prev
next
Violent video games and mass violence: A complex link
Picture of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' video games taken on April 28, 2008, in Paris, on the eve of its world release. / Getty Images
Were violent video games to blame for the Newtown tragedies where 20 children and six teachers were killed by a lone gunman, Adam Lanza?
Norway massacre, violent video games motivation for Newtown shooting
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that Adam Lanza was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to top Norwegian mass shooter Anders Breivik's toll of 77 deaths during his July 2011 massacre, citing law enforcement sources. He reports that Lanza targeted nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School during the December shooting because it was the "easiest target" with the "largest cluster of people."
Law enforcement reportedly discovered a "trove" of violent video games from the shooter's basement, according to Orr, where the 20-year-old spent hours alone, playing with windows blacked out, honing his computer shooting skills. Lanza also visited gun ranges multiple times with his mother, Nancy.
The latest revelations may contribute to ongoing debate over whether video games play a role in mass violence.
Following the tragedies, Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association, said that, besides putting armed guards in every schools, the country should look closer at "vicious, violent video games," singling out titles like "Bulletstorm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Kombat" and "Splatterhouse"
In January, Vice President Joe Biden met with video game makers and other groups, including the broadcast and film industry and mental health experts, to come up with broader ideas to reduce gun violence. Ralph Nader went as far as calling makers of violent video games "electronic child molesters."
After Newtown, Congress calls for violent video game regulation
Some lawmakers have also called for restrictions on violent video games, but CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reported in January that in 2011 the Supreme Court struck down a California statute banning the sale of violent video games for people under 18, saying the games were protected under the First Amendment. The industry voluntarily rates games for violence and mature content.
Dr. Christopher Ferguson, department chair of psychology and communications at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, says he has not come across any link between playing violent video games and likelihood for violent behavior.
Ferguson, who presented for Biden's task force in January, said many people understand at this point that most people who play violent video games won't become violent themselves and that there is a mental health component at play. That's different from after Columbine, he said, when many questions were raised about video games as motivations for violence. However, his studies, which have looked at people with mental health issues, including those prone to bullying violence, have found no added risk.
"We can't find any evidence that those kids are affected either," Ferguson told CBSNews.com, referring to children with mental health problems.
Ferguson argues that youth violence has been at a 40-year low, while violent video games remain popular. He finds it interesting how in the wake of Sandy Hook, video games have gotten a lot of blame, but when high-profile shootings involve older adults -- like 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, who shot a bus driver then kidnapped a 5-year-old and kept him in a bunker for days, or 62-year-old William Spengler, who allegedly shot and killed two first responders and injured two more firefighters in December after strangling his sister -- people don't look for similar sources to blame.
"A 70-year-old does it and nobody talks [video games]," he said.
Even if Lanza did play these violent video games, he said, it's "nonsense" to think that a tragedy could have been prevented by removing them from the equation. For example, the 32-year-old Breivik also claimed to be a fan of violent video games such as "Call of Duty," and "World of Warcraft" and said he honed his shooting skills with the games. However, his long manifesto contained even more information on the Byzantine Empire and Muslim expansion, so why not ban history books too, Ferguson wondered.
He concedes many scholars who disagree with him are researching in good faith, but he wonders if spending national attention and money on these issue is worthwhile.
"What's interesting is how eager some segments of society are to grab onto this narrative of violence in video games, just like it was comic books in the 1950s," said Ferguson. "You sometimes see that in a period of moral panic ... It gives us a sense of control over things we can't control."
- The deadliest mass shootings of the past
- Violent video games make kids aggressive, study suggests
- Complete Coverage: Elementary School Rampage
Other experts argue there may be a link, but its extent is unknown.
A July 2011 study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that looked at 70 young adults found playing violent games may desensitize players to violent imagery in the short-term. Tests showed those who played violent games like "Killzone" and "Grand Theft Auto" behaved more aggressively than those who played nonviolent games. At the time, lead researcher Dr. Bruce Bartholow, associate professor of psychology at the University of Missouri, told CBSNews.com that a single exposure to violent video games would not lead to violence, but this desensitization can occur over time.
