Do violent video games create killers?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Do violent video games create killers?". Your opponent's style: Shroud

no

Look, you can't just dismiss this with a "no" when the evidence is staring us right in the face. Dude, the research is crystal clear - violent video games ARE linked to increased aggression. Meta-analyses consistently show that playing violent video games is associated with increased aggression in the player, and the longer individuals are exposed to violent video games, the more likely they are to have aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. The American Psychological Association doesn't mess around - they consider violent video games a risk factor for aggression, with their 2017 Task Force concluding that exposure was linked to increased aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, as well as decreased empathy. You think saying "no" dismisses decades of longitudinal studies showing children who played more violent games early in the school year became more verbally and physically aggressive later? The evidence doesn't care about your denial, man. These games are conditioning kids to normalize violence through repeated exposure.

disagree

Dude, you're flat-out wrong on this one. Scientific data do not support any causal link between exposure to video game violence and school shootings [1]. Societal violent video game consumption has been associated with over an 80% reduction in youth violence in the US during the corresponding period [2]. The real kicker? For a 1% increase in the sale of violent video games, the incidence of crime decreased by 0.03% [1]. A one percent increase in violent games is associated with up to a 0.03% decrease in violent crime [3]. That's not correlation - that's multiple studies showing the opposite of what you're claiming. And Stanford's Brainstorm lab reviewed 82 medical research articles pertaining to any sort of causal link between playing video games and violent behavior. They found none [4]. The APA itself says "Scant evidence has emerged that makes any causal or correlational connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities" [2]. Your "no" just got demolished by actual data, man.