The vast majority of people would agree that video games promote critical thinking. Although individuals also believe that violent video games promote aggressive and violent behavior in real life, there is minimal research available on this issue. Recently, there have been many victims of terrorist attacks and murders of peaceful crime based on violent video games. Although restricting the sale of violent games to juveniles will not reduce the level of public aggression.
One of the primary catalysts for spreading this discussion is mass public shootings, relaxation of gun laws, and mental health issues. In the U.S. in 2013, Barack Obama encouraged more government-funded research to examine the connection between violence and video games (DeCamp & Ferguson, 2017). He explained that imposing restrictions on violent video games does not reduce violence. Such offenses are committed independently of whether teenagers have played video games or not.
Violent video games do not provoke children to aggression against people in real life. A study of the correlation between the release of new games and the apprehension of aggression, examining the behavior of boys ages 8 to 18, indicated that there was no correlation (DeCamp & Ferguson, 2017). These findings suggest that violent video games can make children more agitated and moodier but that this effect does not translate into violence toward others.
The actual cause of violence is not video games but real examples of brutality. Criminologists working on public killings clearly indicate that such connections between games and violence are a myth. In 2017, the American Psychological Association’s Psychology and Technology Department issued a statement advising journalists to stop showing mass shootings with violence in media that children view (DeCamp & Ferguson, 2017). Real-life examples, rather than virtual games, inspire kids to commit crimes.
Hence, no evidence of such a causal relationship was detected. The data showed no correlation between increased violence and the release of violent video games. However, it is imperative to limit children from watching the news about brutal mass murders, stimulating them to do the same.
Reference
DeCamp, W., & Ferguson, C. J. (2017). The impact of degree of exposure to violent video games, family background, and other factors on youth violence. Journal of youth and adolescence, 46(2), 388-400.