The debate has been going on for a long time now about the influence of video games leading to violence. Some people are of the opinion that the violence prevailing in video games does influence kids. On the other hand, there are experts who are trying to prove the fact that the violence of video games has nothing to do with the increasing violence amongst kids. Even Donald Trump, the U.S. President expressed his concerns about the violence of video games. However, Chris Gady dismissed the logic upfront. According to Chris, who is a survivor of the February 14 shootout, ‘I grew up playing video games..first person shooter games and I would never, ever dream of taking the lives of any of my peers’. So, what exactly is the truth? We all agree that violence amongst kids, teens, and tweens are ever increasing. Nevertheless, we are not able to pull out the trigger point that is leading to these massacres one after another in different parts of the world. In Munich, Germany, an 18-year old gunman confessed that he is a big fan of first-person shooter games. Earlier, people used to blame pop and rock music for the violence, Satanism, and sex. From early 2000, a part of professional groups like APA began campaigning against video games with dubious evidence and contradictory set of results. Many pieces of research have proved the fact that video games have very little impact on youth aggression or violence. So, does this finding mean that children can play video games for long hours and it won’t harm them in any way? Let’s dig in deep into the matter. When any scientist starts research work, they need some funding. Now, no matter what the findings turn out to be, the researchers tend to speak on behalf of the advocacy group who has funded their research. They find themselves in a sticky situation because they can’t stay impartial and end up supporting the advocacy groups. In 2009, American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement saying, “playing violent video games has been found to account for a 13% to 22% increase in adolescents’ violent behavior; by comparison, smoking tobacco accounts for 14% of the increase in lung cancer.” Here clearly, the numbers are exaggerated and the comparison is uncalled for. The youth violence is at an all-time low despite the increase in the popularity of the video games. The American Psychological Association reported that 90% of children in the U.S.A. play video games. Astonishingly 85% of the popular video games involve violence in some form. Even a game like Pokémon Go involves battles. In August 2015, their study revealed a link between aggressive behavior and violent video games. Depending on the findings, they pointed out that video games should not involve any kind of living targets. There should not be any brownie points in the game when someone is killed because children associate success and pleasure in causing suffering and pain to others. Whitney DeCamp, on the other hand, an associate professor of sociology at Western Michigan University quipped that there is an insignificant link between aggression and violent video games. According to him, “the kids who are fond of violent video games may have a predisposition toward aggression.” While researching, he took into account the family relations of the kid, gender, etc. He found out that no matter how violent the video games are, it didn’t result in aggressive behavior. Christopher Ferguson, associate professor and co-chairman of the Department of Psychology at Stetson University, said that most men engage in playing violent video games, however, not everybody is picking up the gun in real life and goes on a shooting spree. As of now, the psychologists are suggesting the parents to keep an eye on what their kids are playing. Till date, there is no clear proof of whether or not violent video games influence the aggressive behavior of the kid.
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