Video Games and Shootings

The relationship between first person shooter video games and rampage violence is both highly controversial and deeply politicized one, torn between activists siding with the viewpoint that video games are a causal factor in incident of mass shootings and those who argue that any relationship is correlative. The evidence, however, indicates that any relationship between video games causing mass shootings and acts of violence is fundamentally unsound and, moreover, that video games have no discernible effect in establishing or causing any mental instability in those who engage in playing them. Though some evidence exists to suggest that violent video games can, in fact, increase violent behavior, there is no basis in scientific research to suggest that first person shooters are in any way responsible or even a contributory cause in an individual's decision to engage in shooting sprees or other acts of mass violence. Moreover, the media frenzy and panic led many researchers to take up arms against violent games, publishing numerous flawed studies that corrupted the innocent nature of violent video games in actively causing acts of mass violence. Instead, antisocial behavior and a history of past aggression or abuse are put forth as far more likely and strongly supported explanations for what may cause acts of public violence such as school shootings. 

In 2007, the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University was rocked by a mass shooting, executed by Seung-Hui Cho, a Korean-American student studying in the United States for his undergraduate college experience. Killing thirty-two students, staff, and faculty in a violent rampage the morning of April 16th, Cho's actions instantly sparked a resurgence of the decades-old debate regarding the relationship between violent video games. Though “no evidence has emerged to suggest” that Cho's actions were in any caused by violent video games and that, moreover, there is no evidence that Cho even played first person shooters at all (Ferguson 26). Thus, the Virginia Tech case stands as a clear example of an instance of a violent rampage shooting in which the perpetrator did not actively play or engage in first person shooters. In contrast to the infamous Columbine shootings, in which the two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were “avid players”, the Virginia Tech case lacks any relationship to the matter of first-person shooters and acts of mass violence (Ferguson 27). Despite this, efforts remain to pin blame on video games as a causal factor in the decision for individuals to engage in mass shootings. 

Following Virginia Tech, the debate over first person shooters and large-scale mass violence reached a fever pitch. Indeed, since the 1990s, “violent video games entered the realm of public discussion” following acts of violence at Columbine and a handful of other shootings in the latter half of the decade (Clements 661). These incidents are seen as a type of terrorism. Thus, the gaming industry as a whole was thrust into the public eye. Moreover, initial inquiries into the relationship between first person shooters and rampage violence found that “games lead to increased aggression in the children that played them” (Clements 662). These studies, in turn, prompted many state legislatures and video game critics to push for increased legislation regarding the sale of violent video games to minors, though the efforts would prove quite ineffective in nearly all of the states that had a public discussion on the matter. In addition, though the early work seemed to indicate a correlation and perhaps even causal link between the playing of violent video games such as first-person shooters and the likelihood of an individual engaging in acts of mass violence, these studies were quickly thrown into the public spotlight and hotly debated. 

Research that promotes the causal link between first person shooters and active participation in violence can be seen to clearly fail to logically connect the two contrasting concepts. On one hand, it is argued that violent games desensitize individuals to acts of violence and make them more likely to engage in mass violence—in essence, repeated exposure to violent entertainment makes the participant more likely to accept violent behavior as an agreeable course of action (“Effects of Violence”, USA Today). Thus, a 2012 report by the US Secret Service and the US Department of Education “examined 37 incidents of targeted school shootings and school attacks from 1974 to 2000 [and] found that 'over half of the attackers' demonstrated some interest in violence”, be it through a variety of mediums including film, games, books, and music (Kaplan 7). For over half of thirty-seven individuals to have exhibited some interest in violent media is intriguing. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that “extensive research indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, and nightmares” (Kaplan 8). Though compelling in its statements, these studies fail to establish anything beyond a mere correlative relationship between violent media and acts of mass violence. Moreover, the sheer prevalence of violent media in contemporary society seems to raise questions as to the efficacy of the research performed. 

In the ensuing media debate, it became clear that, while violent video games can, in fact, contribute to increased aggressive tendencies and even behavior in children and young adults, assuming a causal link to such extreme acts such as mass shootings was a leap of faith not supported by any available data. Indeed, the studies were often flawed in their methodology and research application, usually by faulty sample sizes or poorly decided-upon research methods (Dewey 121). Moreover, the conclusions made by the spate of studies published by the media in the years following Columbine and Virginia Tech tended to not coincide with their proposed hypotheses. In essence, the conclusions sought after and posed by the research would be the extent to which first person shooters or violent video games contributed to incidents of mass shootings or other forms of public violence, but the data and research methods would be limited to an analysis or testing of the extent to which violent video games merely enhanced aggressive behavior (Ferguson, Coulson, Barnett 147). Thus, while the actual data collected supported the idea that violent video games would contribute to increased aggressive tendencies and perhaps even action, the studies often concluded made an illogical leap in their conclusions—even if violent video games have a discernible effect on the extent to which an individual will exhibit aggressive traits, it is unsound to then conclude that mass shooters who played violent video games did so as a result of their choice in entertainment. 

In addition, the link between first person shooters and acts of mass violence is often clouded by the primacy these events take in the public eye. Though “the wealth of evidence from social science research on video games, to governmental reports and legal cases, to real world data on crime fails to establish a link between violent video games and violent crimes”, the relative rarity yet spectacular nature of school shootings creates a sort of “moral panic” in the eyes of the public (Ferguson, Coulson, Barnett 143, Ferguson 31). Essentially, this means that though individuals who choose to engage in acts of mass violence in schools in particular garner truly astounding levels of media attention, they are nonetheless a very small percentage of the total population. Moreover, the link between first person shooters and shooting sprees is then further thrown into confusion, as the studies often fail to account for the fact that, according to a 2012 study referenced by Arline Kaplan in the Psychiatric Times, a substantial majority of young adult males in the United States engage in entertainment that includes the playing of violent video games, including first person shooters. Since shooting sprees and those who commit them are not only a tiny percentage of the total population that engages in violent games, but also given that school shootings are incredibly rare events (though their commonality is buoyed by the incredible media attention given to them), it is clear that the research holds there to be no causal link between individuals who partake in violent entertainment and their subsequent rationale, motivation, or decision to commit an act of mass violence against innocents. 

Thus, if violent media has at best a correlative effect on the relationship between individuals and their propensity for acts of public violence, it becomes unclear what, in fact, acts as the causal link. Ferguson, Coulson, and Barnett report in their study published in the Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations in 2011 that, “put another way, antisocial youth, not surprisingly, were most prone to youth violence, particularly when they were depressed” (152). Antisocial behavior, therefore, becomes the predictive quality by which to determine the likelihood of violent behavior, thereby removing violent video games even further from the realm of possibility as acting as a causal factor. Widely regarded as a hallmark study of recent research, Ferguson et al argue that, while aggressive tendencies may be enhanced by violent media, the “most salient risk factors are internal, not external. External factors such as video games simply do not figure in predictions of violent behavior” (153). While violent media may offer an escape from reality and contribute to the antisocial behavior of particular troubled individuals, there is no evidence to indicate that first person shooter video games are what cause violent acts of mass aggression against the public. Instead, a 2012 study by Gentile and Bushman found that “"The best single predictor of future aggression in the sample of elementary schoolchildren was past aggression” (141). Thus, it is clear that antisocial behavior, which is often caused by past aggression against the individual in question, and perceived past wrongs such as childhood abuse and other damaging factors are far better indicators of violent behavior among youth.

As seen through the research presented, there is no causal relationship between video games and rampage violence. Studies that claim such a link are oftentimes flawed in their methodological approach and typically cite data that only supports increased aggressive tendencies among children, not necessarily an increase in the likelihood of school shootings. The relatively low number of school shooters, combined with the high saturation of violent content in the media today, makes any correlation speculative at best and denies any reasonable expectation of a causal factor. Though repeated exposure to violent video games and first-person shooters can, in fact, contribute to higher observed aggressive tendencies, it is intellectually dishonest ad logically unsound to claim any sort of causal relationship between higher aggression levels as a result of first-person shooters and public acts of mass violence. Instead, antisocial behavior and a history of past violence seems to be the more likely culprit, as evidenced in the research provided. Despite the still-prevalent belief that first person shooters and violent media content are responsible for causing acts of mass violence, it is clear that any relationship there is correlative at best. 

Works Cited

Adachi, Paul J. C., and Teena Willoughby. "Do Video Games Promote Positive Youth Development?" Journal of Adolescent Research 28.2 (2013): 155-165. Academic Search Complete. 

Clements, Christopher. "Protecting Protected Speech: Violent Video Game Legislation Post-Brown V. Entertainment Merchants Ass'n." Boston College Law Review 53.2 (2012): 661-692.Academic Search Complete. 

Dewey G. Cornell, et al. "Recurrent Issues in Efforts to Prevent Homicidal Youth Violence in Schools: Expert Opinions." New Directions for Youth Development 2011.129 (2011): 113-128. Academic Search Complete. 

"Effects of Violence Accumulate Over Time." USA Today Magazine141.2815 (2013): 9. Academic Search Complete. 

Ferguson, Christopher J. "The School Shooting/Violent Video Game Link: Causal Relationship or Moral Panic?" Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling 5.1/2 (2008): 25-37. Academic Search Complete. 

Ferguson, Christopher J., Mark Coulson, and Jane Barnett. "Psychological Profiles of School Shooters: Positive Directions and One Big Wrong Turn. “Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations 11.2 (2011): 141-158. Academic Search Complete. 

Gentile DA, Bushman BJ. “Reassessing media violence effects using a risk and resilience approach to understanding aggression.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 2012; 1:138-151. 

Kaplan, Arline. "Violence in The Media: What Effects on Behavior? (Cover Story)." Psychiatric Times 29.10 (2012): 1-11. Academic Search Complete.