Almost all American middle schoolers play video games, according to researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Mental Health. To wit:

• Only 6% of their sample hadn’t played any electronic games in the previous six months.
• Most 7th and 8th graders (ages 12 to 14) regularly play violent video games.
• Two-thirds of boys and more than one in four girls reported playing at least one M-rated game “a lot in the past six months,” according to the study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
• The researchers also found a third of boys and 10 percent of girls play video or computer games almost every day.
• Many children are playing video games to manage their feelings, including anger and stress, and children who play violent games are more likely to play to release their anger.