So - Violence isn't all bad then...

It is pretty much a given in the media (and hence the general public opinion) that playing violent games makes you into a rapid, blood spilling murder. Apparently teen boys are already well on their way to committing a crazed, hate fueled massacre anyway and video games are the final straw that pushes them over the edge.

The general theory goes that shooting someone in a game is just like shooting someone in real life and you get desensitized to it. You start to think it is normal behaviour and before you know it your just wandering through your school shooting people like your mother walks down the shopping isle picking out Cheerios and apples.

Now I have always had an issue with the general theory. Mainly because when I want to kill a real person I find logging into a UT3 session and killing a few hundred fake ones almost does the trick. Since I haven't murdered anyone yet I think I am testament to games actually stopping boys from calmly mowing down their class mates.

Now someone has finally actually done some research on the oft vilified violent game and decided that they may not be all that bad.

The general gist is that most boys are violent crazies to begin with and allowing them to express all this violence in a fantastical way (through play, talking, or games) is vastly better than them losing it.

Apparently developing these violent tendencies is also important for a males mental growth. So if you deny your son an education in the violence you actually may be impairing their growth.

You can read about it in "The Trouble With Boys' by Peg Tyre. I have ordered myself a copy and will post my thoughts once I read it.

Cheers

G.