no, but it does meant that it has practically 0 insight on the effects of modern gaming on a human being. its like using a book written in the 1940's to support a claim that violent movies in the modern era are damaging to people's mental states. its irrelevant because it is completely ignorant of the modern situation.
games have been getting more violent and more realistic every year for decades now. the industry is HUGE. its overtaking Hollywood as the dominant media industry. yet violent crime keeps dropping. that doesnt really sound like games have any sort of appreciable affect on violence or aggression.
as per your second thought, yeah, if someone already has aggression issues, or other mental issues, video games may desensitize or aggravate the situation. sure. but the same can be said of books, movies, music or any form of media that depicts violent situations. video games arent special.
to single out video games and ignore the rest of the media is just stupid. if one has an effect, than everything does. you cant just pick and choose. its almost like a media version of the assault weapons ban. aka, let's pick something that looks scary and that we dont understand, and pretend its more dangerous than other guns/media.
First, the book was updated in 2009. Hardly seems ignorant of the modern situation, does it?
Those are exactly the type of people I was referring to, and the media in general is what Grossman credits, with special emphasis on video games. However, if you're willing to admit that books, movies, etc, could contribute to desensitizing a person to violence, you're on the right track. But you're wrong to say they're nothing special. Video games are very special; they're the only form of media where YOU are the one pulling the trigger, vice reading/watching/listening to a story about someone else doing the deed.
I reacted the same way that you did when I first read the book. I started playing DOOM when I was about ten; my folks got me Duke Nukem 3D for Christmas when it came out, and I've been a steady consumer of every FPS that's come out since. I love video games, and I turned out just fine. I said, "Dave, you're a goddamn hippie." But stop and think about it. You have kids spending hours and hours in what amounts to a combat simulator; pretending that would have no effect whatsoever on a developing mind is pretty obtuse.
You stated twice that video games aren't special, in the same post where you asserted that the industry is HUGE and overtaking Hollywood as the dominant media outlet. We had gunpowder for 500 years, repeating rifles and pistols for 150 years, and kids didn't start shooting up schools until forty years ago. Can you explain what happened? I'm not saying that video games are entirely responsible, because nothing happens in a vacuum, but to claim no effect is stupid.
Finally, you're drawing a false parallel between guns and video games, here. We all know the varied and sundry benefits of firearms ownership, so I doubt we need to re-hash them here. Aside from "they're lots of fun", and understanding that I also enjoy video games, can you state a single tangible benefit offered by violent video games?