Do video games have a stronger effect on children than media like television because of its interactive nature?
Theoretically that is what we would expect. However, there is only a little scientific evidence for it at this time. I therefore think that this is still an open question that needs additional study. • Computer and video games have been played by most children in countries like the United States for the last 30 years, yet youth crime rates in that time have fallen. Doesn’t this suggest that games have little effect on behavior? No, it suggests that societal-level violence is a complex phenomenon that is affected by many things, such as the economy, laws, gun availability, the number of police, prison sentences, etc. No media effects researcher has ever said that media violence will cause severe violent behavior such as school shootings. Those are highly extreme behaviors that require several risk factors to converge, of which media violence exposure is only one. Instead, the effects of media violence exposure are more subtle, such as increasing aggressive thoughts and feelings, so that
