Why video games do not cause violence

As the media continues to perpetuate the same tired and unfounded idea that video games cause violent behaviour, we break down exactly why politicians should stop blaming your PlayStation 4.

Playing video games regularly does not have a correlation with violent behaviour.

It’s no more ‘dangerous’ than reading a scary book, watching an action film, or binging a gory television series. This has been backed by multiple scientific studies, all of which came to the same conclusion – that there is no causal link between the two.

Despite this, however, video games and their apparent ability to influence impressionable minds and turn them into raging psychopaths continues to be flagged  in public debate, most notably from President Trump and mainstream outlets such as FOX News.

‘We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,’ stated Trump during a White House address. ‘This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace.’ But why are video games consistently thrust into the limelight as the scapegoat? And why does it happen so often?

When did gaming start taking the blame?

Ageing politicians have been pinning the issue of social violence on video games for some time, beginning during the early 1990s when shooter games such as DOOM and Grand Theft Auto began to emerge in the mainstream. They deviated away from basic, cartoony platformers to more realistic three-dimensional depictions of gun violence.

Naturally, the concerns and grumbles of older generations came along with these releases. The argument was that their immersive nature and believable scenarios encouraged young players to lash out and act more aggressively than they normally would. There isn’t much actual evidence to support this theory, but it persisted nonetheless.

Some titles have since exploited this ‘shock value’, either creating games from the ground-up that deliberately feed into the hysteria and generate publicity, or skew their marketing to make a game look like it fetishes violence much more than it actually does. It’s arguable that Grand Theft Auto adopted this tactic, making it an infamous name for parents and a much-sought out title for rebellious kids and teens. Today, Grand Theft Auto is one of the most lucrative franchises in recent memory.

While it’s disappointing that companies have fed into the backlash gaming has had over the decades, it still doesn’t make their actual effects on players any more legitimate. Ultimately, erratic behaviour and violent outbursts are far, far more likely to stem from other factors than from your television screen.