Social Media & Video Games: A Brain Perspective Vincent P. Culotta PhD NeuroBehavioral Associates 5565 Sterrett Pl. Columbia, MD 21044 410 772-7155 www.nbatests.com

Generational Divide!

Jerome Jarre's New Vine Project Captures Humanity At Its Best

“Unofficial King of Vine”

Topics Screen Stats Social Media Video Games: Behavior and Brain Effects Guidelines

Delaney Ruston MD

Social Networking-Children Disney Adopts Virtual World Club Penguin for $350 Million Disney bought all outstanding shares of site operator, New Horizons Interactive, for $350 million, and plans on doubling that amount over the next couple of years.“ Club Penguin has experienced explosive growth. Over the past year traffic rose 329 percent, making the destination the 131st most-visited site in the US, according to Hitwise. Club Penguin serves 12 million users, 700,000 of which pay a subscription fee for more features. CP is the third most popular virtual world behind Runescape and Webkinz.

April 9, 2015 Teens, Social Media & Technology

Investors think SnapChat is worth $4 billion. “It's just a silly toy for teens to send naked pictures to each other, they protested. How could anyone drop half a billion on that?”

• Microblogging website/social network • Cannot be made private • Anonymous messaging allowed – risk for harassment

Scary Ways That Teens Are Using Social Media Whisper PostSecret and Whisper can be dangerous confessional outlets and sources of inspiration for unhealthy and unsafe actions.

#Thighgap … girls sharing their scarily skinny selfies, news outlets promoting weight-loss stories on the topic.

#Frail "Still in my pajamas and still in bed but here's a belly check. Still fat," along with hashtags for "anorexia," "bones," and "bodycheck."

Scary Ways That Teens Are Using Social Media YikYak YikYak allows users to anonymously post news, shout-outs, and jokes for people in a set radius to read.

The scary side effect is users anonymously posting cruel comments about their peers — from calling a classmate a derogatory term to wishing them dead.

Pokémon Go •Augmented Reality game allowing users to interact in the real world environment while playing. •GPS drive integrates the users’ time and location with the in-game map to display which Pokémon appear. •Advancement through the game promotes multi-user play through battles and gym training.

Video Game Sales 50 45

The video game sector is the fastest growing entertainment industry second only to music in profitability.

40

35 30

Global sales of video game software hit almost $18 billion U.S. in 2007 (PCWorld, January 2008).

25 20

15 10

Global sales for 2014 topped 46.5 billion (Statista, 2015).

5 0 2000

2007

2014

“Neurons that fire together wire together.” Donald Hebb, 1940

Gamers repeat actions as they play and repetition is a precondition for long-term potentiation or the strengthening of brain-cell connections through repeated use. That is what is thought to underlie memory storage and learning.

What’s Twitch? Gamers Know, and Amazon Is Spending $1 Billion on It

Comedy Central 560k MTV 567k Twitch CNN 607k MSNBC 573k

By NICK WINGFIELDAUG. 25, 2014

Twitch is a live streaming video platform

“Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon,” Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, said in a statement, “and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of minutes of games each month.”

At Peak Hours, Twitch’s Viewership Rivals Some Cable Networks

Twitch MTV 567k

560k

Comedy MSNBC Central

573k

607k

CNN

760k

Sources: Nielsen (cable viewership), twitchapps.com (Twitch viewership)

Violent Video Games: Brain Behavior Beliefs

Video Games: Gender Matters! Biology of Emotion and Cognition  Older Boys: Locus of Emotional Control – Amygdala.  Phylogeneticaly ancient region  No direct connection to cerebral cortex  Disconnect between center for emotion and center for reasoning  Diminished empathy  Permits unfettered action

Video Games: Gender Matters Biology of Emotion and Cognition  Older Girls: Locus of control of emotion – Cerebral Cortex  Cortex also serves as center for reasoning, language and higher order cognition  Exquisite connection of emotion and cognition  Enhances empathy  Capacity to blend empathy with reason.

Video Games & the Brain Allan Reiss M.D. (2008):

“Males have neural circuitry that makes them more liable than women to feel rewarded by a computer game with a territorial component and then more motivated to continue gameplaying behavior  males are more prone to getting hooked on video games than females.”

