Don't Blame Violent Videos For Violent Acts Says Local Psychiatrist
DETROIT (WWJ) - Vice President Joe Biden is meeting with representatives of the video game industry as he works on recommendations and the administration's response to last month's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school.
So are video games to blame for the recent spate of mass shootings across the U.S.? Beaumont psychiatrist Dr. Joel Young, who specializes in adolescents, is not convinced.
"Some of the recent research does not suggest that video games significantly contribute to violent acts ... things don't change in a generation - I don't think we are a more violent people than we were 50 years ago or 100 years ago," he said.
" ... and it's not been proven that video games promote violence in the long-run. It's just not proven to be the case," said Young. "The problem is if they become rageful and they have weapons at their disposal."
Young said that boys have always played cowboys and Indians and probably games before that.
Young blames the recent mass shootings on mental illness.
Young says video games can be an issue if they're being played for long periods of time in isolation. That's when, he says, the difference between reality and fantasy can become confused.
