Critical Analysis Of Shooting In The Dark By Benedict Carey

In his article “Shooting in the Dark,” Benedict Carey argues that video games depict explicit or violent content stimulate aggressive behavior within gamers. He argues that video games like Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty, and Battlefield 3 increase aggressive urges and that exposure to these games leads to real-world hostilities. He mentions incidents like the young men who opened fire at Columbine High School and at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado—video gamers who seemed to be acting out some “dark digital fantasy”—to uphold his position. He believes a dose of violent video games can cause people to act “more rudely” than they would otherwise. Although he describes how violent video games may stimulate aggressive or hostile behavior, Carey’s argument can be challenged because there are other factors that can influence individuals to act violent and hostile. Moreover, it is indefinite whether violent video

He argues that violent video games stimulate aggressive behavior and as support, he references other psychologists who could not develop a conclusion about the effects of violent video games, which weakens his argument. According to Christopher J. Ferguson, an associate professor of psychology and criminal justice at Texas A&M, “there is no connection between violent video games and aggressiveness.” “I look at [violent video games] and I can’t say what it means,” Ferguson states. Carey’s argument is refuted because Ferguson is unsure of the outcome from people playing violent video games because there is no telling whether they cause