Violent Video Games Do Not Cause Mass Shootings

The most extensive argument many have argued toward violent video games affecting one’s behavior can simply be described as that many shooters were fans of violent video games before committing the shootings. A common example people making this argument raise are the Columbine shooters, who were big fans of the video game Doom. While many believe that Doom’s excessive gore and violence led the two teens to perpetrate the mass shooting, that is not the case. What those who argue against video games fail to realize that those who commit these crimes had a history of other conditions. After many mass shootings, researchers often discovered in autopsies that the suspect had a long history of aggression or mental health problems that gaming was not responsible for. Patrick Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson, writers for US News, wrote

(Procon.org) ¨Over 150 million Americans (71% of teens) play video games.¨ 71 mass shootings have occurred between 1982 and Aug. 2015. seven of them involved teens that are 18 years old or younger¨. (Procon.org) Over the years there have been many mass shootings and a very little amount of those include teens that are 18 and younger. The US Secret Service investigated over 30 incidents of focused school violence between 1974 and 2000. (Procon.org) School violence has been a issue over the years and 37 incidents have happened between 1974 and 2000. ¨A Sandy Hook Elementary School gunman had played shooter games back then. It directly resulted in President Obama requesting Congress to allocate $10 million for research on the effects of violent media.¨ (Video Games, Violence, and Crime) Some people that play violent video games can be just fine playing them and not doing anything that is regrettable. But there are some people out in this world who do something that is so far off the margin that they cause mass shootings. When people play violent video games they can get a little out of hand and cause shootings and some of those are teens. But most teens can realize and know the difference between the virtual violence world and the real

Are violent video games directly correlated to teen violence? This is the burning question many researchers are dedicated to answering. The common form of the question is “Is the increase in violence in games creating killer kids?” The simple answer is no. Instead the opposite has occurred, as games became more violent, the players became calmer. The games create a “safe” outlet for any anger or angst that young people possess. Crime rates in the teen population have lowered and violent teens admit to having little to no interest in violent video games. The games that most people fear are destroying the youth may actually be one of the things helping them grow and become “normal” members in society.

Many people say violent video games are the cause of mass shootings without looking at the evidence that would prove them wrong. Violent video games have always had the label, that they cause violent behavior in teens and young adults, but is that label correct. The reasons are violent video games and video games in general lead to less crime and gun violence, the sales of video games has increased and juvenile crime has decreased, and violent video games allow players to release stress and anger. Video games lead to less crime and gun violence because people are spending more time playing video games. The increase in video game sales and the decrease in juvenile violence. Violent video games allow players to release stress and anger in video games.

In fact, according to ProCon, “Gun violence is less prevalent in countries with high video game usage.” One such country is Japan, whose gun-related crime rate is significantly lower than our own. “Even though U.S. gun violence is high, the nine other countries with the highest video game usage have some of the lowest violent crime rates” (ProCon). This suggests that video games honestly do not impact violence. A published report over targeted school violence and its influence described in the ProCon article found that “of the 41 attackers studied, 27% had an interest in violent movies, 24% in violent books, and 37% exhibited interest in their own violent writings, while only 12% showed interest in violent video games. The report did not find a relationship between playing violent video games and school shootings.” This conclusion supports the argument that violent video games are not to be blamed for gun violence--particularly mass

Violent video games are contributing to violent behaviors in the youth and teenagers of America. Youth violence is a seemingly increasing problem in the United States. Juvenile centers are gaining new residents each day.This violence is brought on by an increase in video game violence. Many of the newly developed games are killing simulators which train players for real world violence. There seems to be a lack in evidence against video games. “According to the federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low” (Jenkins 32). So called links between video games and youth violence are said to be found, but these links are coming from people who solely research media violence.

The teens should not be playing these violent video games due to them being aggressive during and after play. Studies are proving teens are getting way too aggressive either at home or out in public. “”Two studies examined the relationship

Studies show that exposure to violent video games affects the behavior of children.Some have vandalized, beat someone up, took part in bullying someone.As many as 97% of US kids age 12-17 play video games, contributing to the $21.53 billion domestic video game industry. More than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence. Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may provide a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings and may reduce crime.

