“I’m hearing more and more people saying the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts,” said President Trump. Violent video games cause violence? What rubbish! Blaming media portraying violence for real-world violence has been around since the early 1940s. However, even after numerous studies that have proven time and again that violent video games/media DO NOT cause violent behavior, the misconception persists to this day. Dr. Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., a professor of clinical psychology at the Stetson University says, “Research evidence is increasingly clear that violent entertainment is not associated with violence in society. If anything, there are some studies now to suggest that violent movies and games are associated with reduced criminal violence.” A long-term study was done by Dr. Ferguson and his team to finally settle the issue of whether or not violent media is to blame for violence. And not surprisingly, there was no link between violent media and behavior.  Although it is easy to set the blame of violence on video games, without proper scientific evidence, these are baseless claims.

Countries like Japan show how incorrect the claims are. Japan’s population is over 127 million (2016), violent video games and cartoons are widely enjoyed and accepted by the Japanese population, but there are rarely more than 10 gun-related deaths per year, including accidents. That number is extremely low, considering that in 2015, 13,286 Americans were killed in homicides, suicides, mass shootings, and accidents. This number is 1300 times the amount of people killed in Japan (also accounting for the 320 million population).

US video game sales figures also show that video games do not cause real-world violence. The total US sales of video game hardware and software increased 204% from, 1994 to 2014, while violent crimes decreased 37% and murders by juveniles acting alone fell 76% in the same period. The Juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate in 2012 was 38% below 1980 levels and 63% below 1994, the peak year. The number of high school students who had been in at least one physical fight decreased from 43% in 1991 to 24% in 2013.

The claim that violent video games and media causes real-world violence is totally and completely bogus.