What Doctors Don't Tell YouNew evidence from the US suggests that violent video games increase aggression among young people.
What is more, the effect of playing such games, says researcher Craig Anderson from Iowa State University of Science & Technology, may be worse than watching violent TV shows or films because video games are interactive.
Anderson conducted two separate studies into the link. In the first, a survey which involved 227
college students, he noted a strong trend suggesting that the more violent the games, the more often aggressive behaviour was reported.
In the second study, 210 college students were asked to play either a violent or non violent game.
The winners of the more violent games were likely to ‘punish’ their opponents with a noise blast for a longer period than did those who played non violent games (J Pers Soc Psychol, 2000; 78: 772-90).
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
