Some of the most famous studies into the risks associated with video games have studied playing games under laborotory conditions, in order to observe a number of markers for agression or violence. From reports of these studies the popular media has inferred that video games cause violence in society.
The most famous example of this were the two boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who were allegedly inspired massacre their classmates after playing the video game Doom. Could it be that allowing kids and young adults to play violent games increases the amount of violence on in society?
I spoke with Mike Ward, who is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Arlington. I asked him to explain what if anything was wrong with this line of reasoning.
