Violence in video games has been a hot topic for a while. Some blame video games for real life acts of violence while others defend the games saying they are art and even claiming they may actually help decrease real world violence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
The above is one such article that claims video games contribute to violent behavior. The article focuses on scientific studies that look at the brain activity of kids as they play violent games. The results of the study show that violence in games does have a negative effect on brain activity, but the study does not show how that translates into real actions. The article warns readers to be aware of the effects on a players brain, but does not explain what the consequences of those effects are. At the end of he article it goes off on a small tangent and talks about the growing obesity epidemic in America. This only serves to weaken the overall effectiveness of the article.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
In this second article, the author argues that violence in video games does not contribute to real world violence but instead it may actually decrease it. The author, like the author of the previous article, acknowledges the study that links violent games to increased brain activity, but this article points out that that link is unimportant unless more evidence is found that proves it causes real harm. To prove his point, the author cites statistics, showing that real world violence has actually decreased since the release of violent games. The author does admit that research is inconclusive, but the fact that violence has not increased with the advent of violent games is a very good argument against games as a harmful influence on kids.
1 comment:
Interesting choice of articles. Showing both sides of the argument isn't a novel idea, but it's a shame that it isn't done very often.
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