How violent video games can impact teens' morality

Teenagers' abilities to develop empathy, trust and concern for others are delayed by spending too much time playing violent video games, according to a study conducted in Canada and reported on by BBC News.

The study classified violent games as anything that allowed players to kill or maim other human characters. In a sample of about 100 students ages 13 to 14, researchers found that teenagers who spend more than three hours playing violent games without other real-life interaction were affected.

"Spending too much time within the virtual world of violence may prevent [gamers] from getting involved in different positive social experiences in real life, and in developing a positive sense of what is right and wrong," the study concluded.

Those who played violent games for shorter amounts of time were found to be unaffected.