Video Games: It's Time to Face the Facts

By Christy Bogan

Stonehill News Blog Staff
In this world, video games have sprung to life and captivated so many individuals, and as a result of this, many adults believe that video games cause violence; however, a recent study found this to be not true.

People point their fingers at video games for the source of violence in young adults. However, these facts can be challenged by studies done by scientists and discussions happen every day. 

There are two sides to this video game violence argument: the people who believe video games do cause violence in people, making players want to commit a mass shooting and express high levels of aggression. The other side is the people who believe that video games produce nothing but positive outcomes for those who play them. 

In late September 2018, scientists Netta Weinstein and Andrew Przybylski began researching whether or not video games cause violence in young adults. They compared those who play violent video games to those who do not find out if video games cause aggression. In the end, their results suggested that video games do not cause violence.

“There was no evidence for a critical tipping point relating violent game engagement to aggressive behavior,” they said in their summary statement.

Weinstein and Przybylski released their study in mid-January; the name of the study is Violent Video Game Engagement is Not Associated with Adolescents’ Aggressive Behaviour: Evidence from a Registered Report published by Royal Society Publishing and in association with the Royal Society Open Science.

Weinstein and Przybylski said, “Results from this model showed that neither the linear nor the parabolic predictors were statistically significant. In other words, these results did not support our prediction that there are statistically significant links relating to violent gaming to adolescents’ aggressive behavior.”

Their study shows that young adults do not show aggression while playing video games after or during; there have to be other reasons besides video games. 

Matthew Patrick,  the creator of the channel Game Theory on YouTube, is another person who researched this topic. After presenting his evidence and looking at criminal backgrounds, he identifies criminals who have committed mass shootings.

“Crime statistics should show growth during those same periods. But when you look at the data, that’s the opposite of what’s happened,” said Patrick.

Patrick has three angles for this video game violence question: the link between crime and video games, shooter’s profiles and how video games have impacted their lives, and how video games change the player’s perspective on violence. As he presents his information, he finds that specific individuals with mental disorders are pushed to become mass shooters. Certain games they play have this effect on them, but aggression does not happen to everyone who plays them.

The shooters for Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School did play video games, as Patrick points out in his research. What these people did is horrible, but to partially put blame on video games is not fair. There have been about eighteen mass shootings in the last twenty years, and of those eighteen shootings, only four of those shooters have significant gaming habits.

At the end of his video, Patrick says that video games do not cause violence because, in the studies that he found, there was little to no proof that video games cause aggression in minors. 

Tristin Dunn, the president of the gaming club at Stonehill, is a senior with a double major in history and communication. Coming into Stonehill, he was a shy and timid individual who did not know how to get out of his comfort zone. However, when he discovered that there was a gaming club on campus, he immediately signed up because video games are a place where he feels calm and at ease. 

Dunn said he feels he is a better person because he plays video games. He said they have helped him develop strategy skills and become a better communicator. He has become a better learner through the trial and error practice of video games and has improved his knowledge of history through the games.

“Real-life history would come up in these games. I became really good at improving because of video games,” Dunn said.

He said he watched one of his friends become more socially adept because of video games. The friend joined the gaming club as a shy, introverted person but being involved allowed him to help others interested in video games and thus developed friendships.

People who were born into Generation Z, people born from 1996-2010, have grown up with video games and new technology. For them, video games embody their childhood. It is tough to avoid technology in our world today because so many people use it; video games have followed the same path. People have even made a life out of video games: professional gamers, YouTube gamers, video game experts/ teachers, video game creators, etc. 

Video games give jobs to people, allow people to express creativity in their own way, and enhance everyday skills. It is a form of relaxation and a way to make friends. 

“It's important for us to remember regardless of where you stand politically on guns, video games, or whatever, that we all want the same thing: a safer, less violent future for ourselves, for our children, and for our country,” said Patrick.