digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About
See the original image at blog.wired.com

Study Says Violent Games Affect Boys' Heart Rates

blog.wired.com — Science Daily is reporting on the results of a new study on violent video games, which found that boys aged 12 to 15 experienced a greater variation in Heart Rate Variability when playing games with violent content, than they did on tamer games. The difference remained persistent during sleep, though the boys reported that they'd slept just fine.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 14, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

129 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • 16x9, on 11/14/2008, -2/+102Call of Duty affects heart rate more than does SimCity.

    Another valuable report from the Department of the Blindingly Obvious.
  • chicagojack, on 11/14/2008, -0/+88Study: teenage boys like Playboy
  • dngermouse, on 11/14/2008, -1/+59Who the ***** approves and funds these "studies"?
  • Jsmuli2, on 11/14/2008, -0/+46Woah video game developers are getting their job right!!!!

    What's next? Movies keep audiences interested the entire time? Books have people reading more often? TV shows causing people to tune in at the same time every week?!

    WWWOOOOAAAAHHHH!
  • blitzkriegpunk, on 11/14/2008, -3/+42THIS JUST IN: PEOPLE LIKE TO EAT FOOD!

    ... more at 11.
  • vivisimonvi, on 11/14/2008, -0/+23So does driving
  • Awezing, on 11/14/2008, -1/+24I don't know about anyone else, but the violence in a game isn't something I notice. It's more how the game is playing out. Violence is nice, but not the most key factor.
  • Zippo, on 11/14/2008, -1/+23What?! An fast-paced and exciting action game increases the heart-rate of its players?
    NO ***** WAY.
  • Shogi, on 11/14/2008, -2/+23*forwards this to Jack Thompson*

    "P.S. Oh that's right, you got disbarred! Nevermind!"
  • Hetman, on 11/14/2008, -1/+21sigh... Anyways please give examples of the game you played. For example when I play COD online I am sure at certain times my heartbeat increases. I am trying to focus. That increases someone heart beat. The same can be said with racing games that are non-violent also. I think almost any competitive online game will increase heart raise.
  • Boshow, on 11/14/2008, -0/+19The 13th level of Tetris gets my heart pumping.
  • maximilen, on 11/14/2008, -2/+19No ***** *****, Sherlock. Bury for the 'blindingly Obvious', as digger 16x9 excellently put it.
  • madeingermany, on 11/14/2008, -0/+13or masturbation.

    At least you don't go blind from violent games. ;)
  • truncheon, on 11/14/2008, -0/+12So they're saying that if you play violent games you don't have to get any cardiovascular exercise, right? Cuz i hate getting my ass off the couch and going outside.
  • RainNIU, on 11/14/2008, -0/+12BREAKING: Scientists at Harvard conclude that "Dudes like to jerk off".
  • Nohpex, on 11/14/2008, -0/+11or kill kittens. (excluding in game kittens)
  • SonnyW, on 11/14/2008, -0/+9But no, no, no. According to the study, it was because the game was violent, not because of excitement from competition.

    Nevermind that if there's a correlation between violence and such excitement there will be obviously be some correlation between raised heart rates and violence.

    That wouldn't be nearly as exciting to write down as a conclusion.
  • Narcism, on 11/14/2008, -0/+9If you've ever played Diablo 2 on Hardcore. You know very well what fast heart rates are.
  • freezerburn666, on 11/14/2008, -0/+9hey doesn't riding a bike and playing soccer and tag affect heart rate?
  • breadfred, on 11/14/2008, -0/+8I am 43 and in any exciting game I dive left to right in front of the keyboard. Does that affect my heart beat? Bet ya!
  • dngermouse, on 11/14/2008, -2/+10Too bad the age of Physical porn is dead

    torrents/free stream sites run ***** now, still pictures are SO 2001.
  • serif69, on 11/14/2008, -0/+7I downloaded a torrent of PDFs of just the pictorials from thousands of Playboys. Does that count?
  • ringo380, on 11/14/2008, -0/+7I don't think it's referring really to the actual violence, as in blood and gore, but more of the nature of the game itself. Games where the object is to shoot people, run things over with cars, cut things, pee on animals, kill hookers, eat babies, etc.

