Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Halo. Mortal Kombat, Battlefield. Violent video games are a significant part of American popular culture. Video games, for the longest time, were seen as harmless. People might have looked at Pac Man, Xevious, and Super Mario Bros. and dismissed them as harmless. The weary parent might have opposed video games because time spent playing video games meant time not playing outside, but no seriously troubling concerns could be generated from a yellow circle eating dots, or a man in red traveling up and down green pipes. However, the tables turned with the incorporation of violence into video games - violence that seems to get more and more realistic as the years go by. In 2015, 85% of video games involved violence (Appelbaum 1). Moreover, the Pew Research Center reports that 90% of American teens play video games (M. Anderson and Jingjing 9). Violent video games have sparked a major argument regarding the possibility of violence in the virtual setting transcending into a player’s behavior in actual life. A mass amount of research has been conducted into the topic of violent video games and their effects on players. Violent video games are even a subject in American political discourse; in the video, “Trump Blames Video Games, Movies for Violence,” President Trump stated, “I’m hearing more and more people saying the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts” (00:00:14-00:00:22). The quote was modified to not include pauses in the President’s speech. This was after the Parkland shooting. So, are violent video games bad for us? As of now, the science behind violent video games presents no clear answer to that question. Researchers come to different conclusions regarding violent video games’ effects on human aggression, and researchers believe there are more factors to be considered than just aggression when analysing the effects of violent video games on the human psyche. Moreover, it can be argued that the negative effects of violent video games cannot be contained to just what they do or don’t to human mind; rather, they have an effect on society rather than the individual. Clearly, it’s a lot more difficult than a simple yes or no for the question of “Are violent video games bad?” So, in this article, my goal is not to tell you that violent video games are intrinsically bad, rather, I want to make you more conscious and knowledgeable of the potential negative effects of such games so that you can make your own, educated decision of whether or not to play them.

I would like to open by examining the findings of two studies into the possible negative effects of violent video games. One way researchers have studied violent video games is by looking at how they affect levels of aggression in their players. In spite of all the speculation about violent video games and how they negatively impact the mind, some researchers claim that these games do not cause increased aggression in those who play them. Just last February, the work of researchers Andrew K. Przybylski, and Netta Weinstein, a study called “Violent Video Game Engagement Is Not Associated with Adolescents’ Aggressive Behaviour: Evidence from a Registered Report.” After studying 1004 adolescents, they concluded that “the results derived from our . . . testing did not support the position that violent gaming relates to aggressive behaviour . . . we argue that mere exposure to, and enactment of, putatively violent virtual acts in gaming contexts . . . is unlikely, on its own, to bear positively on perceivable differences in adolescents’ aggression in real-world settings” (Przybylski and Weinstein 12, 13). In other words, violence in video games won’t make a person more aggressive. However, other researchers came to different conclusions. Mark Appelbaum, PhD., and his colleagues with the APA (American Psychological Association) Task Force on Violent Media found that violent video games do make players more aggressive. In their 2015 analysis, in which they pooled a number of reports and examined them to make conclusions about violent video games’ effects, Appelbaum, PhD., and his colleagues write, “The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior, aggressive cognitions, and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and sensitivity to aggression” (11). Not only do their conclusions on aggression not match what other researchers found, Appelbaum and his colleagues noticed that these games negatively affect other elements of the human psyche, including empathy. However, Appelbaum explains, “There is very limited research addressing whether violent video games cause people to commit acts of criminal violence” (qtd. in APA, Office of Public Affairs). Thus, while they found a positive correlation between these games and aggression, they did not conclude that these games cause violence in the real world. Ultimately, there isn’t a clear answer in science as to how violent video games affect us.

