Today President Obama has announced a series of initiatives with the aim of finding out if violent media, including movies and games, has any effect on the youths of today and if there is any link between consuming violent media and committing violent acts.
One of the initiatives is allowing $10 million for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) to fund research into finding how strong this link between media and violence is, or if there is any link at all.
At a press conference President Obama said “I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it, and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds.”
In response to this the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has issued a press release supporting the research but reiterating that previous research has shown there is no link as of yet.
“The same entertainment is enjoyed across all cultures and nations, but tragic levels of gun violence remain unique to our country. Scientific research and international and domestic crime data all point toward the same conclusion: entertainment does not cause violent behavior in the real world.”
However it is not just research into videogames that is being recommended, there are 23 other initiatives taking place that can be found here at the White House’s website.
I believe it is promising that the President is taking action by funding research into these topics but still believe that violent games and media does not increase the chance of someone committing such crimes.
What do you think of these new initiatives? Do you believe there is any link between videogames and violent crime? Let me know in the comments below.
