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Devastating Video Games: Defending the Credibility of the Video Game Summit
editorial
posted by: Aaron Stanton
date posted: 02:20 PM Mon Nov 6th, 2006
last revision: 03:05 PM Mon Nov 6th, 2006



Click to read.Editor\'s Note: Since the original publication of this article, the National Institute on Media and the Family has republished their press release, removing the word \"devastating\" from the lead-in to the joint statement, and adding the word \"violent\".



\"There have been a number of very legitimate questions about how [the results of this summit] will be reported publicly,\" said Dr. David Walsh on the second day of the Summit on Video Games, Youth and Public Policy. \"We\'re going to try to be very careful about that.\"

Sadly, it is a sentiment that might be difficult to honor. A recent press release from the summit makes it appear is if the researchers in attendance agreed that the effects of violent video games are \"devastating\". In fact, 80% of the researchers named in the press release that I was able to contact did not agree that they would personally describe the effects of violent video games as \"devastating\". Portraying it as a unified perspective, and using it as the lead-in to the actual joint statement, puts words in the mouth of the summit that were never said.

The summit was an attempt to generate a unified statement on what behavioral research has to say about the consequences of playing video games. After attending the summit, I came away with a positive impression. Despite commonly held mistrust of the summit organizers on the part of the game industry, the summit itself was fairly even-handed. The participants did not attend simply to cry the evils of video games from the rooftops; in fact, some researchers even suggested that games should be rated by their positive attributes instead of their negatives.

Which is why I am so deeply, deeply disappointed in the press release issued recently by the organizers of the event. While most of the press release matched the flavor of the summit itself, the most critical paragraph - the one reporting the unified statement agreed upon by the researchers present - simply got it wrong.

The paragraph I\'m referring to goes like this:

Before adjourning, the summit\'s academic, medical and health experts and organizations agreed to a joint statement regarding the devastating effects of video games on children and youth. The statement read:

\"Behavior science research demonstrates that playing violent video games can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in children and youth.\"


The second paragraph, the one which contains the quote, is fine. The \"Behavior science research...\" line came from 20 minutes of careful consideration by the participants of the summit, where the statement was written and re-written word for word in order to create something that everyone could agree on. The problem comes from the misleading line that proceeds it. At no point did the summit agree that video games have a devastating effect on anyone, children or otherwise. Even if you include the word \"violent\" to make it \"the devastating effects of violent video games\", you do not find that all of the 11 researchers in the press release would agree with describing video games as devastating. Without the word \"violent\", I think you\'d be hard pressed to find any researcher at the summit that thinks they participated in a joint statement whatsoever about the overall impact of video games. The National Summit on Media and the Family, which issued the press release, has acknowledged that the lack of the word \"violent\" was an error.

Which leaves my biggest concern.

The press release references the support of 11 researchers that attended the conference, and names them. Of the five researchers on that list that I was able to contact before press time, only one said that they would personally describe the effects of violent video games as \"devastating\" based on their knowledge of the research. At the same time, another expressed concern that the wording could damage the credibility of the repeat summits in the future.

And it does damage the credibility. The word \"devastating\" was immediately picked up by the game media outlet GamePolitics.com, and used to introduce the unified statement on their site. That single word almost entirely countered the impact of the unified statement that followed; no one listened because they detected the PR spin in the line immediately before hand. You can see it in the discussions that follow in the public forum. Instead of being listened to, it\'s instead filed away as another example of the National Institute\'s bias on the subject.

The joint statement was carefully worded in its scope; it didn\'t say more than it meant and it didn\'t say less than it meant. Imagine all that work torpedoed by the simple unwillingness to let the words of the unified statement speak for themselves.

Not only is the phrasing of the press release a disservice to those that attended the summit, it is a legitimate red flag for people watching for bias on the part of the organizers. If I were one of the 11 people to have my name, credential, and professional reputation appear on that press release, I\'d be furious that it implied I was agreeing to something I wasn\'t, especially if I thought it was an attempt to apply a political slant to an otherwise scientific conference.

When I called New School Communications, the PR firm that sent out the press release, I was told that they used the word \"devastating\" because the effects of violent video games are devastating. I find it extremely interesting that the strongest support for the word use came from the PR contact on the press release, who A) didn\'t participate in the discussion to create the joint statement at the summit, B) didn\'t appear on the list of names qualified to agree to the joint statement, and C) expresses a view not agreed to by the majority of the people I talked to who actually did both A and B.

