US President Barack Obama has tasked the Centers for Disease Control to gauge the amount of influence video games has in gun violence in the US.
To quote an introduction to the study, “While the vast majority of research on the effects of violence in media has focused on violence portrayed in television and movies, more recent research has expanded to include music, video games, social media, and the Internet – outlets that consume more and more of young people’s days.”
“However, in more than 50 years of research, no study has focused on firearm violence as a specific outcome of violence in media. As a result, a direct relationship between violence in media and real-life firearm violence has not been established and will require additional research.”
The research is not focused primarily on games but the blanket causes that foster gun violence primarily in North America.
The research will be done via a public health approach, which will include three key aspects- a focus on prevention, a focus on scientific methodology to identify risk and patterns, and multidisciplinary collaboration to address the problem. This methodology has been successful in reducing tobacco use, vehicle fatalities and unintentional poisonings.
Findings from the study will be presented in 3-5 years. Let us know your views below.