Violent video games provoke violence

Morning news on August 18th, Beijing time, a new report from the American Psychological Association shows that playing video games with violent content will cause players to be violent. In 1976, an 8-bit video game, Death Race, was controversial. In this game, players drive a villain and turn them into tombstones. In the following decades, experts have been studying whether violence in the virtual world can induce real violence.

The latest research report shows: "The results show that there is a correlation between violent video games and violence, which will lead to a decrease in player sympathy and sensitivity to violence."

However, after more than 20 years of research, the American Psychological Association still believes that there is currently not enough evidence to show whether video games have actually led to actual violent crimes. For example, the industry still needs more research on whether first-person shooters will induce players to commit gun crimes in real life.

The American Psychological Association’s seven-person working group evaluated 170 studies on video game violence and consulted experts in the field. The team found that in many areas, the current research is still far from enough. They hope to conduct more research on the differences between male and female player violence behaviors, the impact of video games on young people, and the risk factors such as playing violent games and people’s socioeconomic status.

However, the American Psychological Association believes there is a certain relationship between video games and violence. Therefore, the association calls for better parental control of video games and further refinement of game grading to indicate different levels and types of violence. In addition, game manufacturers should design suitable game content based on the age of the player.

However, not everyone agrees with the report of the American Psychological Association. When the association established a working group two years ago, 230 researchers wrote a joint letter and expressed concern about the project of the American Psychological Association.

Chris Ferguson of Stansson University in Florida said: "I think we need to realize that violence exists everywhere." Ferguson's research focuses on the relationship between video games and violence, and is also the first 10 letters of open letters. One of the authors.

He believes that there are problems with the research methods of the American Psychological Association, such as the selection of some older (average age 62) research samples, which are often opposed to video games. In addition, the American Psychological Association does not have a proper definition of violent tendencies and does not disclose specific survey details assessed by the association.

Ferguson said: "I think the good thing about this report is that this is the first time an organization has come out and said, 'There is no evidence that there is a link between video games and violence.'