For years, anti-gaming crusaders and general idiots have attempted to vilify video games, blaming them for all the turmoil and violence in the world. Well, today gamers can say, “Ha!” and laugh in the faces of those individuals. A study recently showed what most intelligent gamers already knew: that games don’t cause violence in children.
According to Patrick Markey, a psychologist at Villanova University, violence isn’t spawned within children via video games. “If you’re worried about a video game turning your son or daughter into a killer, don’t worry about that,” Markey told USA Today. “But is your kid moody, impulsive, or are they unfriendly? It’s probably not the best idea to have that child play violent video games.”
Additionally, a study in the Psychology of Violence journal shows that the in-game themes aren’t what lead to violence. “It appears that competition in games is what may influence aggression, not the violent content,” said author Paul Adachi. “We found—irrespective of violent content—the two highly competitive games produced more aggressive behavior than the two less competitive games.”
So basically, if your kid is already screwed up, you really shouldn’t let him play violent games. Also, if he’s an aggressive little brat, it’s highly suggested that you keep him away from competitive games until you and your child can sort through these issues, which are likely caused by something internal. Yeah, definitely look into that, anti-gaming D-bags.
