8. Study Claims That Video Games Can Make You Racist
Since the dawn of video games, there have been concerns regarding their cultural impact, though most claims have had no hard evidence to back them up. However, study details released earlier this year claimed that violent video games involving black characters can reinforce certain stereotypes. "Playing a violent video game as a black character reinforces harmful stereotypes that blacks are violent," claimed Brad Bushman, one of the co-authors of the study. "We found there are real consequences to having these stereotypes it can lead to more aggressive behaviour." The study involved players being randomly assigned either a black or white character in the game Saints Row 2. They were then given the task of either breaking out of a prison or non-violently finding a chapel. Among other results, those who played with the black characters were more likely to agree with the statement that "It's really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if blacks would only try harder they could be just as well off as whites." Wow.