Impact of Brief Exposure to an E10-Rated, Mildly-Violent Video Game on Teen Players' Short-Term Attention and Concentration Ability

Abstract

(Gentile et al., 2012). Extendedand intermediate-level exposure to both M-rated violent and E-rated, non-violent video games have been associated with attention difficulties in high-use and low-use youth players. Our earlier study was the first to explore the impact of brief exposure (45 minutes) to video game playing, wherein the impact of M-rated, very violent video games on short-term attention and concentration ability in low-use players was investigated. In this study, we examined M-rated, very violent video games on short-term attention and concentration ability in low-use players (Brawer & Buckwalter, 2015). Findings demonstrated that shortterm exposure (45”) to violent video games resulted in significantly impacted concentration and attention abilities after comparing pre and post DSF scores. Even though E10-rated video games are approved for children aged 10 and above, they are often played by much younger children. Given indications that both non-violent and very violent video game playing for intermediate and extended exposure periods are associated with attention difficulties in youth players, we decided to explore the impact of brief exposure to mildly violent, E10-rated video games. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the impact of mild violence in E10rated video games on attention and concentration ability in youth players immediately after video game immersion. This may also be the first study to examine brief exposure to any kind of video game playing on moderate-use players. Based on precedent studies relating to the impact of video games on concentration and attention, we hypothesized that adolescent, moderate-use video game players would perform significantly worse on a neuropsyImpact of Brief Exposure to an E10-Rated, Mildly-Violent Video Game on Teen Players’ Short-Term Attention and Concentration Ability