Violent Video Games May Reduce Crime [STUDY]

A new study says that games that boost violence and crimes are actually helping to lower the crime and violence rates.

According to experts, these games are reducing crime/violence by engaging the gamers in their immersive action packed games. Criminals that are gamers too are just too busy shooting virtual bad guys that they are not doing the same thing in real life themselves.

A series of high profile murder cases have blamed various video games were responsible for engaging the thought of killing someone in real life. But the new report named as ‘Understanding the Effect of violent Video Games on Violent Crimes’ says differently.

According to an earlier study conducted for the same purpose:

There is evidence that violent video games cause aggression in a laboratory setting, there is no evidence that violent video games cause violence or crime.

It also argues on the point that,

We argue that since laboratory experiments have not examined the time use effects of video games, which incapacitate violent activity by drawing individual gamers into extended gameplay, laboratory studies may be poor predictors of the net effects of violent video games in society.

All in all, the study notes that whenever a new game (one that endorses violence) is introduced in the market, crime rates actually go down.

Time spent gaming cannot be spent on other activities, both legitimate activities and illicit violent activities.

Yet there are double thoughts in the minds of the researchers. Many of them actually believe that some games may cause violence in schools, massacres and shootings because of the evidence found in this regard.

The recent case of game related violence comes from a case that was heard in Winchester Crown Court where a man tried to start a massacre like the one present in Grand Theft Auto.

There are many other cases that point toward violence erupted through gaming experience. But the question: were these people in a good healthy state of mind? Remains to be answered.

In my point of view games are meant to be fun just like TV dramas and action films and should not be blamed for creation of violence.

[via Telegraph]