Violent video games - do they create real-world violence? It's a question studied for years, and renewed in light of the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Meanwhile, some in Congress are calling for an investigation into the effects of these games on children. As part of a three-day series looking at the conversation post-Newtown, we're examining the debate over video game violence.
Guests:
- Brad Bushman, Professor of Communication and Psychology at Ohio State University, and a professor of communication science at the VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He studies the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem of human aggression and violence.
- Cheryl Olson co-founded the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachussetts General Hospital. She was the principal investigator for a Harvard research project studying the effects of video games on young teens Based on that research, she coauthored a popular book, Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do.
Callouts:
- Rona Zlokower– Executive Director of Media Power Youth, an organization based in Manchester that educates youth, parents, and professionals on issues of media literacy.
- Jamin Warren – Co-founder of Kill Screen, a videogame arts and culture company interested in the intersection between games, play, and other seats of culture from art to music to design; he was previously a WSJ reporter.
