This is a response to a Channel 4 program, Extreme Parenting, in which a segment was given over to a study of Violent games.

A group of boys were randomly divided in two, and asked to play either a football game or a violent game. Their heart rates were monitored during this. They were then asked to view violent news footage, and again their hearts were monitored. Lastly, selected children were given an incident to intervene using politeness (pens were ‘accidentally’ dropped off a table). This being TV, violent games were clearly more ‘dangerous’ than non-violent games.

I felt there were several flaws in the set-up and outcome of this TV experiment, and would like to point out my concerns. Continue reading →