"I believe that there is a real reliable link between exposure to violent video games and aggression in the short-term," Bartholow told CBSNews.com Monday. He concedes the effect is probably short-lived, and more research is needed to be done to see how the effects can accumulate over time.
However, he disputes that his study and others like his don't have relevance outside the laboratory. He says there is evidence that suggests they may predict real-world behavior. However, aggression itself is very complex, he says, it would be an oversimplification to say video games could lead to behavior like a violent mass killing.
"Unfortunately I don't think the explanation is very simple," he said. "It might have been one ingredient ... in a whole stew of reasons why someone might do that. In theory, it could be one factor -- but I wouldn't say it's the only factor or the most important factor."
Popular in Health
- Health risks remain for Okla. tornado responders, victims
- Bed sharing may increase risk of SIDS by five times
- Disney pulls show that makes fun of gluten-free child
- "Clouds" singer known for viral hit dies from osteosarcoma
- Miami face-chewing victim still recovering one year later
- Environmental Working Group's top sunscreens for 2013 12 Photos
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Which sunscreens are recommended for 2013?
Most Popular
-
01
-
02
-
03
-
04
-
05
Most Shared
Most Discussed
The bigger question is why are they playing them the ESRB for some of the games being singled out such as Call of Duty series have an ESRB rating of MATURE. I ask where are these parents when it comes to their responsibility to ensure what their child is doing is age appropriate.
Furthermore all this blame is being assigned to outside sources; the media and games when a youth commits a crime lets reference the stubenville rape case, a most heinous act. Or lets reference Ted Bundy or Hitler while we are at it, the only thing you hear when talking about them is how sick and evil they were. STOP making excuses for those who commit crimes as it's in their nature. No media will force a child into becoming a murder, rapist or thief unless they are already unhinged or have other serious mental or social issues. Lay the blame where it deserves to be, on the individual committing the crime.
there have been many killers who have done way worse than killing people with guns in schools or other various areas where a small number of people are killed, compare it to the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian countess notorious for slaughtering at least 600 young virgin girls whom she'd drain of blood so she could bathe in it to improve her complexion and maintain youthful appearance. I do belive that is way worse or vlad the impailer who would take prisoners and shove a spike up there butt and eat as they slowly slid down the spike infront of him.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it has to be said. You can get everybody all frothed up but it doesn't change the constitution. The fact that you, personally, don't think GTA has any artistic value/first amendment protection doesn't change legal reality or court precedent.
Secondly, look at what will happen even if you do. In Germany a lot of this stuff is banned yet the same kinds of kids go online and bootleg/purchase violent games from other countries digitally. "Blood patches" and foreign imports make pretty quick work of all of their legislation. Unless you can ban violent games from every nation on earth you can't stop an intelligent kid with a PC from acquiring violent games from other countries. GTA5, incidentally, is being developed in Scotland.
So what are you prepared to do? Are you really ready to go door to door and arrest us one by one for playing violent games? Are you ready to completely lock down the internet?
All you're going to do is drive the violent game makers into other countries and drive people from gaming consoles to PC games and from WalMart to digital download. Do you think Rockstar fears your feeble legislation that much? You'll give them half a decade of free advertising and then they'll beat you silly in court.
So go ahead. Make Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty "forbidden." Spend scads of taxpayer dollars on free advertising for what you hate.
We are a Violent Species. If you want to end violence first you have to look in a mirror.
And how many do you know whom look up to movie stars/characters?
Could probably go even further back in time, but i feel like just wasting my time here.
Maybe your problem with school shootings is you allow parents to own firearms without checking their environment (kids). Like depressed kids, kids being bullied, mental illness and what not. Your basically giving these kids/teens/young adults the means & opportunity for a mass murder spree. And it doesn't take a genius to work a gun.