The Correlation between Teen Aggression and Video Games
E-sports technology has evolved significantly in the last decade, attracting a vast market, particularly the younger generation. As video games continue to infiltrate the market, so are the concerns regarding their impacts on the behaviors of the participants. Among the most popular video games, including the Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, Fortnite, and Grad Theft Auto, all feature some form of violence. This has created concerns and numerous debates on whether such video games have an impact on aggression in teenagers. More than three-quarters of American parents believe that violent video games have a negative effect on the behavior of children.
Multiple studies and experiments have been conducted examining the relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behaviors. Some of these studies have found that playing video games indeed influences aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child Psychiatry (AACAP), exposure to violent video games can impact aggressive behavior in children and teenagers. These and other studies based their arguments on the findings of experiments done comparing the behaviors of children who actively played violent video games and those who played non-violent video games.
According to psychological studies that endorse this view, violent video games lowers the sensitivity in children and teenagers, decreasing prosocial behaviors such as the ability to understand and help others. Children who are exposed the violent video games for a longer period are likely to show more aggressive behaviors than those exposed for a shorter period. While males were found to spend more time play video games than females, exposure to violent video games was found to have a similar impact on increasing aggression in both genders.
However, some researchers believe otherwise. They have questioned the validity of the research used to support this view. They argue that the studies found very little and almost no evidence to support that violent video games indeed spurs aggressive behaviors in teenagers and youths. A lot of criticism lies in failure by these researchers to consider the effects of other factors such as the types and mechanics of the violent and non-violent video games.
Violent Video Games and Violence
With increased cases of school shootings in America, more studies continue to challenge whether violent video games can increase violence and criminal activities. During the August mass shooting, President Donald Trump implicated video games to the increased violent behaviors in the youth. However, there are still no comprehensive reports with hard evidence connecting the exposure to violent video games to school shootings and mass murders.
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