Do Video Games Cause Violence?

As much as I dislike guns personally, I have to admit there are valid reasons people give for wanting to have one: I hunt, I want to protect my family, I want it as a way of preventing a totalitarian government, I want to protect my livestock from wild animals.

There is no valid reason for owning a First Person Shooter video game.

I suspect with that last sentence I’ve triggered a few people (no pun intended). “How dare you suggest I have no reason to play a game in which I violently play-murder people in high definition as I watch the blood squirt out of my pretend victims?” “How dare you suggest that it is not good, clean fun to play-murder people either randomly or else under the orders of a fictional superior?” “What is wrong with you?”

At least, that has been the response I’ve observed every time I’ve seen someone on social media suggest that violent video games might have some part to play in the upswing in murderous rampages in the last few decades.

It does seem that the rise in mass shootings corresponds rather closely with the rise of sophisticated violence in video games. Not to say that there is a causal relation, but we shouldn’t immediately dismiss it as complete coincidence, either. In my lifetime, I have seen video games go from Space Invaders to incredibly realistic virtual reality. Never while playing Missile Command did I ever feel like I was shooting down missiles, but watching my son snipe people from a distance, I do question whether it is healthy that he do so.

I know the standard response: science has determined that playing violent and bloody video games does not make those who play them more violent. I would say to those who make this claim that they are cherry-picking their evidence. “Studies have shown that playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in both the short-term and long-term.” And while it has yet to be proven that violent video games are a cause for increased violence, insufficient data is currently available to support either side definitively.

But in the absence of solid scientific evidence, common sense can be applied. Is it not reasonable to assume that if a child is given a football to play with, that child might be more inclined to play football? If a child is given a racetrack, is he not more likely to become interested in NASCAR than a child who does not have one? In fact, in the history of humanity, children have been given toys that replicate the tasks they are to perform as adults, from toy lawn mowers, to toy workbenches, to toy ovens, to dolls, etc. If toys prepare children for what they are to do in their adult life, what are they learning from games in which they walk around shooting everybody they encounter?

Granted, video games are likely not the primary reason for the rise in mass shootings in the United States. After all, other nations have the same games as we do and have far less such events. But they could be one contributing factor. In fact, if one were to be honest, they are likely at least a small part of the problem and certainly not helping matters any. Any excuse for how playing video games where you go around killing people you do not know, either on a lark or because some disembodied voice is telling you to, is good for you is just that: an excuse. No, violent video games are not a safety valve to release our violent impulses. If you already have impulses to go around shooting people, video games aren’t going to help you. They won’t improve your social skills. They won’t enable you to cope with real life in a more meaningful way. And if they improve your hand/eye coordination, well, that’s probably only going to come in handy if you decide to gear up and head down to some place where large groups of people are gathered like ducks on a pond.

I know, it hurts, doesn’t it, to have your hobby criticized when you yourself are never going to snap and kill a bunch of people? You know very well that pretending to go on an extended killing spree is all the experience you will ever need. But maybe there are some people who can’t make the distinction between pretend violence and the real thing. Maybe, for some, that line is blurred, and long hours of pretend violence in graphic detail just makes it blurrier. Maybe, just maybe, your insistence on your freedoms might in part be responsible for someone being killed in the future. In real life, not in a game. 

You’re really not that much different than a lot of gun-owners in that regard. As a matter of fact, if one of you pointed in a mirror, there wouldn’t be much difference than the two of you pointing at each other. Except for the real sickos, of course, who like to play violent video games AND like real guns.

The point I’m driving at, is that the reasons for mass shootings are varied and complex. It is up to everyone to ask what they can do to make it better. Finger-pointing is really not all that different from pointing a fake gun. 

I get that you like to spend hours and weekends pretending to kill a bunch of people. And I’m sure you are fine and your hobby will never make you a menace to society. I’ve gambled in casinos and have never had a problem with it. On the other hand, I’ve known people’s whose lives were ruined by their gambling addictions. I’d rather shut down the gambling industry and miss out on my small pleasures than permit families to be ruined. It’s a small sacrifice.

So ask yourself what violent video games are contributing to society, then ask yourself if the reward you receive is worth the price society pays. And if you simply cannot imagine making a sacrifice for the greater good, cut some slack to those who do not wish to be parted with their guns. 

Remember, this is coming from someone who’s never fired a gun, except virtual ones. If you want gun owners to compromise on not merely their hobby but their deeply held beliefs, maybe you can show them that you are willing to sacrifice a little, too.