There is this perception in the media that people who play actions games are violent-either born that way or made so by the very games they choose to play. There are all sorts of studies linking video games to violent behavior. The problem with them is that we deem the experts on this issue to be the men in labcoats and not the gamers themselves. Many of these so called definitive studies are actually very weak on examination. One example comes to mind:

"The second study by the authors looked at the effects of actual video game violence.

Subjects were college students who played either a violent video game (Wolfenstein 3D) or a non-violent game (Myst). These games had been chosen in a pilot study because they differed only in the degree of violence in the game and not on the amount of physiological arousal that they produced. Following video game play the students took some tests and participated in a "Competitive reaction time task" where they were told that they were playing against another student. They were told that they could blast the other student with a noise if they won, and that they could vary the intensity and duration of the blast.

Students in both groups blasted their opponent longer and louder following trials when they had lost and their opponent had just blasted them. Students who had played Wolfenstein 3D blasted their opponent longer and louder on such trials than students who had played Myst. Female students blasted their opponents longer and louder on all trials than male students." (Anderson)

This is their correlation? Wow, students who get the thrill of a violent game will be more inclined to want a louder gun sound than those who play a role playing game. People who are unhappy about losing vent some of it with louder gun blasts. How was this study even worth conducting? How does one make the massive assumption that a preference for louder fake blaster sounds equates with an increased preference to engage in real world violence?

I think all of this is counter intuitive in the extreme. I have read a few stories about kids going crazy and claiming the video games made them do it. I think these very studies have opened the door for them to use that very lame excuse to justify the most horrendous behavior. Either those children could not distinguish between fantasy and reality or they had no conscience to begin with.

If you want to say that playing video games exacerbate these tendencies then I have a few questions. Why

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