Cognitive Monthly • June 2009 -- Duke Nukem Comes to Dinner: Do Violent Games make Violent Kids?

Whenever kids are involved in a violent crime, speculation about their upbringing inevitably takes center stage. Were they abused or neglected? Could their parents have prevented the tragedy? Most recently, video games have been targeted as the possible root of the problem. But are video games really to blame for horrific massacres like the shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech? This month's report considers the growing role video games play in our kids' lives--and whether the playing violent games might really cause kids to be violent themselves. We assess the latest research on violent games and how it impacts kids. Researchers have found that playing some violent games does result at least temporarily in aggressive behavior, but it can also be beneficial. Do the benefits of gaming outweigh the many potential harms? We also describe how we've managed video games in our family, and offer some guidelines on how parents can approach gaming in their own homes. Cover photo: Casey Fleser