Both the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics take a firm stance against children and teens playing violent video games.
The psychological group reports that more than 90% of children in the United States play video games. Among kids between the ages of 12 and 17, the number rises to 97%. More important, 85% or more of video games on the market contain some form of violence. The titles seem to say it all: “Manhunt,” “Thrill Kill,” “Gears of War” and “Mortal Kombat.” However, even the seemingly benign “Pokemon Go” requires players to go to battle.
The American Psychological Association observed in an August 2015 policy statement (PDF) that research demonstrated a link “between violent video game use and both increases in aggressive behavior and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and moral engagement.”
In its July guideline on media violence, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned that violent media set a poor example for kids. Video games, the academy noted, “should not use human or other living targets or award points for killing, because this teaches children to associate pleasure and success with their ability to cause pain and suffering to others.”
Overall, the academy’s summary of the results from more than 400 studies revealed a “significant” link between being exposed to violent media (in general) and aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts and angry feelings.
Whitney DeCamp, an associate professor of sociology at Western Michigan University, says the evidence points to either no relationship between playing video games and violent behavior or an “insignificant” link between the two.
Sure, he said, some studies have revealed a connection between kids playing violent video games and violent behavior. But there is a problem with “looking at those two things in a vacuum”: Kids who like to play brutal video games may have a predisposition toward aggression, he said.
The real question, he said: Does playing violent games cause a person to act violently?
He discovered that playing video games, no matter how bloody, did not predict violent behavior.
Click here to read the full article.