8 Jul, 2011
With the ongoing battle between violence in games causing violent behaviors, whether or not we should censor such violence, and the psychological imprint of games upon different audiences, a Swedish research group provided an example of how games don’t pose as a psychological threat to anybody.
In fact, this group found just the opposite in a study that involved 46,000 teenagers. The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (or CAN) recently conducted a survey that found that the percentage of 15-year-olds who drink alcohol have dramatically decreased. Since CAN began its research back in 1971, it found that the level of 15 and 16 year old boys who had (or tried) alcohol dropped to 55 percent this past year, much lower than 77 percent from ten years ago. Alongside the drop in alcohol was a drop in smoking and drugs as well.
“We see similar developments in other Nordic countries, and also in the United States. It seems to be an international trend,” CAN director Bjorn Hibell commented to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter earlier this week.
IOGT-NTO, a sobriety organization, also applauded video games. Citing CAN’s numbers, the organization said that playing video games fostered a culture of alertness.
“When you play computer games, or rehearse with your rock band, it doesn’t work to be drunk,” said Anna Carlstedt, head of IOGT-NTO. “This is incredibly positive.”
Via CVG.
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