I\'d like to objectively support my perspective and do service to the actual spirit of the summit at the same time. *This is a 13 minute recording (click here) of the discussion at the summit regarding the unified statement. In it you can hear as people ask for word changes - replacing \"causal\" with \"contributory\" for example - and debate about whether or not the word \"substantial\" should be used to describe the amount of research there is on children in this area. It might not be as sexy as a new game trailer, but listen to it anyway, and then try to decide for yourself whether or not you feel the word \"devastating\" would have made it through the peer review.

In the coming weeks, the summit organizers will be releasing \"a 10-year plan, which will outline benchmarks and creative solutions to addressing children\'s access to violent and sexually explicit video games.\"

So this is my request, my plea, to the National Institute on Media and the Family and Iowa State University, both sponsors of the summit: Be more careful than you\'ve been. The press release was approved by Dr. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, and Dr. Doug Gentile of Iowa State University before it was released, but it was not shown to the other researchers referenced in the letter. If it had been, perhaps the word \"violent\" would have made it into the press release from the beginning, and \"devastating\" would have been replaced with something that actually reflects what happened at the summit.

And this is my plea to the researchers that participated in the summit, people I met and respect, people who will ultimately be the most effective watchdogs: Pay attention to what\'s being said in your name. The summit had valuable things to say, and the game industry should listen if it\'s reported accurately. Many people already view the National Institute as a biased organization; let\'s make sure that the summit itself, and those that speak there, don\'t unjustly earn a similar reputation. If you agree that violent video games have devastating effects, that\'s fine. But if you don\'t, you should know that New School Communication thinks they\'re doing an good job of expressing your opinions at the summit, and you should let them know that they\'re not. Insist that more care go into crafting the 10 year plan that results from the summit, and insist on oversite of anything and everything that your name is going to be on, including press releases. Do not underestimate how carefully your words will be picked over. Do not underestimate how much impact your participation will have. And do not underestimate how long these documents will appear in public record, or how often they will be referenced over time.

The game industry and legislatures in government are listening to you; please make sure that what is printed accurately reflects what you say.


You can find a copy of the full text of the press release below:

MINNEAPOLIS ? The National Summit on Video Games, Youth and Public Policy, sponsored by the National Institute on Media and the Family and Iowa State University, was called a success by summit organizers and participants. The summit was the first time academic scholars, public health officials, child health advocates and the video game industry had come together to discuss the health and psychological impact of violent and sexually explicit video games on children and the current rating system.

Held on the University of Minnesota-Saint Paul campus, the summit examined the current and emerging trends related to video game rating systems, education policy and government regulation. Participants included Patricia Vance of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Jeff McIntyre of the American Psychological Association and Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family.

\"For the first time ever, academic scholars, medical experts, child health advocates and representatives from the video game industry had a thoughtful discussion on the video game rating system and research on the impact these games have on our children,\" said Dr. David Walsh. \"The discussion was very helpful for everyone involved, and I look forward to continued dialogue as we seek solutions that steer our children toward positive games and away from negative games.\"

\"It was remarkable to see the cooperation and collaboration among the Summit participants,\" said Dr. Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University. \"I am optimistic that if researchers and health experts continue to have a meaningful dialogue with the video game industry, we can make great strides in improving the ratings, public education about how important it is to use the ratings, and in creating public policies that make sense.\"

Before adjourning, the summit\'s academic, medical and health experts and organizations agreed to a joint statement regarding the devastating effects of video games on children and youth. The statement read:

\"Behavior science research demonstrates that playing violent video games can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in children and youth.\"

The following experts and organizations signed the statement:

David Walsh, Ph.D., National Institute on Media and the Family
Craig Anderson, Ph.D., Iowa State University
Joanne Cantor, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Karen Dill, Ph.D., Lenoir-Rhyne College
Eileen Espejo, Children Now
Jeanne Funk, Ph.D., University of Toledo
Douglas Gentile, Ph.D., Iowa State University
Dale Kunkel, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Bob McCannon, The Action Coalition for Media Education
Michael Rich, M.D., MPH; Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School
Dorothy Singer, Ph.D., Yale University
Common Sense Media

In the coming weeks, the summit participants will release a 10-year plan, which will outline benchmarks and creative solutions to addressing children\'s access to violent and sexually explicit video games. One component of the plan calls for an annual summit so interested parties can continue their dialogue.

The National Institute on Media and the Family is an independent non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The Institute\'s mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm mass media have on children through research and education. For more information, visit www.mediawise.org.


*Editor\'s Note: At the time I made this recording I had no intention to publish it. I recorded it for note-taking purposes. However, I asked on the first day of the summit if there were any restrictions on recording the summit and I was told there was not, so I see no reason not to make it publicly available.

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