10 Things Non-Gamers Don't Understand About Gaming
3. Violent Games Relieve Stress (But Don't Make People Violent)
The debate about the appeal of violent video games will exist as long as video games themselves do, and if you're not a gamer, it's tough to see why people like to play gory shoot 'em ups and fighting games.
The mass media is largely to blame for the major misconception that violent video games make people more violent and are effectively "training" people to commit such acts in real life.
Though this dialogue has thankfully quieted down in recent years as gaming has become more mainstream, for non-gamers the utility of violent games still remains mystifying.
In reality, the truth is that brutally violent games like Doom and Grand Theft Auto are fantastic for blowing off steam.
It doesn't mean you wish to commit such acts in real life, but simply that tension and stress can be relieved within the adrenaline-soaked safety of a video game environment.
Yet on the flip side of video games as stress relief, we've certainly all played video games which totally made us flip our lids...