Violent Video Games -- Do They Harm Our Youth?

[OKCCrime]

I'm not violent, my kids aren't violent ... I don't know, we've never gone there and never will. It just doesn't happen in our home.

But how can you be sure, about yourself or your kids? Especially given that there are many scientists and pediatricians saying that there is a causal role of violent media on aggressive behavior. Maybe the effect of violent media is small, but it could be a decisive factor in as given situation. For example, does a child decide to turn to fight an overly aggressive school-mate or does he/she decide instead to flee or diffuse the aggression? Children rely more on past experiences than logic of what is right or wrong to make such decisions. It doesn't seem unreasonable to believe that experiences learned in very realistic violent video games might build the foundation for action in real world situations. The evidence for this is under debate, but why take the chance when there are so many other non-violent outlets for recreation.

hopefully curtails my urge to beat someone up when they cut me off with my kids in the car.

Yeah, I hope this too, but all signs point in the other direction on this street.

Out of curiosity, Do you let your kids play video games?

Slow down - let's stick to the issue instead of fishing for evidence of hypocrisy to fuel an ad hominem attack. I have no kids nor do I play violent video games.