JANUARY 28, 2010
RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT ON AVERAGE, BOYS HAVE AN EDGE OVER GIRLS IN SEVERAL TYPES OF COGNITIVE SKILLS, SUCH AS IMAGINING HOW THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS WOULD LOOK FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES, AND CALCULATING THE TRAJECTORY OF AN OBJECT (SUCH AS A BULLET OR A FOOTBALL) TOWARD A MOVING TARGET. THIS MAKES…
JANUARY 28, 2008
ALONG WITH SWEARING, THE OTHER ISSUE THAT STRUCK CLOSE TO HOME WITH THE YOUNG TEENS AND PRETEENS IN OUR FOCUS GROUPS WAS SEX—BUT QUITE DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY THAT MANY PARENTS EXPECTED OR FEARED. THE CHILDREN’S NORMAL ADOLESCENT AWKWARDNESS AND CONCERNS CAME OUT IN THE WAY THEY RESPONDED TO THE…
JANUARY 28, 2008
“FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD MICHAEL CARNEAL STEALS A GUN FROM A NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE, BRINGS IT TO SCHOOL, AND FIRES EIGHT SHOTS INTO A STUDENT PRAYER MEETING THAT IS BREAKING UP. PRIOR TO STEALING THE GUN, HE HAD NEVER SHOT A REAL HANDGUN IN HIS LIFE. THE FBI SAYS THAT THE AVERAGE EXPERIENCED LAW ENFORCEMENT…
JANUARY 28, 2008
TODAY THERE ARE A LOT OF GAMES—MANY OF THEM AVAILABLE FOR FREE—THAT MAKE NO BONES ABOUT SPEWING RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, AND ANTI-SEMITIC BELIEFS, OFTEN WRAPPED IN ATTEMPTS AT HUMOR. MANY ARE QUITE SIMPLE. IN THE SUICIDE BOMBING GAME, PLAYERS USE A COMPUTER MOUSE TO DIRECT AN ARAB SUICIDE BOMBER…
JANUARY 28, 2008
THE FIRST STEP IS TO REFRAME THE OFTEN-ASKED QUESTION, “HOW DO I PROTECT MY CHILD FROM VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES?” TO “HOW DO I HELP MY CHILD MAKE THE MOST OF TIME SPENT PLAYING VIDEO GAMES?” IT’S NOT BOXING, IT’S AIKIDO. YOU DON’T WANT EITHER TO MEET FORCE WITH FORCE OR TO ABDICATE CONTROL. INSTEAD, YOU…
JANUARY 28, 2008
“WE ABSOLUTELY HAD NO VIDEO GAMES IN OUR HOUSE,” SAID WENDY IN A PARENTS’ FOCUS GROUP. “WE HAD A ’NO VIDEO GAMES‘ RULE FOR YEARS. WHEN MY SON WAS IN 4TH GRADE, WE FINALLY BROKE DOWN AND GOT A VIDEO GAME SYSTEM, BECAUSE HE KEPT COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL SAYING, ‘I’M COMPLETELY OUT OF THE CONVERSATION….
JANUARY 28, 2008
CULTURAL HISTORIANS CONSIDER THE LATE 1930S THROUGH THE 1950S TO BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMIC BOOKS. CHARACTERS INTRODUCED IN THAT ERA, SUCH AS SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN AND THE CRYPT KEEPER, ARE STILL CULTURAL ICONS AND HAVE BEEN REINVENTED FOR OTHER MEDIA AND NEW GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN.
IN…
IN…
JANUARY 28, 2008
RICHARD FALZONE, M.D., IS A CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST IN SUBURBAN BOSTON WHO SPECIALIZES IN TREATING TEENAGERS WHO HAVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS. MOST OF THE TIME, THEY USE ALCOHOL OR STREET DRUGS. SOME ABUSE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. A GROWING NUMBER, HE SAYS, ACT AS IF THEY’RE ADDICTED TO VIDEO…
JANUARY 28, 2008
OUR SURVEY OF 1,254 MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS INCLUDED 78 STUDENTS WITH MILD LEARNING DISABILITIES WHO COULD FILL OUT THE SURVEY WITH EXTRA TIME OR ASSISTANCE FROM STAFF (WHILE STILL KEEPING THEIR ANSWERS PRIVATE). AS A GROUP, THESE KIDS TENDED TO PLAY GAMES FOR MORE HOURS PER WEEK THAN OTHERS. THEY WERE…
JANUARY 28, 2008
IN 2004, WE BEGAN A TWO-YEAR, $1.5-MILLION MULTIFACETED STUDY OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND CHILDREN AT THE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND MEDIA, A DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE…
JANUARY 28, 2008
ENTER ANTHONY COMSTOCK, THE CHIEF SPECIAL AGENT FOR THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF VICE. COMSTOCK WAS A MEDIA DARLING OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. HIS CRUSADES AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY, ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, BIRTH CONTROL AND ABORTION MADE HEADLINES FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
IN 1872,…
IN 1872,…
JANUARY 28, 2008
MARCY TOLD THE OTHER PARENTS IN HER FOCUS GROUP THAT HER CONCERNS WENT WELL BEYOND THE CONTENTS AND IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES. “I THINK IT ALSO CREATES FOR CHILDREN—AND THEY MAY NOT ADMIT IT—A REAL SENSE OF TERROR, AN UNDERLYING SENSE THAT LIFE IS JUST VIOLENT; THAT AWFUL THINGS…