Violent Video Games 'Make Teenagers More Aggressive Towards Other People' (and Girls are Affected as Much as Boys)

Teenagers who play violent video games over a number of years become more aggressive towards other people as a result, according to a new long-term study.

Researchers said the study was the first to show a clear link between a sustained period of playing violent games and subsequent increases in hostile behaviour.
Girls who play violent computer games during their school years were found to be affected just as much as boys.

The research team at Brock University in Canada said their results were 'concerning' and wrote that violent games could 'reinforce the notion that aggression is an effective and appropriate way to deal with conflict and anger'.

Evidence suggests that long-term players of violent games may become more likely to react aggressively to unintentional provocations such as someone accidentally bumping into them, they added.

The findings come after a coroner urged parents to stop children using adult video games following the death of Callum Green, 14, from Stockport, who hanged himself after playing the Certificate 18 game Call of Duty, which features gruesomely realistic scenes of soldiers trying to kill each other.

Culled from DAILY MAIL