Violent video games lead to shootings
Do video games account for gun violence? Consistently, studies have shown that they do. From January 1, 2017 to June 28, 2017 there have been 216 mass shootings (the injury or murder of four or more persons). These statistics are just in the United States. Perhaps part of this problem is due to the lack of gun regulations in the United States. But what if this problem could be solved by banning one thing ... video games.
With an industry worth over $21.53 billion, many mental health associations and psychologists have agreed that video games coincide with an endless list of negative factors. In a recent study, 97% of children aged 12-17 reported playing a video game at least some people in their life. All too often, these games are associated with brutally murdering individuals for the purpose of gaining a reward for violence. Schools have reported that 60% of middle school boys, who participated in a mature rated ( MR) video game, had engaged in an act of physical violence. The Journal of the American Medical Association discovered that participants had a significantly higher increase in aggres- sive behavior compared to those who did not engage in these games. Participating in this “sport” is linked to decreasing empathy and kindness, both fundamental and necessary requirements towards being a descent human being. The FBI stated that students who make violent threats towards themselves or others should be taken more seriously if they play video games. Popular video games, such as Doom II (1996), were used for the primary purpose of training soldiers to kill without feeling. The difference with letting soldiers play and children play relates to the fact that soldiers are simultaneously educating themselves with disciplinary skills and the capability of resisting further damage while kids lack the abilities to do either. Dave Grossman, former lieutenant colonel of the US Army and professor at West Point Military Academy, states that, “Through interactive point-and-shoot video games, modern nations are indiscriminately introducing to their children the same weapons technology that major armies and law enforcement agencies around the world use to ‘ turn off’ the midbrain ‘safety catch’”. This sport also increases bullying and assault directed towards women.
Two teenagers in 1999 stormed the doors of Columbine High School and fatally shot 13 students. James Holmes injured 70 and killed 12 at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Jared Lee Loughner shot and killed 6 people, including Christina-Taylor Green (age 9) and injured Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, at a political event in Arizona. In 2011, Andres Breivik killed 77 people in Norway. What do all of these people have in common, besides the fact that they all engaged in gun violence? All of them grew up playing video games. Breivik even admitted to using Modern Warfare 2 for “training”. Engaging in this sport desensitizes people in the aspect of thinking physical violence is acceptable behavior. Proscribing video games might be exactly what this country needs.
— Grace Marrochello
Wynantskill The author is a senior at Averill Park High School.
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