Entertainment and media affect our lives. What's to say that video games do not have the same effect? There are many variables that show how a person will act and to what stimuli. Men and women are also very different in the way that they perceive things and respond to them. Playing violent video games compared to non-violent games, academic achievement, and the time spent playing the games are all factors relating to violent and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Video games have been around for years. When Atari first presented the games, the whole world was playing Pong and Pac-man. Even then, questions were raised about children playing such "violent" games such as Pac-man, going around chomping up little ghosts. 1993, the most popular video game was Mortal Kombat. Comparing Pac-man to Mortal Kombat is like comparing night and day. Now parents are begging their kids to play Pac-man! Unfortunately, violent games are much more dominant and a lot easier to find than non-violent games. .
There have been two studies in particular examining violent video game effects on variables. Study 1 found that real life violent video game play was positively related aggressive behavior and delinquency. The relation is even stronger for the males who are aggressive. In study 2, lab exposure to violent games increased aggressive thoughts and behavior. In both studies, men had more hostile views of the world than women did. The results of both studies are consistent and predict that overexposure will increase aggressive behavior both short term and long term.
On April 20, 1999, two Columbian High School students attacked their school, murdering 13 and wounding 23 right before taking their own lives. Although there are a number of factors in why these boys did what they did, one possible factor is violent video games. They both enjoyed playing the bloody shooting game Doom and ended up acting it out in real life.
