Tietokonepelit ja niiden pelaaminen

Abstract

Pelien ikäsuositukset eivät suojaa lapsia pelien väkivallalta. Väkivalta itsessään ei tee kuitenkaan pelistä lasten ja nuorten suosikkia. Riskipelaaminen eli väkivaltaisten pelien suosiminen ja/tai pelien suurkulutus oli yleisempää pojilla kuin tytöillä ja se oli yhteydessä lapsen heikkoa itsehallintaa ilmentävään käyttäytymiseen, aggressiivisuuteen ja levottomuuteen. Pelaamisen aktiivinen valvonta oli yhteydessä vähäiseen riskipelaamiseen. Vain melko harvat vanhemmat valvoivat lastensa pelaamista. Nämä ovat Tarja Salokosken tietokonepelejä käsittelevän väitöstyön keskeisiä tuloksia. Ihmisen kehitys ja sen riskitekijät -huippututkimusyksikössä tehty psykologian alan tutkimus koostui pelien sisällön analyysista ja koululaisten sekä heidän vanhempiensa kyselytutkimuksesta. Salokoski tarkasteli erityisesti pelien väkivaltaisia sisältöjä sekä riskipelaajan motiiveja, asenteita ja taustatekijöitä sekä sitä, miten vanhemmat valvovat pelaamista. Riskipelaamisen Salokoski määritteli väkivaltaa sisältävien pelien suosimiseksi ja/tai pelien suurkulutukseksi.

The present study investigated electronic game playing and its background factors, particularly those related to risk-playing. Risk-playing is defined as the preference for violence-containing games and/or heavy-playing. Heavy players refer to those 10% of children and youth who comprise the most regular players of electronic games. In the research sample, heavy players were those who played at least 14 hours per week, an average 21 hours per week. The research was methodologically divided into two parts: the content analysis and the survey research. In the first part, the presence of violence and its nature in 71 games was examined by content analysis; violence in games was compared to age limit standards; and the popularity of games containing violence among school children was investigated. The content analysis showed that violence was a dominating element in electronic games: 73 % of all the games analyzed and 60 % of children ’s games contained violence. Almost always when violence was present in the game, it was dominant, and from the point of view of advancing in the game, unavoidable. The violence in most of the games was portrayed as realistic, intense, and as an illegal action of the hero character. The violence in the children’s games was found to be more dominating and regular than that in other games. It was presented fictionally, in an animated game environment where violence was portrayed as the hero’s action with humour and no negative c onsequences. Games’ recommended age limits did not protect children from violence. Violence did not, however, make the game popular. The second part of the research addressed the motives for playing, the player ’s attitude towards playing, player’s age and gender, and their relationship to playing—in particular, to risk-playing. The second aim was to examine the role of the parents’ supervision of the playing. The goal was also to investigate the relation of risk-playing to parents’ observations of their children exhibiting low self-control, aggressiveness, and/or restlessness after playing. Participants of the survey were 1096 Finnish students (aged 10-16 years) and their parents (N=972). A sizeable majority (87%) of all children and youth played electronic games at least sometimes. Generally, playing seemed to be a social activity involving friends and way to spend time. Risk-playing was associated with several factors: fantasizing about violence, the regulation of emotions with the help of playing, and an attitude that emphasized usefulness of playing. Boys played more than girls, and they were more likely to be risk-players. The supervision of playing was found to be relatively rare and the activity of the supervision made differences between parents. Risk-playing was associated with the parents’ observations of low self-control and its behavioural manifestation (aggression and restlessness) in the child after playing. Active supervision of playing was associated with lesser risk-playing and with lesser likelihood of observing the child exhibiting low self-control following the playing.