Games make you do drugs
Says new academic study.
A new academic study is claiming that playing games with violent content makes you more likely to think that drinking beer and smoking pot is brilliant.
A total of 100 men aged between 18 and 21 took part in the study, which was conducted by Dr Sonya Brady of the University of California and Professor Karen Matthews of the University of Pittsburgh.
Participants were randomly assigned one of two game missions - delivering Lisa's homework on time in The Simpsons: Hit and Run, or smashing a drug dealer's skull into a bloody pulp in Grand Theft Auto III.
Apparently, those playing GTA III displayed "more permissive attitudes toward using alcohol and marijuana, and more uncooperative behavior in comparison with men randomly assigned to play The Simpsons." They also had higher blood pressure, and were more likely to suspect that other people were being hostile towards them.
"Parents have been told the message that violent video games and violent media in general can influence the likelihood that their kids will be aggressive," Dr Brady told Reuters.
"What this study suggests is that they might increase any type of risk-taking behavior."
