Does Violent Video Games Cause Violent Behavior

Does Violent Video Games Cause Violent Behavior? Over the course of the years the question as to whether or not video games cause violent behavior has become very prominent. Video games that have been released during this new era are very explicit and aggressive. I do think video can have a certain hold over children’s minds, especially if they spend more than three to five hours playing video games. The younger the children are introduced to combative entertainment the more their minds will be molded to think that behavior like that is acceptable in the real world. Although that may be true, it has also been said by video game advocates that violent video games can act as an outlet for people that struggle with aggressive disorders or behaviors similar to that.
According to ProCon.org, “97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games in 2008, thus fueling an $11.7 billion domestic video game industry. In 2008, 10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence.” Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games bring players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. According to ProCon.org, “The debate over violent video games can be traced back to the 1976 release of the game Death Race. The object of the game was to run over screaming "gremlins" with a car, at which point they would turn into tombstones. Controversy erupted because the "gremlins" resembled stick-figure humans, and it was reported that the working title of the game was Pedestrian. After protestors dragged Death Race machines out of arcades and burned them in parking lots, production of the game ceased.”
Video game advocates express that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply myth-filled and that no actual relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may reduce violence by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play and by providing a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings. Defenders of violent video games argue that the research has failed to show a causal link between video games and real-world violence. They argue that correlations between video games and violent behavior can be explained by youth predisposed to violence being attracted to violent entertainment. Additionally, if video games do cause youth to be violent, then one would expect juvenile violent crime to increase as more youth play violent video games. Instead, the arrest rate for juvenile violent behavior has decreased a whole 49%.
In conclusion, I do believe that video games can cause violent behavior in people to a certain extent. CBS News reported, “Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to kill more people than another infamous mass murderer.” Though the shooter was most likely motivated by aggressive video games, that shooter also had an outstanding number of psychological disorders. I think that it takes more than just hours of “Call of Duty” or “Grand Theft Auto” to push a person to actually commit an outlandish crime. Video games can cause violent behavior but I would never blame it all on a video game.