Literacy Review

Video games have become more and more influential in the daily lives of today’s youth and with the introduction of High Definition and incredibly realistic graphics, it is hardly a surprise that 97% percent of children play video games; 99% of which are boys and 94% are girls. This may be all well and good however, the media has given extensive coverage of the negative impact these games have on the “easily influenced” minds of a minority, causing them to act out in various cases of violence, and in some circumstances, murder. An article in the Independent Newspaper is a fine example of this (The Independent, 08/01/2003). Another example is formed in the studies of Sherry Turkle, who is Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology. There was sufficient evidence in her research to prove that behavioural characteristics of children and adolescents who played computer games did change during the experiment and it was evident that some “have difficulty understanding the boundaries between real and artificial life” (Turkle 1995). Interestingly, Turkle also explains how the use of “virtual pets” may be the cause to blame for introducing gaming at such a young stage of life and clouding the line between reality and virtual worlds. In conclusion, it seems that Turkle’s point of view is very clear and her research backs her theory up completely.