Correlation does not prove causation. That is research-speak that calls into question the claim that watching violent movies or playing violent video games makes the player a more violent person. But despite the difficulty of finding causal links, the events at Newtown and other\u00a0 scenes of gun violence will likely increase\u00a0 funding for research that attempts to uncover connections between violent media consumption and violent behavior.<\/p>\n
Here’s a video clip that frames the issue…<\/p>\n
[youtube=http:\/\/youtu.be\/IdY7ehahp2M]<\/p>\n
Even though most gun deaths are suicides and gang-related shootings, it is the mass shootings, such as the ones in Aurora and Newtown, that focus the public’s attention on violent video games and movies.<\/p>\n
However, despite concerns about the media’s contribution to gun violence, most of the response from politicians has focused on certain types of guns and large-capacity magazines…much to the chagrin of 2nd Amendment absolutists. There are several reasons that may explain this. The first is because the media-violence link is still not conclusive in the minds of many researchers. And the other reason is something called the 1st Amendment and Freedom of Speech. Attempts to limit speech (content of TV, movies and video games) results in some pretty difficult legal challenges. Even before you consider the competing interests of the 1st and 2nd Amendments this is a difficult issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Correlation does not prove causation. That is research-speak that calls into question the claim that watching violent movies or playing violent video games makes the player a more violent person. But despite the difficulty of finding causal links, the events at Newtown and other\u00a0 scenes of gun violence will likely increase\u00a0 funding for research that … <\/p>\n