Dear Readers: Last week, “Curious Reader” asked if mass shootings are the price of society’s insatiable appetite for media violence. A furious defense ensued from the male panelists (see our column JAN 8), who pointed to mentally disturbed individuals as the cause of mass shootings, not their games, movies and music, which they held sacrosanct. I agreed with the first part — and promised to talk this week about the inconvenient truth that massive childhood doses of virtual violence aren’t innocent either — and that they are causing previously unforeseen neuro-cognitive maladaptions and breakdown. —Lauren
But first, some panelists less captivated by virtual violence:
Editor's Note: Nothing gets readers more upset as when I disparage video games — or in today’s case, media violence in general. This is duly noted as a further sign of addiction, which, I’m sure calmed everyone down.
I’m a farmer by nature. I’m always struck by how if we really wanted to raise champions, we would never feed them what we feed them, let them be so sleep deprived, so lacking in fresh air and movement, nor would we (arguably the weirdest thing of all), let them hypnotize themselves in front of artificially glowing screens — where they absorb/engage in violence? Honestly, it’s insane.
Am I the village idiot, or did I just miss the Kool-Aid?
To be healthy, kids need to move, play, contribute, be outside, have real connections and eye contact with peers and nurturing leaders in a stress-free structure within which they can learn, stretch and grow.
Positive emotional experiences keep humans shifted into the creative, prefrontal lobes of the brain. Stressful experiences keep them controlled by the reptilian brain with its reflexes of anxiety, anger and hostility. The realm of the brain children spend the most time in has a profound effect on their intelligence and emotional stability — not to mention what they pass on to their own children.
The media industry spends fortunes debunking what I’ve shared today, but the science is real. And anybody paying attention can see that, already, learning challenges, mental illness and disorders are off the charts — especially among the young. Just wait for the next generation or two. It’s going to be a catastrophe if we don’t turn this thing around.
I’ll say it again, every parent controls the on-off switch in their home. No matter when you start, the results will be more positive than if you didn’t.
Final word: I know many incredible young men who play video games — since most of them do — and I know their well-meaning parents. I also know a few girls who like video games and violent movies. One wrote last week upset that I was leaving her out. To all of you, I love you. That’s why I do this work. —Lauren
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Comments
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Please provide me with the references to the articles you refer to by Pearce, Mander, and Healy. Thank you.
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Thanks for asking.
All three researchers have written several books.
Probably the most pertinent are, Joseph Chilton Pearce’s “Evolution’s End” http://www.amazon.com/Evolutions-End-Joseph-C-Pearce/dp/006250732X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358878344&sr=1-11&keywords=Joseph+Chilton+Pearce
Jane Healy’s “Failure to Connect”: http://www.amazon.com/FAILURE-CONNECT-Computers-Affect-Childrens/dp/0684855399/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358878218&sr=1-3
and Jerry Mander’s “Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television” http://www.amazon.com/Arguments-Elimination-Television-Jerry-Mander/dp/0688082742/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358878437&sr=1-1
There are also many good interviews with Joseph Chilton Pearce on the internet, too. Here is one that relates particularly to virtual violence: http://www.appliedmeditation.org/The_Heart/articles_joseph_chilton_pearce.shtml
I hope this is helpful.
Warmly,
Lauren -
Thank you for the courageous truth-telling as regards the destructive aspects of media violence. I’d like to add the following:
In addition to the exponential increase in learning challenges, mental illness and disorders is the equally alarming increase in childhood incidences of diabetes, obesity, and asthma—all have been linked to a sedentary lifestyle as well as poor diet choices and environmental harm. The combination is killing our kids.
On a positive note I’d like to point out that there are many, many outdoor programs, camps and schools that meet the real needs of children and adolescents you outline so well, including Rites of Passage programs for young men AND women. You are right—at one time most of the population engaged in hunting and farming, and for a time the arts, music, and physical activity were a part of every child’s education. Now we have to consciously create those learning opportunities for our children. The good news is that such programs exist and, as the director of one of them, I can attest that every child that is exposed to great Nature in developmentally appropriate ways and in the right doses, responds positively mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, I said every child.
Add one more resource to your excellent list:
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard LouvThis 2005 book is already a bit dated in the research, but well worth reading and still valuable. His latest book is The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature Deficit Disorder. I have not read this one yet, so cannot comment on it specifically.
Thank you for the insights and spirited dialog!
Debra Weistar
Synergia Learning Ventures, Nevada City, CA -
Found this after I submitted my comment:
“The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”
—- Richard Louv
