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Feeling out of touch on the videogame violence issue? There are plenty of fans of the art form who are quick to defend violent games, albeit from personal and anecdotal experience, that violent videogames do not a violent person make. But some research indicates otherwise.
And while there are few rational thinkers—excluding helpless extremists who aren't driven by a political agenda or monetary pursuits—who would solely blame violent videogames for violent behavior, there are potentially correlations between the two.
According to a recent Slate piece, there are a number of studies that link behavioral changes and increases in aggression to exposure to more violent content.
From Slate:
In work published in 2000, Anderson and Karen Dill randomly assigned 210 undergraduates to play Wolfenstein 3-D, a first-person-shooter game, or Myst, an adventure game in which players explore mazes and puzzles. Anderson and Dill found that when the students went on to play a second game, the Wolfenstein 3-D players were more likely to behave aggressively toward losing opponents.
Hardly the devil or opening up on your classmates with an assault rifle, but there are some educational links here. Anyone engaging in debate with their parents or peers should read up on the studies linked here.
Thanks, Trumaine.
Don't Shoot - Why video games really are linked to violence. [Slate]