    And it's rarely something that anyone physically stops and "notices", they just play it and are entertained. Simple as that.
  • JerichoKS, on 11/14/2008, -0/+6Wow what a surprise. Next thing you know they'll find that running increases your heart rate too!
  • FearisFailure, on 11/14/2008, -0/+6So does Porn..
  • Ajajadude, on 11/14/2008, -0/+6That is until you start messing around with the disaster buttons...

    Ahhhh, good times.
  • Sneakernets, on 11/14/2008, -0/+6Nothing says violence (and increased heart rate) like curb-stomping goombas.
  • aimhelix, on 11/14/2008, -0/+5Honestly, if a 'fun' or 'entertaining' activity doesn't raise my heart rate, then it's probably not worth doing because its just lame.
  • Pulpx, on 11/14/2008, -0/+5Actually, it's talking about the variability of the heart rate which is something completely different than the average heart rate. Variability has more to do with sympathetic vs parasympathetic control and actually tells you that the way that the mind is regulating the heart changes during Call of Duty vs SimCity. Should also mention that increased variability is generally seen as a very positive indicator of cardiovascular health. So basically, it's saying video games are good for your heart.
  • djmphoto, on 11/14/2008, -1/+6In other news the sky is blue.
  • inactive, on 11/14/2008, -0/+5I almost had a heart attack the other day when my own plane I had just bailed out of landed on my head.
  • martelo, on 11/14/2008, -3/+8One time I got really stoned and played some hardcore team deathmatch in CoD4, ended up with a 15-kill streak. I could feel my heart beating way faster than normal for a few minutes after that game ended.

    I'm glad someone paid money to find this out though, good for them.
  • PopcornDave, on 11/15/2008, -0/+5"So basically, it's saying video games are good for your heart."

    Why it can't be saying that, it's an article about video games.
    /s
  • SonnyW, on 11/14/2008, -0/+5Study: Teenage boys die earlier than adult men.
  • BradOFarrell, on 11/14/2008, -1/+6Did they compare it against other non-violent fast-paced games, like Tetris, Guitar Hero, or Mario Kart?

    Also, so what? I've noticed my heart race during exciting points in Phoenix Wright, which is a ***** book.
  • SSUK, on 11/14/2008, -0/+5Ajaja: Postal 2?
  • OriginalReplica, on 11/15/2008, -0/+4Yeah, the people doing this study don't seem to understand the concept of "immersion" in a game. A good immersive game will cause the same reactions as the real life situation.
  • Triplastic, on 11/14/2008, -0/+4Hitler played video games.
  • Sloi, on 11/14/2008, -0/+4Players experiencing an adrenaline rush while playing competitive games is retardedly obvious. Ever consider that it's one of the reasons why FPS games are fun?
  • MeatMountain, on 11/14/2008, -0/+4That pic is from Super Mario Bros. Someone needs to update their stock images.
  • troglodytejb, on 11/14/2008, -0/+4I can't sleep easily after a good, intense game-- not from fear or whatever, just because I'm "keyed-up." I generally have to game and then read for at least an hour, but then I'm a borderline insomniac anyway.
  • farfegnugen, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3Kitten Cannon FTW
  • nikki2300dk, on 11/14/2008, -1/+4Some silly Swedes
  • Aguyinachair, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3Running raises my heart rate.

    Must be harmful.
  • inactive, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3Well that article slowed my heart rate...

    I'm guna need to see some ***** STAT to get my heart rate back up.
  • ACiDGRiM, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3I've been playing video games since I was 12, I've never shot anyone in RL.
  • atomic811, on 11/15/2008, -0/+3and that women aren't using their neck massagers on their necks.
  • ak4444, on 11/15/2008, -0/+3I download them for the articles.
  • Finalreminder, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3""Study Says Violent Games Affect Boys' Heart Rates""

    So does wanking.
    OMG illegalise wanking!!
  • TMTurtle, on 11/14/2008, -0/+3WHY DO THEY ALWAYS MAKE ME WAIT UNTIL 11?

    THIS IS IMPORTANT NOW!
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 132 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.