Your source for understanding problem video game behavior
The Central Issue
Dear Friend,
Perhaps you would agree that the case list of aggressive and violent acts committed by our youth is heartbreakingly long, and this presents a serious problem for America.
You might not dispute the notion that extra-ordinary, large-scale acts of violence perpetrated by young people substantially began in the 1990s, ticked upward in the 2000s and has remained steady to the present.
An industry twice the size of movies and music combined, video gaming touches nearly every American household with children.
Reaching this remarkable plateau has involved an incredible amount of creativity since Atari released Pong in 1972, with the driving element being about greater immersion with each technological development.
Causality
Research is currently mixed-- and therefore inconclusive-- on the existence of a precise causal connection[1] between exposure to media violence present in virtual gaming and the committing of real-world acts of aggression & violence.
In fact, a still relevant, authoritative study titled Youth Violence: What We Need to Know[2] declared that sample testing our way to that point is not possible:
“Empirical studies could never be conducted that demonstrate causal connections between exposure to media aggression and rampage shootings”—it explained.
“That everyone is not affected in the same way by media violence does not mean that everyone is not affected.”
— Douglas Gentile, Iowa State University
Resources
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