Paul Keegan

About the author: Paul Keegan is a New York-based journalist who has written articles on business technology and culture for Mother Jones, the New York Times, and other publications.

In the wake of Columbine and other school shootings, many people have argued that video games encourage such violence. Some of the most popular video games have vivid depictions of violence and emphasize that violence in their advertisements. Although the video game industry and many of its fans maintain otherwise, studies suggest that, as with violent movies and television programs, a connection likely exists between brutality in games and real-life aggression. These studies have shown that repeated exposure to violent images can make people less sensitive to the effects of violence. Unless society changes its...