Violent Video Games Cause Violence Essay

The effect violent video games have on real-world behavior has long been a hotly debated topic. Some argue that violent video games can cause increased levels of aggression, especially in kids, while others argue that games themselves don’t cause violence, but are rather one prominent risk factor for violent real-world behavior. My stance is that video games do not lead to violent behavior in neither kids nor adults. I also believe that it is up to the parent(s) to decide if their child can play a violent video game. There is so much money involved on both sides; the video game industry huge and is worth billions of dollars, and there is money on the other side, such as the NRA wanting to shift attention away from guns onto something else.

The notion that video games cause violence is unfounded, as most of these studies have suggested. One study done from researchers at Villanova and Rutgers sheds light on the effect violent games have on real-world behavior. The study, Violent Video Games and Real-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data, was published in the Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Through four unique data analysis, the researchers looked at how popular video games trends, like annual and monthly video game sales, as well as Google Trends keyword search volume, compared to real-world crime rates. They wrote a synopsis of what they found and this is what they had to say: "Annual trends in video game sales for the past 33 years were unrelated to violent crime both concurrently and up to four years later. Unexpectedly,

Video games are one source of entertainment, one form of media; you don’t see the same amount of hate being directed toward violent movies or TV shows. There are countless reputable studies being done saying video games do not make people violent. You see the media, especially the mainstream media, and the NRA or politicians backed by the NRA, saying things like, “Oh look what they’re doing in these games! All these killing are going and they’re trying to blame guns? With all these violent games infecting our youth and making them violent! It’s not the guns it’s the games!” Look, I’m all for people having the right to bear arms, I’m not going there. I live in a house filled with guns and my father is an NRA instructor. I’m just tired of the mainstream media using video games as a scapegoat, saying that video games are to blame, with no research to back it up at all. When everyone just assumes video games are the problem it distracts from the real problems. For example, what about depression, socioeconomic, education, or the demographics of where they live? Ferguson’s afore mentioned study was published in the Journal of Communication, and stated, “There is a risk that identifying the wrong problem, such as media violence, may distract society from more pressing concerns such as poverty, education, and vocational disparities and mental health. This research may help society focus on issues that