Dating all the way back to 1972, the first violent video game was created, called Spacewar. Violent video games across the world are one of the most popular among them all. According to the American Psychological Association, as many as 97% of US kids age 12-17 play video games, contributing to the $21.53 billion domestic video game industry. More than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence, and school shootings, increases in bullying, and other types of violence have been blamed on violent games.

According to Kacie Allen, “I don’t think that violent video games lead to violence, but I do think when little kids are exposed to violent video games then they can become a little more violent for their age, but once they hit middle school and high school they are fine.”

Violent video games includes games such as Call of Duty, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, Sniper Elite, and many more. Critics believe that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. But is this true?

“I think that at an early age, these video games could lead to small amounts of violence, but once kids begin to mature, it’s not really a big deal,” said Danielle Weller.

Personally, I believe that violent games can lead to aggression, acts of bullying, and more conflict with peers. However, I wouldn’t say that these games are the cause for issues such as mass shootings because that is more of a problem psychologically.