of Hudson Softs games with children showed, Sullivan says, that given a time limit the kids focused their concentration on the game and in doing so achieved higher scores.
– Encourage your children to be selective. That means you have to become familiar with the games. Read reviews; rent or borrow games. Then talk about them with your child before you buy. According to Kinder, “It’s important for kids to understand that video games were created by people who make certain choices. When you start asking questions-for instance, `Why are all the characters male?’-children begin to see what the alternatives were.”
– Make game-playing a social activity. Encourage your child to play with other people rather than alone. And give the games a try yourself.
Your child could use limits if:
– She is neglecting her homework, and her grades have begun to fall.
– He’s not getting enough sleep because he plays past bedtime.
– She skips meals to play.
– He doesn’t get enough exercise.
– She’s becoming a loner, and plays video games instead of spending time with friends.
– His behavior is beginning to reflect an aggressive style that’s part of his favorite video games.
