Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Violent Video Games and Cyberbullying: Why Education Is Better than Regulation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Minding Minors Wandering the Web: Regulating Online Child Safety

Part of the book series: Information Technology and Law Series ((ITLS,volume 24))

Abstract

Online safety for youth is a growing concern for parents, educators, and policymakers. Legal regulation of online risks and youth protection are often well intentioned, but not effective as this chapter shows using the example of violent shooter games and cyberbullying in Switzerland. Politicians demand bans and regulations in spite of the limited success of previous youth protection laws. A closer look at Swiss public debates on the ban on “killer games” unveils that regulation concerning youth and media is very complex and influenced by political interests of certain policymakers. Research on media effects shows that risks are highly interconnected with psychological resilience. Resilient youth are less susceptible to negative effects of media violence and cyberbullying. The chapter summarizes research to date on violent games (which are increasingly played online) and cyberbullying, analyses the political public debate and, finally, emphasizes why educational measures and focusing on fostering psychological resilience are more effective than legal regulation in the long run to reduce online risks.

Sarah Genner is a senior researcher in media psychology at Zurich University of Applied Sciences and a Ph.D. Candidate at Zurich University. The title of her Ph.D. is ‘ON/OFF—online connectivity behavior and regulations’.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Colorado, USA. Parents of some of the victims filed several unsuccessful lawsuits against video game manufacturers. A Swiss army soldier killed a 16-year-old girl with an assault rifle while waiting for the bus on November 23, 2007 in Zurich-Hoengg in Switzerland.

  2. 2.

    In this chapter, the terms “first-person shooter,” “killer games,” and “violent computer games” are used synonymously to describe computer games including virtual killing through a first-person perspective. Players experience the action through the eyes of the protagonist. Many of these games are played online in multiplayer versions. Examples of such games are e.g., Call of Duty, Counterstrike, Battlefield, or Doom. “Killer games” is the concept of opponents and “first-person shooter” rather the term of the proponents.

  3. 3.

    Ban of “killer games” in Switzerland: www.parlament.ch/D/Suche/Seiten/geschaefte.aspx?gesch_id=20073870/Media violence and youth violence—The murderer in Ried-Muotathal: www.medialegewalt.ch/artikel_presse/analyse_toetungsdelikt_muotathal.pdf.

  4. 4.

    MPs in this context refer to members of the Swiss national parliament (Federal Assembly consisting of National Council and Council of States).

  5. 5.

    These numbers are taken from the representative youth and media survey in Switzerland (JAMES—Youth, Activities, Media—Survey Switzerland) conducted by the research team at Zurich University of Applied Sciences of which the author is part. Every second year, a representative and randomized sample of 1,200 Swiss teens from 12 to 19 years fill out a 45-min questionnaire on their media use. Willemse et al. 2012, p. 42.

  6. 6.

    Willemse et al. 2012, p. 45.

  7. 7.

    Willemse et al. 2012, p. 16.

  8. 8.

    Feierabend et al. 2012, p. 50.

  9. 9.

    Willemse et al. 2012, p. 42.

  10. 10.

    Kunczik and Zipfel 2006, p. 13.

  11. 11.

    Steiner 2009, p. XV; Merz-Abt 2009, p. 2.

  12. 12.

    Kunczik and Zipfel 2006, p. 295.

  13. 13.

    Hartmann 2006, p. 89.

  14. 14.

    Gentile et al. 2007 and Hopf et al. 2008.

  15. 15.

    Hopf et al. 2008, p. 79.

  16. 16.

    E.g., Johnson et al. 2002.

  17. 17.

    Bonfadelli 2004, p. 268.

  18. 18.

    Colzato et al. 2010, p. 1.

  19. 19.

    Beckedahl and Lüke 2012, p. 44.

  20. 20.

    Swiss Penal Code, Article 135, depiction of violence: www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/311_0/a135.html.

  21. 21.

    Tokunaga 2010, p. 278.

  22. 22.

    Levy et al. 2012, p. 17.

  23. 23.

    Ybarra et al. 2012, p. 57.

  24. 24.

    Willemse et al. 2012, p. 34.

  25. 25.

    Hermida 2013, p. 14.

  26. 26.

    Hermida 2013, p. 14.

  27. 27.

    Cross et al. 2009.

  28. 28.

    Sticca et al. 2012, p. 11.

  29. 29.

    Sticca et al. 2012, p. 11.

  30. 30.

    Sticca and Perren 2012, p. 10.

  31. 31.

    Perren et al. 2010, p. 8.

  32. 32.

    Szoka and Thierer 2009, p. 1.

  33. 33.

    Schmid-Federer 2008, www.parlament.ch/d/suche/seiten/geschaefte.aspx?gesch_id=20083050.

  34. 34.

    Report of the Federal Council 2010, www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/ejpd/de/home/dokumentation/info/2010/ref_2010-06-02.html.

  35. 35.

    Schmid-Federer 2010, www.parlament.ch/d/suche/seiten/geschaefte.aspx?gesch_id=20103856.

  36. 36.

    Szoka and Thierer 2009; Cross et al. 2009; Levy et al. 2012.

  37. 37.

    Szoka and Thierer 2009, p. 1.

  38. 38.

    The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system was established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games. It was launched in spring 2003 and replaced a number of national age rating systems with a single system now used throughout in thirty European countries.

  39. 39.

    “Munch Poke Ping”—Underage use of Games: Resources, www.carrick-davies.com/downloads/Underage_gamingHow_to_support_young_people_teachers_and_parents.pdf.

  40. 40.

    Brooks and Goldstein 2002.

  41. 41.

    Taub and Pearrow 2013, p. 372.

  42. 42.

    Taub and Pearrow 2013, p. 371.

  43. 43.

    Friedman 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opinion/sunday/friedman-judgment-not-included.html.

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zurich University for Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sarah Genner

Authors
  1. Sarah Genner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Genner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. eLaw – Center for law in the information society, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Simone van der Hof

  2. eLaw – Center for law in the information, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Bibi van den Berg

  3. Faculty of Law eLaw – Centre for Law in the Information, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Bart Schermer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 © T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, The Netherlands, and the author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Genner, S. (2014). Violent Video Games and Cyberbullying: Why Education Is Better than Regulation. In: van der Hof, S., van den Berg, B., Schermer, B. (eds) Minding Minors Wandering the Web: Regulating Online Child Safety. Information Technology and Law Series, vol 24. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-005-3_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation