Adults have always worried about the possible bad effects of new technology on the minds of the young. Plato thought that a reliance on reading and writing might weaken the memories of the ancient Greeks. Naturally, such concerns only intensified with the exponential growth of new media technology during the twentieth century. Television is often seen as an essentially negative force in young people’s lives: shortening their attention span, reducing the time they spend reading or playing with other kids, and even (as in the case of Albert Bandura’s famous ‘Bobo Doll’ experiment) encouraging them to copy inappropriate behaviour from televised role models.
In the last couple of decades, the televisual bogeyman has been joined by a newer one: computer technology. Concerns about the impact of computers on children range from the sexual (access to hardcore pornography) to the criminological (riots being organised on Facebook) to the educational (spelling and grammar slipping due to compressed communication on Twitter). This article focuses on video games, and on three accusations that have been made against them:
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