Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

*Playing video games leads to increased AGGRESSION & VIOLENCE …
Japanese researchers found that playing computer games stunted the development of the
frontal lobe of the brain in teenagers, the part of the brain that is crucial for developing
impulse control. As such, they found that the tendency to lose control both during and
after playing video games is not due to children and adults absorbing the aggression
involved in the games themselves, but rather is due to those games literally causing brain
damage to those users.
Another primary concern with violence in video games is that gaming involves an active
form of aggression. In order to play and win, the player must be the aggressor. Rather
than watching violence, as he might do on television, the gamer is – at least in his own
mind — actually committing his or her violent acts. Most researchers acknowledge that
this kind of active participation affects a person’s thought patterns, leading to the
formation of aggressive beliefs and attitudes, and simultaneously desensitizing gamers to
the violent behaviors of themselves & others. Studies have consistently shown that even
those gamers who aren’t predisposed to aggression respond to real world stressors with
increased hostility after playing a violent video game.
“We are no longer worried that children are missing school because of video games …
We are worried that they are murdering their classmates because of video games.” ~
Tom Bissell
*Playing video games leads to SOCIAL
ISOLATION …
Social consequences are a very real part of
gaming addiction. Addicted gamers spend so
much time playing games that their personal
relationships get neglected and sometimes
disappear altogether. Indeed, even among
addicted gamers who are married, up to 50
percent report a strain in their marriage as a
result of their addiction, and addicted children
were more likely to become depressed, anxious
or have many other social phobias.
“Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it.”
~ Jane McGonigal
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