Do Violent Video Games Really Cause Violent Behavior?

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Do Violent Video Games Really Cause Violent Behavior?
Ninety-seven percent of adolescents play video games. Among them are murderers responsible for recent school shootings. Many people have claimed that the violent content of these games will cause the players to experience heightened levels of aggression, leading them to commit violent crimes; conversely, numerous studies have been performed which contradict this claim. Research indicates that playing violent video games does not increase aggressive behavior, or lead to violent criminal acts.
In the first place, data exists proving that violent video games do not lead to crimes. Researchers have observed the correlation between video game sales and violent crimes. Evidence suggests that crime rates have fallen while video game sales have increased. “‘We found that higher rates of violent video game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes,’ said Dr. Ward...of the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Germany” (Carey). This excerpt reveals that the sales of violent video games directly correlate with fewer violent acts. This observation highlights that violent video games do not cause people to commit violent crimes, since the crime rate has fallen as video game sales have risen. The observation that the crime rate did not increase with the sales of violent video games proves that point. Other researchers have verified this observation in their own studies. In one report, a psychology professor discovered that violent video games did not increase the risk of young players committing violent social acts, such as bullying (Nauert). Some people continue to claim that violent video games do, in fact, inspire criminals to commit unfathomable...

... middle of paper ...

...e a Force for
Good?."Review of General Psychology. 14.2 (2010): 68-81. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .

Nauert, Rick. "In New Study, Video Games Not Tied to Violence in High-Risk Youth." PsychCentral.
Psych Central, 27 Aug 2013. Web. 27 Feb 2014. .

Skoric, Marko, and Dmitri Williams. "Internet Fantasy Violence: A Test of Aggression in an Online
Game."Communication Monographs. 72.2 (2005): 217-233. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. .

Vitelli, Romeo. "Can Video Games Cause Violence?."Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 1 4
2013. Web. 26 Feb 2014. .

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