So, scientists disagree on whether or not violent video games make a person more aggressive. That said, there are researchers who believe there are other factors to consider when analysing the negative effects of violent video games. Appelbaum and his colleagues in the APA Task Force on Violent Media felt this way, however other researchers specifically stressed the factors besides aggression when analysing the effects of violent video games. This stance is elaborated in a 2013 documentary in which social scientists discussed the human experience of of desensitization to violence. Distinguished professor of psychology Craig Anderson, in the documentary, Joystick Warriors: Video Games, Violence & the Culture of Militarism, explains that “desensitization is the normal negative emotional reaction that people have when they are faced with violent images, that that normal negative reaction tends to decrease with exposure” (00:13:12-00:13:28). So, this means that we can become less responsive to violence; we become more tolerant of it after exposure to instances of violence such as those present in violent video games. But what does this mean for the way these violent video games affect our psyche? Well, Anderson’s statements in the documentary provide a pretty clear explanation for this: Anderson states, “It’s that negative emotional reaction that helps prevent people from acting really violently” (00:13:28-00:13:37). Anderson’s quote was modified to not include inconsistencies in human speech. The implications of this are pretty cut and dry; if someone is desensitized by a video game, they are more likely to commit acts of violence. Furthermore, researchers believe there to be a link between violent video games and reductions in empathy. Professor of psychology Brad Bushman, in the documentary “Mind Games - The Power of Video Gaming,” explains, “We consistently find that violent game players . . . have less empathy for others” (00:14:29-00:14:37). This concept was demonstrated with Bushman’s example in “Mind Games - The Power of Video Gaming,” that if a disabled person needed help, the person who plays violent video games would hesitate before helping them for longer than a person who does not (00:14:08-00:14:33). This would mean that violent video games take from someone their compassion - quite a different topic than Przybylski and Weinstein’s analysis of aggression.

Finally, I would like to bring up a specific example of what violent video games may or may not have had something to do with. Leung reports that in 2005, Devin Moore killed two police officers and a 911 dispatcher. Moreover, Attorney Jack Thompson reports that Moore was reported to be an avid player of Grand Theft Auto (qtd. In Liang). Attorney Jack Thompson said this: “What we’re saying is that Devin Moore was, in effect, trained to do what he did. He was given a murder simulator” (qtd. In Leung). Thompson also said “It’s our theory . . . that, but for the video-game training, he would not have done what he did” (qtd. in Leung). Psychologist David Walsh argues that whether or not a person acts violently depends on a lot of “risk factors” (qtd. in Leung). He believes video games are one such “risk factor,” not that video games are the sole cause of an event like this (qtd in Leung). Leung reports that Moore also underwent a very difficult childhood. This could have manifested as one of the “risk factors,” which Walsh talks about (qtd. in Leung).

Ultimately, we are not sure whether or not violent video games are really bad. This is why we teenagers need to take responsibility for our entertainment. I am not telling to stop playing your video games; rather, I just want you to be aware of their potential effects, because we really don’t know what they can and can’t do, or what they do and don’t do to us. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to make the decisions regarding your entertainment.

The author of this article makes the following concessions:

Much of the research used is not up to date. Leung’s article was published in 2005. According to the document by the APA, Office of Public Affairs, the work of Appelbaum et al. consulted “literature published between 2005 and 2013.”

The quotes from Professor Craig Anderson were taken from a 2013 documentary. The quotes from Professor Brad Bushman were taken from a 2016 documentary.

Works Cited

Anderson, Craig, narrator. Joystick Warriors: Video Games, Violence & the Culture of Militarism. Kanopy, executive producer, Sut Jhally, directed by Roger Sorkin, Media Education Foundation, 2013, Computer Science and Technology. Documentary.

Anderson, Monica, and Jiang Jingjing. “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018: YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens. Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online ‘almost constantly.’” Pew Research Center: Internet & Technology, director of research, Lee Rainie, copy editor, David Kent, 31 May 2018. PDF file. Accessed 23 May 2019.

APA, Office of Public Affairs. “APA Review Confirms Link between Playing Violent Video Games and Aggression: Finds Insufficient Research to Link Violent Video Game Play to Criminal Violence.” American Psychological Association, 13 Aug. 2015. Web. Accessed 21 May 2019.

Appelbaum, Mark, et al. "Technical Report on the Review of the Violent Video Game Literature." American Psychological Association, 2015. PDF file. Accessed 21 May 2019.

Bushman, Brad, contributor. “Mind Games - The Power of Video Gaming.” Mind Games - The Power of Video Gaming, executive producer, Ron Thomas, video no. 1, Romar Spotlight Productions, 2016. Kanopy, Computer Science and Technology.

Przybylski, Andrew K., and Netta Weinstein. “Violent Video Game Engagement Is Not Associated with Adolescents’ Aggressive Behaviour: Evidence from a Registered Report.” Royal Society Open Science, editor-in-chief, Jeremy Sanders, 2nd. ed, vol. 6, no. 2, Royal Society Publishing, 13 February 2019. PDF file. Accessed 20 May 2019.

Leung, Rebecca. "Can a Video Game Lead to Murder? Did ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Cause One Teenager to Kill?" CBS News, correspondent, Ed Bradley, source, Jack Thompson, interviewee, David Walsh, 4 Mar. 2005. Accessed 24 May 2019.

“Trump Blames Video Games, Movies for Violence.” YouTube, uploaded by CNN, 22 Feb. 2018. Accessed 24 May 2019.