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a relation.

“If you have a child that has separated himself and he’s playing hours and hours and hours of video games, there’s a higher likelihood that he might be involved in a violent situation,” Quinn said. “Eight out of 10 researchers agree that this is an issue.”

The American Psychological Association formed a task force in 2017 to explore this issue. Their determination was that violent video game exposure was related to increased aggression and decreased empathy.

In October, USA Today reported on a story about an international study evaluating the playing patterns of 17,000 adolescents between 9- and 19-years-old from 2010 and 2017.

Initially published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that study researchers said they found a correlation between violent video game play and increases in physical aggression.

And, although the case is different that what Quinn is proposing, the video industry through the Entertainment Software Association took the state of California to court and won when state officials tried to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors. The ESA argued that gaming is a First Amendment right and that ratings enforcement is in the hands of retailers and parents.

In their own study of 4,000 households, the ESA said 70 percent of parents believe video games have a positive influence on their children’s lives.

While they report sales of all video games breaking $43.4 billion in 2018 alone.

As Quinn’s bills are in two committees being considered, he said that any logical person would be open to the possibility that this is desensitizing kids.

By 18 years old, the legislator said, today’s children on average have seen more than 16,000 murders and more than 200,000 acts of violence.

That exposure, he said, could be a factor in actual violence.

“This is a factor,” Quinn said. “It’s not a predictive indicator.”

The Delaware County representative said he’s facing fierce opposition on his proposals.

“I got a lot of pushback from the industry on this bill,” Quinn said. “The easiest thing to do would be to drop it and I’m not planning to drop it.” All numbers unofficial until Online: Check out the lottery Master’s blog HTTPS://KARLSLOTTERYBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM