In the wake of yet another violent shooting, we can expect a handful of the same points to be raised up and remain unresolved. Gun control, mental illness, heightened security measures, and of course violent video games. That last one tends to surprise many people under a certain age. Those in the world that grew up with video games tend to immediately balk at the idea that there is anything relating games to violent behavior. Furthermore, experts have found the same thing. There is no definitive correlation between violent video games and violent behavior. Yet so often games like Grand Theft Auto and Modern Warfare become the topic of one politician or another’s reasoning for school shootings somewhere. But why would that be the case if research has proven time and again that this is not the case?
The simple answer is that neither they nor the people that listen and believe what is being said are familiar with the research or video games in general for that matter. But this point of view even is misguided according to those that are familiar with both if not just the latter, still makes sense considering the information that they have. If a person is unfamiliar with games and only knows that many of the more popular ones in recent years involve criminal activity and the graphics use of guns, especially if that is how it is phrased, are likely to blame them for what is perceived as a more violent world. If a further reason was needed, they would point to the fact that many shooters, either from their own admission or those of others, enjoy various games that are branded as being explicitly violent.
But even here the notion of a correlation between violent video games and real-world violence owes far more to a lack of understanding of the subject than any definitive proof. Take for instance the Grand Theft Auto series, which grossed $800 million dollars internationally within the first 24 hours of its release, is often pointed to as an example of the “depravity and wanton gratuitous violence” in games. The game cost $50 or so at the time of the $800 million figure being recorded, meaning that approximately 16 million people purchased the game within the first day of it being available. Even if it caused five percent of people who bought it to begin displaying violent tendencies, that would mean that 800,000 people internationally began exhibiting these tendencies. This would unquestionably lead to more of a reaction from people than just complaining about it when one person decides to cause havoc. This does, however, give an answer to why so many of these shooters are noted to have liked games like this: millions of people do!
In the end, the correlation being drawn between violent video games and violence carried out in real life seems to be more of a case of those propagating the belief fearing something that they do not understand. It is not the fault of the people spreading the misconceived notion, as at face value the notion seems logical. But seeing as basic logic disproves it, it is the fault of the people doing the spreading that they have not educated themselves.