Analysis of a debate over the effects of playing violent video games and a phenomenon of violence in video games itself.

Abstract

A recent school shooting in Stoneman Douglas High in Florida brought back the fear that such tragedies are directly connected to young people exposing themselves to violent video games. As the amount of research connecting virtual violence to real-world aggression and other anti-social behaviours is vast, it is rather questionable whether findings of such research are accurate and up to date in light of more recent studies and data. In my dissertation I have analyzed information from various sources, supporting myself with my personal experience with violent video games to prove that simply connecting horrific acts of violence to playing video games is greatly misleading. My dissertation also contains an analysis of video games violence itself and in different contexts. Based on analysis of data gathered in this work it appears that there are multiple positive effects of playing violent video games. Moreover, it was proven that increased aggression is not positively linked to violent factor of video games and that school shooters were not video games enthusiasts.