A just-published article in Pediatrics looked at three studies - one in the US and two in Japan - which found that "playing violent videogames is a significant risk factor for later physically aggressive behavior and that this violent videogame effect on youth generalizes across very different cultures." The authors added that the research "strongly suggests reducing the exposure of youth to this … [Read more...] about Videogames & aggression: New study
Research
45% of UK online youth want supervision?
I wonder if an 18-year-old reporter would've worded the lead this way: "Almost half of all children want adults to supervise them when they use the internet," the Times of London reports, citing a study of 686 "children" by UK education regulator Ofsted. It'd be interesting too to see if those who do want supervision represent the full age spread of the survey, some of whom are not minors: 4-20. … [Read more...] about 45% of UK online youth want supervision?
How kids become bully victims: Very early signs
A new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry offers clues to how children become targets of bullying, Newsweek reports. The first key finding was that bully victims in grade school are more likely to have been aggressive (e.g., "smashing a toy when someone takes their ball away") very early in life, as young as 17 months, in fact. "That may sound counterintuitive, but it's not surprising to … [Read more...] about How kids become bully victims: Very early signs
Online harassment: Not telling parents
Wow, I've never seen a number this high in relation to online harassment. Psychologists at UCLA report that 72% of 12-to-17-year-olds they surveyed were "bullied online at least once during a recent 12-month period," "only one in 10 reported such cyber-bullying to parents or other adults," and 85% "also experienced bullying in school." The harassment most frequently took the forms of "name-calling … [Read more...] about Online harassment: Not telling parents
40,000+ students polled on their Net use
The Rochester Institute of Technology refers to "a startling new reality of cybercrime," but it's much more about child and adolescent behavior than crime and it's not a new reality. What's unprecedented about this study is the size of its sample, 40,000+ children and teens, the way it breaks bullying and other online behaviors down by grade level, and the detail and number of its questions. … [Read more...] about 40,000+ students polled on their Net use