It might be claimed by some scholars and game players that the statement about gaming is unhealthy and can lead to violence is unproven. “The author examines the lack of scientific validity of the studies that insist upon a correlation between violence and video games” (Radford, 2005, p.3). The scholar said that those conclusions about the connection between video games and violence that several researchers had found were just tentative. The studies of researchers were accused for being biased in seeking evidence of the video games’ negative side. However, this argument is no longer correct as one of the most reliable studies proved the strong relationship between enjoying violent video games and the increasing in desensitization, aggressive thoughts and behaviors among young people (Bickham, 2006). In this study of Dr. Craig A. Anderson of Iowa State University in Ames, he and his colleagues looked at whether children and teenagers with playing violent video game habits could engage in aggressive behaviors three to six month later. The result of the study is children and teenagers with the stronger intensity of playing violent games did become more aggressive than their peer with the less playing. To

The future of entertainment revolves around technology. Video games become more and more realistic. The main consumers of violent video games are teens. These games encourage killing and fighting enemies. More ways of playing violent video games are created each year, but most of us have this question in mind. Do violent video games influence young people to act aggressively? I play violent video games online and I am 16 years old. Overplaying video games can have many disastrous effects on teen limiting gameplay can have multiple positive effects.

For several decades, the idea of violence in the popular media influencing a young generation to violence has been hotly debated. Since the introduction of violent video games in the 1970’s, for example, the shooting games Empire and Maze War from 1973, people have noticed that violent video games induce violent behavior in players, especially in teenage males. Despite people seeing the negative influence of violent media earlier as well, only in the last two decades has video game violence come to the forefront as video game popularity has increased. With the growing influence of digital technology, people began to notice increasingly aggressive displays on the part of adolescent players. Moreover, the computer and game consoles became the most cherished adolescent toys, and violent video games their favorite pastime. Meanwhile, parents started to worry about their children’s activity, and whether violent video games lead juveniles to infractions of the law and to negative changes in their behavior.

The clear majority of studies aimed at finding a relationship between videogames and behavior have been focused on negative impacts. Media coverage of mass shootings often highlight if the gunman played violent videogames. The fact that the Sandy Hook shooter played video games was referenced when Congress allocated $10 million for research into videogames and violence (Obama & Biden, 2013). These studies have produced valuable findings, but do not see the whole

As video game sales skyrocket, violence in adolescents who play these video games decrease drastically. A letter from the Harvard Health Medical School explains that “Dr. Christopher Ferguson, a psychology professor at Texas A&M International University, argued that many studies on the issue of media violence rely on measures to assess aggression that doesn't correlate with real-world violence — and even more important, many are observational approaches that don't prove cause and effect” (Harvard Health Publishing). Christopher Ferguson “also cited data from federal criminal justice agencies showing that serious violent crimes among youths have decreased since 1996, even as video game sales have soared” which proves that as millions of copies of video games are being sold each year, the number of violence among youths are diminishing significantly (Harvard Health Publishing). The approaches being used to justify that violence in video games influence violence in real life do not correlate due to the fact that there is valid data showing that violence has decreased.

Video Games have been a source of fun and enjoyment for many people, whether they are kids or adults. Violent video games are the most popular types of video games. Many young gamers are quite obsessed over these games. Recently violent video games (VVGs) have been accused of being the source to many mass shootings in the world, accused of corrupting the minds of young gamers. This is wrong.

Approximately 115 million Americans play video games on a daily basis, 4 out of 5 American households admitted to owning a gaming system in 2016. Video Games have become a part of many American’s daily routine. Parents especially have had many concerns pertaining to this gaming behavior to determine if video games are safe for their children especially with the release of violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, where the main plot focuses around gang violence, drugs and alcohol and explicit language. Society has become concerned about the possible effects playing video games can have on a person’s behavior. The media has linked many shooting event for example, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Where the gunman was an avid gamer who