Debate on whether or not violent video games cause real violence wages on with strong evidence supporting both sides

Young Adolescence is Incredibly Impressionable

A young teenager's brain is like a sponge, in the sense that they absorb the knowledge and experiences all around them. Teenagers are at a stage of development where their identity is beginning to emerge and their identity is greatly affected by his, or her, environment.

In the wake of recent gun related tragedies by young people, many parents and citizens are up in arms claiming that violent video games are the root of the problem. There is certainly no question that young teens are influenced by what they experience around them, but is it possible that video games are so corrosive to young minds that it is causing them to lash out in extremely violent episodes?  There is strong evidence to support both sides of the argument.

Research suggests no correlation between violent video games and real life violence

In a 2004 US Secret Service Review of school-based attacks, research suggested that only one-eighth of attackers exhibited an interest in violent video games, which is less than the rate of interest attackers showed in violent movies, books and violence in their own writings. In addition, the report did not find a relationship between playing violent video games and school shootings. 

Also, when comparing the US to other countries, such as Japan, young teens are far more violent, despite playing less violent video games. In 2005, the US had 2,279 murders committed by teenagers (27.9 per million residents), whereas Japan had 73 (3.1 per million). On average, per capita video game sales were $5.20 in the US compared to $47 in Japan. This demonstrates that despite being more violent, teens in the US play less violent video games, thus showing there is no association.  

However, much like any debate, there is another side to the argument. Despite the sturdy evidence for the defense of violent video games, anti-violent video game campaigns have established very strong evidence for their case.  

I recently sat down with Dr. Michael Brody, a professor at the University of Maryland. Dr. Michael Brody is a psychiatrist in private practice. He is also Chair of the Media Committee of The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Celebrity Section of the Popular Culture Association. He is widely published on the impact of psychology on popular culture. He is also the co-author of Messages: Self Help Through Popular Culture. While talking to him about video games, and their violent connotations, he had this to say regarding the matter.





In addition to his expert opinion, a heavy inflow of research supported his claims. 

Link between violent video games and real life violence is cause for concern

CBS News recently sat down for an interview with Dr. Bruce D. Bartholow, a psychologist at the University of Missouri. He had this to say about digital medial influence, specifically video games usage: "Video games are excellent teaching tools because they reward players for engaging in certain types of behavior." The problem with this he said is, "Unfortunately, in many popular video games, the behavior is violence." People, especially teenagers, respond to incentives. If there is a reward for killing another person in a video game, people are certainly going to do it, over and over again.

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology had 70 young adults play either a violent or nonviolent video game for a short period of time. After the game, the subjects looked at either neutral pictures or violent pictures. The results were quite alarming; the people who played a violent game showed a smaller brain response than those who had played a tamer game when shown violent image. In other words, violent video games essentially numb the brain to real life violence.

But do these violent video games actually cause real life violence?

Dr. Bartholow went on to say "A single exposure to a violent video game won't turn someone into a mass murderer," in his interview with CBS News. "But if someone has repeatedly exposed themselves, these kinds of effects in the short term can turn into long-term changes."

The American Psychological Association stated several studies linking video game violence to fighting at school and even to violent criminal behavior, such as assault or robbery. However, not everyone is convinced that the links really exist.

What this tells us is that it is certainly possible that there is a link between violent digital mediums, specifically video games, and real life violence, but it is extremely tough for scientist to definitively say one way or another. The results over the past few years have been very mixed, yielding results that support both sides of the argument.

However, just because we cannot definitively say violent games cause actual violence, it does not mean we can't take precautions to prevent it. In my interview with Dr. Brody, he expressed his similar concern.





Dr. Brody emphasizes the many flaws of the ESRB. To most of the public, these issues are virtually unknown. Parents buy their kids violent video games without thinking about how damaging they could be simply because someone gave the game a passing rating. 

All video games have a rating system that starts with "EC" meaning "early childhood," and ends with "A"which means "adults only." Despite being part of the rating system, the "A" rating is hardly every used. Violent games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, which portray very realistic violence, are given an "M" rating, for mature, which is below the adult "A" rating. The reason for this is that video game sales would likely be less if such popular games were given the most restrictive rating. Thus, in accordance with the analysis by Dr. Brody, although there is not conclusive evidence that violent video games cause violent acts, it would be in best interest of the public to make video game ratings more restrictive.