The mass shooting in California, Texas, and Ohio forced President Trump and Republicans to speak up against the increasing violence, and the President and top republicans blamed violent video games for this increasing violence.
Few experts are also affirmative about the connection of video games with real-world violence. Andrew Przybylski, an affiliate professor on the College of Oxford who researches digital media, says, “Video games have solely turn out to be extra lifelike. The gamers of video games and violent video games have solely turn out to be extra numerous. They usually are performed all worldwide now.”
“However the one place the place you see this type of narrative nonetheless maintain any water, that video games and violence are associated to one another, is in America,” he adds further to his statement given to a media channel.
The top Republican leaders reached this conclusion of video games are responsible for real-time violence based on a study that came out in 2015. This study was done by the American Psychological Association, and it found “consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive affect.” However the report itself said that there is not sufficient evidence to link that aggression to criminal violence but whatever published in report at that time has given an excuse to the republicans about the mass killing.
Przybylski’s study on the link between video games and real-time violence shows a different picture. According to Przybylski, ”The general trend here is that society has a concern about new technology, parents or policymakers get involved, and maybe the researchers don’t have much experience with the technology themselves, and so the first few attempts to study the thing are pretty poorly done.”
American Psychological Association is yet to update its policy on video games and aggression level in them. In the new policy, the game makers may ask to not to give reward point to the players on killing to human or other living targets.
If the connection between games and the aggressive behaviour in teenagers and youngster is real, then its high time that society and lawmakers should take some serious steps to control it. It is also the responsibility for parents to dig down deeper to know the root cause behind the aggression in youngsters.
