Do modern video games contribute to the increasing level of Violence that is all around
us? Can we really attribute the shootings and bombings we see on the news to the increased
violence and realism in video games ? These are the questions reporters should be asking.
Instead the first question out of their mouths if the suspect is an adolescent will most certainly
be ' Was he addicted to playing violent video games ?' If the answer is yes, they look no farther.
They should investigate the suspect's background to see if he was violent before he started
playing games. Then look at the studies done on violent video games and they will find that
98.7% of all teens regardless of gender have played violent games(Kirsh, Steven J.). What is
truly remarkable is that less than one percent of all teens go out and commit a violent act.
Therefore this will prove that it is the violence in the suspect not the violence in the game that
has led to so many deaths. The findings of many studies prove it is society not video games who
has let the gamer down. It is society who has given them a 'bad wrap'. The media and most
others are not taking into account that the incidence of violence in this age group has continued
to drop as the sales of violent video games has climbed dramatically.
Researchers have considered role playing games a double edge sword. They say they are
excellent teaching tools but the violent ones teach violent conditioning. This is NOT so!
According to Christopher Ferguson of Setson University and the independent researcher Cheryl
Olson in her study published in Springer's Journal of Youth and Adolescences it is exactly the
opposite. Their research found that playing games actually had a very calming effect on the
youth's with attention deficit symptoms and