The Correlation between Violence and Video Games

This is an article featured on the CNN website written by Susan Scutti in July 2016.

This article argues that games featuring violence will make the player violent as a result.

The article sets out questions such as:
What is the truth?
Are they causing our children to be violent?
Is the idea outdated?

The article talks about how First Person Shooters are the preferred game in most perpetrators of massacres such as the 18 year old David Sonboly who committed the 2016 Munich shooting in which 9 people where killed.

It uses evidence from the American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics. These are both groups who take a firm stance against children and teens playing video games. The article claims that 85% of the market contain violence.

However, "Teens, Video Games, and Civics," claim that the most frequently played game is Guitar Hero and 3rd is Madden NFL which is followed by Solitaire and DDR (Dance Dance Revolution).
On the other hand, the point is not completely invalid as the most played game by boys is Grand Theft Auto, a game featuring: Blood and gore, Intense violence, Strong language, Strong sexual content and the Use of drugs. (stated in Cheryl Olson, ScD et al., "Factors Correlated with Violent Video Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls," Journal of Adolescent Health,  January 2007)
Furthermore, the gore that is experienced from this game can be reduced or even removed.

In terms of the question of whether video games are actually causing violence is mainly left unanswered as the article says that there is a significant link, however, this does not establish how or why. Therefore, we are left to assume that there is a correlation used. This means that if there is a "significant link" it may not even necessarily be the violence being a result of the video games but vice versa

Also, in the piece, Scutti goes on to question whether or not the idea of video games causing violence is outdated. To which she cites a study conducted by Whitney DeCamp of Western Michigan University and overall concluded that violent people will have a predisposition to video games and therefore, it is not about what violent video games do to a person but what a person does with violent video games.

Furthermore, the violence experienced in video games is only one of the many outlets of this type of content. For example, Film and TV now extensively feature gore and violence. TV also explore many different aspects that may evoke emotions of sadness or anger that may lead these same people to commit the same atrocities committed in today's society.

Therefore, this idea that if we just remove or ban video games then these violent attacks will not occur which is the idea that articles like these promote. Instead we should look at the people who commit the attacks and the mental issues and problems they face in order to properly correct the problem.