Video Games & the Brain  2008 - imaging data revealed that participants showed activation in the brain’s limbic center, the region typically associated with reward and addiction.  Male brains showed much greater activation than female brains

 Amount of activation was correlated with how much territory men vs. women gained in the video game.  Acquiring territory in a computer game format is more rewarding for men than for women.

Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2008

Video Games and the Brain Video game playing can produce “flow” states  player is focused, has a sense of control, may lose a sense of time and place, and finds playing intrinsically rewarding.

Gentile et al (2011) Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A TwoYear Longitudinal Study PEDIATRICS Volume 127, Number 2

Video Games and the Brain “You know what’s really exciting about video

games… you don’t just interact with the game physically—you’re not just moving your hand on a joystick, but you interact with the game psychologically and emotionally as well.” “You’re not just watching the characters on screen; you’re becoming those characters.” —Nina Huntemann, “Game Over : Gender, Race and Violence in Video Games” (2000) Anderson et al. (2010) Psychological Bulletin Vol. 136, No. 2, 151–173

Violent Video Games 

44 teen brains examined via fMRI after teens played violent video game

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Decreased activation of prefrontal portions of the brain.

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Increased activation in the amygdala.

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Lingering effects of heightened emotional arousal and suppressed self-control and concentration remained.

There is a positive correlation between repeated exposure to violent games and desensitization, as well as increased aggressive behavior . B. D. Bartholow, B. J. Bushman, and M. A. Sestir, “Chronic Violent Video Game Exposure and Desensitization to Violence: Behavioral and Event-Related Brain Potential Data,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42, no. 4 (2006): 532–539.

“Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill” Lt. Col. David Grossman, Military Psychologist “ First person shooter games replicate military training that seeks to lower our innate resistance to killing another human being. The games do not, however, instill the military discipline that may keep impulsive behavior in check”

Video Game-Longitudinal Study Gentile, D. et al (2011) Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A TwoYear Longitudinal Study PEDIATRICS Volume 127, Number 2

3034 children and adolescents in grades 3, 4, 7, and 8 in 6 primary schools and 6 secondary schools participated annually between 2007 and 2009.  The data here demonstrate that most pathological gamers (84%) are still pathological gamers 2 years later.  In same 2-year window, only 1% of children became pathological gamers  pathological gaming NOT simply a “phase” children go through.

It’s not simply the Game the Kid plays… … it is also… the Kid who plays the Game

Video Gaming: Longitudinal Study Children who began consuming more violent games: More normative beliefs about aggression. Hostile attribution biases. Aggressive fantasies. Engage in more physically and relationally aggressive behaviors.  More likely to be victims of aggression.    

Gentile, D. et al (2011) Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A TwoYear Longitudinal Study PEDIATRICS Volume 127, Number 2

Video Gaming: Risk Factors  Playing violent video games were a causal risk factor for long-term harmful outcomes including:    

Aggressive Behavior Aggressive Cognition Diminished Empathy Desensitization

 Significant longitudinal VGV effects also were found for aggressive affect and for diminished prosocial behavior.  Research shows that parental involvement may reduce violent video game effects. Anderson et al. (2010) Psychological Bulletin Vol. 136, No. 2, 151–173

Social & Academic Philip A. Chan & Terry Rabinowitz 5 : 16 2006 Annals of General Psychiatry

 Playing console and Internet video games for more than one hour a day has negative social and academic effects in adolescents.  This association does not depend on being "addicted" to video games or playing for excessive time periods.  No difference between playing video games on the Internet or on a console system.

Social & Academic  In 9th and 10th grade students, GPA was lower, by almost a point in those who played video games for more than one hour/day than those watching TV or using the Internet for the same amount of time.  For students who are less academically proficient, this may be especially important.

Philip A. Chan & Terry Rabinowitz 2006 Annals of General Psychiatry

Video Games & ADHD Symptoms of Inattention predict problematic video game use for boys with ADHD and ASD Boys with ADHD and ASD had greater in-room video game access and greater problematic use than TD boys

Mazuerk and Engelhardt, Pediatrics Vol 132, Number 2, Augusst 2013

Video Games & ADHD  Presence of ADHD appears to be a significant risk factor for pathological use or Internet Addiction  ADHD students have higher rates of addiction than Non-ADHD students  Lack of Inhibitory control and reduced strategic flexibility may interfere with selfregulation of Internet or Game use  Video Games satisfy the need for speed, immediate gratification, and novelty  Video Games offer opportunity to enhance stimulation of brain-based reward pathways Yoo HJ et al. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Symptoms and Internet Addiction Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2004 58 (5): 487-494

