On February 11, 2013, the New York Times stated: “The young men who opened fire at Columbine High School, at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and in other massacres had this in common: they were video gamers who seemed to be acting out some dark digital fantasy. It was as if all that exposure to computerized violence gave them the idea to go on a rampage — or at least fueled their urges.”

The New York Daily News published an article on March 18, 2013 stating: “Newtown killer [Sandy Hook Elementary Shooter] Adam Lanza’s lust for slaughter jumped from his TV screen to real life. A day after columnist Mike Lupica broke the story on the violent video game obsession that apparently prompted Lanza to try to “score” a high body count in the Connecticut shooting rampage, politicians were moving to stop the madness.”

There is a lot of debate regarding the violent and realistic content in video games and the potential to for them to negatively impact player attitude and behavior.

Hundreds of video game and video game player studies have been conducted by a wide range of psychologists and government agencies with the aim of addressing the issue of harm. These studies have targeted possible links to addiction, aggression, violence, social development, and a variety of stereotyping and sexual morality issues.

The results of these studies have been conflicting. Within the realm of aggression studies, some analysts have found that exposure to violent video games correlates with at least a temporary increase in aggression and a decrease in prosocial behavior (caring about the welfare and rights of others), and other studies have concluded that video game violence is not related to engaging in aggressive behavior

One of the most common criticisms of video games is that it leads to increased tendencies for violence in youth. Numerous studies have been conducted on this topic and several have found a correlation between these two aspects. However, several other major studies by groups such as The Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health, The Journal of Adolescent Health, and The British Medical Journal have found no conclusive link between video game usage and violent activity.

So draw your own conclusion. Can repeated exposure to violence in video games lead to actual acting out?

Parents, it is important to monitor the types of video games your kids are playing both online and offline. Help your kids create a balance between online and offline and between different kind of video games.

If you have concerns about your teenage son’s aggressive behavior and how it correlates with the types video games he is playing, ask for help.

Prevention is key.

Reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html?_r=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/crackdown-urged-violent-games-lanza-report-article-1.1292402