RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, more than 90% of our Nation's children and adolescents regularly play video games; and
WHEREAS, a recent study found that 49% of the top-selling video games contain intense violence; and
WHEREAS, analyses of current video games reveal that the most popular narrative approach features a human perpetrator engaging in repeated acts of violence involving weapons;
WHEREAS, in 2005, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution entitled "On Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media," formally recognizing the significant negative impact of violent video games on children; and
WHEREAS, in its 2009 Policy Statement on Media Violence, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that playing violent video games creates "a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents"; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, a group of 116 leading scholars, researchers, and professionals signed a formal statement endorsing the conclusion that violent video games increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior, thinking, and feelings in regular players, desensitize players to violence, and decrease players' pro-social behavior; and
WHEREAS, laboratory studies have found that subjects randomly assigned to play a violent video game subsequently displayed more aggressive characteristics than those who played nonviolent games; and
WHEREAS, research reveals that adolescents who regularly play violent video games are more hostile in school, get into arguments with teachers more frequently, and perform more poorly in their classes than other students; and
WHEREAS, numerous studies have specifically concluded that sexualized violence in video games increases violence towards women and anti-women attitudes; and
WHEREAS, in addition to psychological research, neuroscience research has identified a link between perpetration of virtual violence in video games and reduced activation of a neural mechanism known to be crucial for self-control; now, therefore,
James A. Balcer ...
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