“ALL porn is harmful to men” is like saying masturbation causes blindness. It sounds the same to me. Do video games cause violence? I’m skeptical of your hysterics. Can’t you people do anything in moderation?
Dr. Olson suggests that the deliberately outrageous nature of violent games, though disturbing, makes them easily discernible from real life and suggests that the interactivity could potentially make such games less harmful.
She raises the question of how these two behaviors can be linked if youth violence has declined over the last several years while violent video game playing has increased significantly during the same period.
This analysis ignores the fact that such variation may be explained by factors other than the link between the two.
A spurious variable–a third variable that explains the relationship between two other variables—may explain the negative correlation of video game playing and violent behavior.
As one example, socioeconomic status may explain both a decline in violent behavior and an increase in video game playing. More affluent youth have the means and time to buy and play video games, which keeps them safely inside while avoiding potentially violent interactions on the street.
Dr. Olsen also cites several studies that have failed to show a connection between violent video game playing and violent behavior among youth.
This conclusion, however, may not be as clear cut as it appears.
The decline of youth violence notwithstanding, it remains a significant public health issue that requires attention.Youth homicide remains the number one cause of death for African-American youth between 14 and 24 years old, and the number two cause for all children in this age group.
Furthermore, the proportion of youth admitting to having committed various violent acts within the previous 12 months has remained steady or even increased somewhat in recent years
Although the Columbine tragedy and others like it make the headlines, youth are killed everyday by the hands of another.
A more critical analysis of the link between video game playing and violence is necessary for fully understanding a complex problem like youth violent behavior that has many causes and correlates.
Researchers have reported experimental evidence linking violent video games to more aggressive behavior, particularly as it relates to children who are at more sensitive stages in their socialization.
These effects have been found to be particularly profound in the case of child-initiated virtual violence.