Violence and Video games

The extensive study by University of Illinois Speech Communications Assistant Professor Dmitri Williams and Nanyang Technological University Communications Professor Marko Skoric showed no substantial increase in real-world aggression due to violent video games, particularly massive multiplayer online role-playing games.

The two professors asked 213 participants to play the online game Asheron’s Call 2. The conclusion was that playing violent video games was not a significant predictor of aggressive cognitions.

"Participants after the experiment were not statistically different in their normative beliefs on aggression than they were before playing the game. Similarly, game play was also not a predictor of aggressive behaviors."

A study last April by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health declared that video games are not entirely bad and could in fact be helpful by developing a child's reaction time to certain situations.

The Swedish study also pointed out that children only play an average of 45 minutes per day but watch TV for two hours. Even the entry of broadband and online gaming did not change the playing and watching habits of children. continue