Video Games and Women: Sexism and Misogyny Roles of Women:  The Smurfette Principle  Damsel in Distress  Background Decoration  Women as Reward  Ms. Male Character  Evil Demon Seductress

Anita Sarkeesian October 17, 2014 Gamergate: A Scandal Erupts in the Video-Game Community By Simon Parkin

Ambassador Award: Game Developers Choice Awards for Tropes versus Women in Video Games

• • • •

Awards ceremony threatened with bombing Violence threats resulted in leaving her home Video-game images of her being raped Repeated death threats

http://feministfrequency.com/tag/tropes-vs-women-invideo-games/

Video Games and the Brain: Summary  Suppress brain centers supporting reasoning, logic, and self-regulation  Activate brain centers associated with aggression, arousal, addiction , and reward  May leave a “neural signature” for hours after play ends  May desensitize brain’s reaction to violence

Violent Video Games and Behavior: Summary  Increased aggressive behavior  Increased aggressive thoughts and fantasies  Increased argumentativeness with peers, teachers, and parents  Increased hostile attribution bias  Increased levels of depression, anxiety, and social phobia  Desensitization to violence  More likely to be a victim of aggression  Decreased academic performance  Decreased empathy and prosocial behavior

Pathological Use of Video Games: Warning Signs  Playing for > 20 or more hours per week  Spending less time doing other activities (sports, playing, outdoor activities)  Becoming more anxious or depressed  Hiding the fact that they are playing

 Making increased references to video games  Lying about doing homework or chores

 Thinking and believing they can solve problems by implementing something seen in a video game.

Do Violent Video Games Cause Real World Violence?  Cho Seung-Hui murdered 32 people at Va Tech  “Obsessive Video Game Use”  “Desensitized by gratuitous media violence”  Problem- No evidence he actually played video games!

U.S. Secret Service School Shooter Profile • 37 shooters • Hx of Depression • Hx of Suicide Attempt • No Relationship with Violent Video Game Use

CDC Report 2008 : School killings have actually declined from 1992 to 2006

Video Game popularity has surged while youth violence has declined

Talking to Kids

Video Games  How much time do you spend playing video games?  What’s your console?  What games do you play?  Where do you play?  Who do you play with?  When do you play?  Are you on a protected server or an open server?  Do your parents have rules for play?

Social Media  What kind of phone do you have?  What are your favorite apps?  Do your parents have access to your apps?  Have you been teased or bullied online?  Have you been asked to send inappropriate pictures online?  Have you been “catfished”?

Guidelines: Adolescents:  No more than 7 hours per week Max of one hour on school nights Avoid play before bedtime Supervise content Supervise open servers Monitor video game-related YouTube time Play in “public” area

Children: No more than 3-4 hours per week Half hour on school nights Avoid play before bedtime E and E 10+ Only Play only on protected servers Play in “public” area

Home Strategies  Parents must be the ones to set and enforce limits — especially with children who have already become use to video-game overuse.

 Parents must first agree on a set of rules.  Sit down with your child to discuss the rules and explain how they’ll be enforced  Remember that while a new game will sometimes completely consume your kids, the novelty will pass and other pursuits will eventually hold more appeal. Larry Silver MD, 2008

Home Strategies Encourage other activities:

 Do whatever is necessary to encourage and support your child's participation in other activities. If your child doesn't seem to be interested in anything other than video games, you might encourage him to read books with fantasy themes.  Control video game spending: Video games, consoles and online video game subscriptions are expensive. To keep costs down, you can rent or borrow games and consoles.

Home Strategies Your kids are much more likely to follow your advice if you show them you are genuinely interested in their video game playing.

Get involved: When your kids are young, choose video games for them. Look for games that don't contain violence or stereotyping. Talk to other parents for advice and suggestions of good games. Always check the rating and content descriptors on a game before renting or buying it. As they get older, talk to your kids about the games and be there when they buy or rent them. If possible, have your computer or video game console in a public area of your house so you can closely monitor what your kids are playing.

NeuroBehavioral Associates Vincent P. Culotta Ph.D. ABN Phone: 410-772-7155 Fax: 410-772-7156 Email: [email protected] www.nbatests.com Across from The Mall in Columbia