According to Greitemeyer and Mugge (2014), video games do affect the social outcomes of the players and may have an impact on violence among young people. They relied on data from 98 independent studies which revealed that there was a correlation between the increase in aggression and violent video games. However, the assertion might not be true since there are other variables which can contribute to the aggression. Notwithstanding, the social outcomes related to video games might not be entirely dependent on each other. Therefore, video games are not harmful to the player since there are other variables which should be considered in case there are adverse outcomes.
Video games do affect the increase in aggression-related variables and may be a significant contributor to the increased violence in schools (Greitemeyer and Mugge, 2014). However, there might not be a possible link between the two since violence is a criminal behavior which may not necessarily be caused by the violent video games (Markey, Markey, and French, 2015). Markey et al. used four time-series analyses to investigate the correlations between violent crime and video games (2014). The results showed that no evidence suggested that the medium was positively related to the actual violence in the United States. There were results which indicated a decrease in violence in response to the violent video games. Therefore, the researchers should avoid generalizing the outcomes from laboratory and correlational studies to the severe forms of violence.
According to Greitemeyer and Mugge (2014), there was a correlation between the homicides among the young people and the aggravated assaults in the school setting. However, the researchers should ensure that all the related variables are taken into account. Most of the homicides might not necessarily be caused by playing video games. There might be psychological issues which are involved in such cases. Notwithstanding, the video games might not have promoted aggravated assaults among young people. According to research, violent games can promote harmony since it shows young people the consequences of violence (Markey et al., 2015). Therefore, it gives the youngster a chance to open up their minds and know that violence might not be the answer to all the conflicts since there might be dire consequences. Other contributing factors to violence should not be overlooked since they might be vital in understanding the correlation between the variables.
Greitemeyer and Mugge (2014) assert that there is a link between video games and social outcomes such as helping. The research showed that people who had exposure to video games had an impact on the social results which had both short- and long-term effects. The video games are essential in building the emotional, cognitive, and neural changes which can affect a young person positively (Granic, Lobel and Engels, 2014). It can affect the teamwork of a person since they learn how to work as a team while playing the games.
It is evident that there might be an impact on the social outcomes of video game players. However, the researchers should not overlook the benefits that may be linked to video games. There might not be a link between the aggression and violent video games since there are other variables which can be related to criminal activities. Notwithstanding, there are positive impacts of video games such as building teamwork. Therefore, video games might not be harmful at all to the players since they may contribute positively to their social outcomes.
References
Granic, I., Lobel, A., " Engels, R. C. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American psychologist, 69(1), 66.
Greitemeyer, T., " Mügge, D. O. (2014). Video games do affect social outcomes: A meta-analytic review of the effects of violent and prosocial video game play. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(5), 578-589.
Markey, P. M., Markey, C. N., " French, J. E. (2015). Violent video games and real-world violence: Rhetoric versus data. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(4), 277.
