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aCTIvITy 2.14
continued
8 As the court opinion notes, traditional fairy tales are chock-full of violence; a child experiences and learns to manage fears from the safety of Mom or Dad’s lap. Similarly, a teen can try out different identities — how it feels to be a hero, a trickster or someone of a different age or sex — in the safe fantasy world of a video game.
9 In the end, the most harmful assumption in the California law is that we know enough about the effects of video games to recommend policy solutions. (I was one of dozens of advisers for a supporting brief filed by those who challenged the law.) Almost no studies of video games and youth have been designed with policy in mind. If we want to mitigate risks of harm to our children (or the risk that our children will harm others), we need research on the specific effects of the most commonly played violent games, and of playing violent games in social groups.
10 We know virtually nothing, for instance, about how youths who are already prone to violent behavior, such as those exposed to violence at home and in their neighborhoods, use these games. Do they play them differently from the way other children do? Do they react differently? And if so, how might we limit the risks involved?
11 We need to reframe our view of video games. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. concurred with the majority’s opinion, but with some reservations: “We should take into account the possibility that developing technology may have important societal implications that will become apparent only with time,” Justice Alito wrote. This is excellent advice, but only if we are willing to consider that video games may have potential benefits as well as potential risks.
Cheryl K. Olson, a public health researcher, is a co-author of “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do.”
Second Read
• Reread the informational text to answer these text-dependent questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
5. Key Ideas and Details: What is this author’s claim? Highlight text that helps you answer the question.
6. Craft and Structure: Why does the author compare violent video games to traditional fairy tales? What is the purpose and effect?
My Notes
Unit 2 • What Influences My Choices? 149
mitigate: reduce
concurred: agreed
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