[GDN] Should time spent playing excessively violent games be regulated?

[Block] I’m not a huge believer in additional regulations.  But, yes, I believe software should allow for self-determined time limits that are difficult to reverse. Violent games, specifically?  No.  But we need to have tools that limit access to games by one’s weekly budget, time of day, and such.  Or, tie game use to exercise time -- game time is earned by exercise, etc.

[GDN] Situation: Someone sits at home playing Madden all day. Over the course of the day they tackle hundreds of character models. Let’s say they break the leg of one of the players they tackle during that day. Are they more likely to reenact the event as much as someone who watched it occur on TV with real people during their NFL Sunday marathon?

[Block] No.  But if they sit home all day playing Madden -- 45 or 50 hrs a week-- they are likely to feel (1) pretty bad about their real life, (2) angry at their waste of time, (3) conflicted because they had a good time, (4) angry at those that are critical of them [as they are of themselves], (5) sickly due to no exercise/sunlight/etc..  Now cut them off the game and they feel terrible, they will have lost a central focus of their time [perhaps even a "friend"], and they will have 45-50 more hours to occupy.  That is a recipe to get someone angry enough to break someone’s leg.

[GDN] If someone watched, say the NFL Network or ESPN for 45-50 hours a week, would they show a lot of the same symptoms?

[Block] Sure, some of the same issues -- anger at the wasted time, frustration with their lives, etc.  Sometimes this might lead to EOH use and substance abuse issues.  But I don’t think the long-term consequences or severity of just the TV watching (i.e., uncomplicated by substance abuse) would be as significant.  For one, I have never seen that clinical complaint or issue.  When people want to quit TV, they seem to do so relatively easily, certainly as compared to gaming.  Also, I think the football games are, often, real life social occasions while the gaming offers virtual relationships -- relationships that can evaporate when the power is off.  Moreover, I think the computer, particularly MPOGs, are MUCH more engaging and offer alternative fantasies so that one can actually feel a part of the game.  In contrast, watching a football game is more of a spectator sport, watched in the third person.