Video Games And Violence Relation

In most news media outlets, video games are used as a scapegoat for the cause of recent mass shootings instead of looking into the shooter’s past traumatic experiences. ‘Violent video games such as Doom, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto (shortened to GTA) are often pointed at as the source for acts of aggression. Since 1976 with “Death Race”, a game based on the cult movie “Death Race 2000”, many controversies surrounding violence in video games have risen across the news.

Most recently, violence in minors has been connected to playing games with brutal content. This is not actually the case. Although people claim that video games can cause harm in the real world, there is no correlation between video games and real-world acts of aggression. Juvenile delinquency is decreasing, other legitimate factors have been linked to violence, and video games have surprising benefits for the brain.

First and foremost, most people are subjected to believe that if sales in video games go up, crimes committed by minors must also rise.

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However, crimes such as burglary, simple assault, and theft/larceny have decreased, and aren’t affected by video game sales. In the last four years from 2014-2018, burglary-related offenses have had a 45% decrease. Theft/larceny decreased by 48%, and simple assault went down by 11%. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP], 2018) While in the same time period during 2016, an estimated 71.3 billion dollars in video game purchases were made in the United States. They are predicted to increase to 90 billion dollars by 2020.

(Guttmann, 2019) The data presented in both statistics demonstrate a non-existent connection between increasing game sales and decreasing crimes caused by minors. If violent acts are caused by playing video games, why aren’t teens committing more crimes?

Second, there are other legitimate, and proven factors that can increase aggression in minors. Often enough, people believe that children will emulate violence portrayed in the video games they play. An article published by The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) also listed several risk factors that can be linked with youth violence. For example, there are 4 different types of risk factors: Individual, Family, Peer/Social, and Community. Some factors that are listed are low IQ, poor family functioning, social rejection, and low economic opportunities. Research by the CDC can improve upon the understanding of how violence actually occurs rather than blaming video games for violence. Findings by the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) have also proven a connection between social rejection, and aggression. As stated in an article posted on their website, children who have “externalizing behaviors” such as hyperactivity, and aggression are more likely victims of social rejection. They are also likely to continue with aggressive behaviors when they are bullied for said behaviors. (Lynn Mulvey, K., Boswell, C., & Zheng, J. (2017). Causes and Consequences of Social Exclusion and Peer Rejection Among Children and Adolescents.) Analyzing the evidence provided, it is safe to say that elements like social rejection are more practical to associate youth violence with than video games. It is the people who are causing more harm than simulated gameplay from a video game.

Last but not least, video games have astonishing cognitive benefits to the brain. Many scientists and studies have “tried” to prove that video games increase stress, which can lead to heightened aggression. However, playing your favorite video game can improve some cognitive abilities. Take the research conducted by Dr. Daphne Bavelier: a brain scientist at the University of Rochester, and the University of Geneva. Her research, posted on GreatSchools, found that “gamers’ brains show activity in multiple brain regions...in areas like perception, attention...[and] brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the ability to change, and adapt as a result of experience. Despite people’s belief that playing video games raises no advantage, video games exercise the brain and sharpen our cognitive abilities. Another expert who poses similar research is Peter Gray, Ph.D.: a research professor at Boston College who has a ph.d in biological sciences. In an article written by Psychology Today, Gray references multiple studies testing whether video games raise aggression. He reports that “...researchers have reported that experience with action video games improved people’s abilities to switch rapidly, without error, between tasks [with] conflicting demands.” From the studies Gray mentions, it can be scientifically proven that video games have some sort of benefit while playing them. The evidence presented provides factual research that playing games have a useful advantage when playing them. Therefore, parents should not worry as much if their child is playing their favorite video games.

Critics may argue that video games do increase aggression in minors. That kids who play video games with simulated violence will attempt to reenact that violence in the real world. Although this may be the consensus for many, those same people presume that every child who plays a violent video game automatically can be considered “aggressive”. It is reasonable to conclude that not every child is the same. There may be a few that do get angry when they play those games, but the aggression is only short-term. Nonetheless, the link between violence and violent video games is completely non-existent.

It has been heavily questioned whether there is a relationship between video games and real-world violence. What little did people know was the hidden benefits of playing games, and how decreasing teen crime rates are not affected by them. While this may not change people’s opinions significantly, the information presented will make the public think, “Do video games really cause real-world aggression?”