Mass Shootings in the United States and Violence in Video Games: Analytical Essay

Political Perspectives and the Video Game Violence Debate

The shooting epidemic in America is a hot button issue. People on both sides of the aisle have strong opinions on what needs to be done in response to these acts of terror. Although the issue is made political, leaders from both Republican and Democratic parties have cited video games as one of the likely causes for an American mass shooter's decisions. In a statement following the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, President Trump suggested that the “gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace” could be encouraging the mass shootings that have like video game playing, grown in frequency every year. Many of the arguments made by politicians follow the logic that video games normalize violence and inadvertently encourage aggression among its player base, at times having a hand in driving them to commit mass crimes. Researchers, however, insist the relationship between video games and gun violence is not nearly as direct nor clear. In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a policy statement clarifying that only a link to increased aggression has been proven. They emphasized the importance of distinguishing aggression from extreme violence, especially in the form of mass shootings.

Evaluating Research: Video Games' Impact on Aggression and Violence

In order to test the claim that violence in video games do not increase the likelihood of mass shootings, evidence was taken from academic journals and investigative reports. Many of these journal articles consult Christopher Ferguson as a resource, being widely regarded for having conducted numerous studies on the matter. Each of the listed journal articles use data from either the authors’ own studies or other experts in their field. Below are ten pieces of evidence to test the causality between video games and mass shootings:

A profiling of the average school shooter included ‘unusual fascination’ with violent media as a potential predictor (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 1999)

A meta-analysis observed video games had little to no impact on adolescents’ aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance (Ferguson et al., 2015)

An extensive survey suggests no association between people playing video games and whether or not they own a gun (Rajan et al., 2014)

Violent video games can cause increases in aggression however not in likelihood to take a life (Liu et al., 2015)

Social and familial backgrounds play a larger role in determining risk of violent behavior instead of video games (DeCamp et al., 2016)

Long-term experience of the U.S. military suggests that video games are an effective tool for training people to use firearms (Garbarino et al., 2002)

Screen portrayals of violence do not reinforce aggressive attitudes and behaviors if the consequences of violence are demonstrated (Grossman et al., 1999)

A comprehensive study on familiarity with violent video games found reduced guilt and blameworthiness suggesting moral disengagement from committing violent acts (Hartmann et al., 2010)

Exposure to violent video games increases physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings (Anderson et al., 2001)

A decrease in violent crime in response to violent video games was observed from a controlled group (Markey et al., 2015)

The profiling activity conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in 1999 was an attempt to help the public make sense of school shootings and why certain individuals might commit serious acts of violence. The Secret Service report found that although the school shooters were still rather diverse, many would provide information about their plans ahead of time. Aside from this predictive theme, the FBI included ‘unusual fascination’ with violent media as a potential predictor for risk. Given that most young males already consume considerable amounts of violent content, the term ‘unusual’ suggested a degree that was borderline extreme. As if to suggest there was a link between video games and school shootings, the report went on to describe the school shooter as someone who spends “inordinate amounts of time playing video games with violent themes,” often demonstrating more interest in the violent images than the game itself. The FBI has since come under some criticism for having only used a total of eighteen cases in developing the profile. The report, being one of the earliest attempts at understanding the motivations of the school shooter, remained influential in framing public opinion on violent video games and its consumption.

The probability of observing this evidence if it was believed that violence in video games do increase the likelihood of mass sho