Can video games make kids more aggressive?
Supernanny Jo Frost wasn’t impressed when she discovered that Holly and Jimmy Tafoya’s two older sons were regularly sneaking over to a buddy’s house to play violent video games rated as suitable for a mature audience. But can they really make kids more aggressive? Research has thrown up mixed results. Exposure to TV and new technology has resulted in a generation of media-savvy kids who tend to learn best from what they see rather than what they read or do. And some video games are a great visual teacher when it comes to aggression and hostility. Trouble is that where parents might want their children to learn how to problem solve using co-operation and compromise, violent video games tend to teach the kind of problem-solving skills that involve the use of weapons of mass destruction and much spilling of virtual blood – and that violence is ultimately rewarded because it helps win the game. New research from Iowa State University suggests that the amount of violence in the games kids
