Video game sales have quadrupled from 1995-2008, yet the arrest rate for juvenile murders has fallen 71.9% and the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes declined 49.3% in the same period.  For the average video gamer, it seems as if all of the media is striking them once a violent crime is reported.  There is no real evidence in either direction to cause this speculation.  This piece will give the reader perspectives from the argument on whether video games induce violence in children.

The media believes that violent video games do contribute to youth violence.  In 2008, there was a study of Grand Theft Childhood.  Sixty percent of middle school boys who played at least one Mature-rated game hit or beat up some.  In addition, Video Games reward the player for the violence and this encourages the player to engage in violent acts.  These games also teach young children that violence is a good problem-solving technique.  A 2009 study shows that kids who play violent video games use fewer nonviolent strategies;  They also associate pleasure and happiness with the ability to cause pain in others.  Young children with less exposure to the world may confuse the fantasy world with the real world violence and may copy the actions of video game characters.  The government also encourages this violence. In 1996, the US army released the games Doom II and Marine Doom to train soldiers.  In 2002, they also released America’s Army, a game meant to recruit soldiers and prepare recruits for the battlefield.  These violent games may cause violent tendencies in young children.

Although there is evidence towards video games contributing to youth violence, there is also evidence against these theories.  Juvenile crimes in the US have decreased, while video games sales have exponential growth simultaneously.  We cannot prove Bigfoot exist, but we cannot prove that he does not exist.  Similarly, there is no direct correlation between violent video games and violent behavior.  Tests contain proven flaws because there is no reliable measure of violence and aggression that is constant between everyone.  These games also act as an anger relief pill because they act as a substitute for real violence in the real world.  They can let out their aggression without causing actual physical harm.  In 2005, the U.S. had 2279 murders committed by teenagers compared to 73 in Japan, yet, the video game sales were $5.20 in the US as opposed to the $47 in Japan.  This shows that there is no direct correlation between violence and video games.

This interminable debate shows us how limited our evidence appears to be.  Although there is evidence pointing in either direction, no true evidence can be given to point out the connection between the violence in the real world and in video games.  This debate will never end, for there is no way to determine whether this connection exists.  With new technology comes new risks, But hopefully these risks won’t put people’s lives in danger.