Violent video games cause mass shootings
| Violent video games cause mass shootings | |
|---|---|
| UNSUPPORTED | |
| "Playing violent video games causes young people to commit real-world violence, including mass shootings and school shootings." | |
| Domain | Crime & Public Safety |
| Tactic | Statistical & Evidentiary Distortion False Context |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 1990s |
| Origin | Statements by politicians, commentators and some researchers after school shootings beginning with the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, whose perpetrators played violent games |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-27 |
| Further reading: books on Crime & Public Safety | |
The claim that violent video games cause mass shootings is raised after many high-profile shootings. Politicians from both major parties have blamed games, and some research has found that playing violent games is associated with small, short-term increases in aggressive thoughts or behavior in laboratory settings. But researchers have not found evidence linking violent video games to mass shootings or serious real-world violence. Video game sales have risen enormously while youth violence has declined, and countries with high rates of gaming, such as Japan and South Korea, have very low rates of gun violence. In 2020 the American Psychological Association said that attributing violence to video games is not scientifically sound.
The claim
After shootings, officials have suggested that games desensitize players to violence or train them to kill. In 2011 the US Supreme Court considered a California law restricting sales of violent games to minors.
What the evidence shows
- Aggression vs. violence. Laboratory studies measure aggression through tasks such as giving a loud noise blast to an opponent. A 2015 American Psychological Association task force found that violent game use was linked to small increases in aggression, but found insufficient evidence linking games to criminal violence. Some researchers, such as Christopher Ferguson, argue even the aggression findings are overstated.
- APA resolution. In 2020 the APA updated its resolution to state that there is insufficient scientific evidence to support a causal link between violent video games and violent behavior, and warned against attributing mass shootings to gaming.
- Shooter studies. A 2002 study of school attackers by the US Secret Service and Department of Education found that only about one in eight showed interest in violent video games, a lower share than showed interest in violence in other media or in their own writings.
- Supreme Court. In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011), the Supreme Court struck down California's law, finding that the state had not shown a compelling link between violent games and harm to minors.
- Trends. Youth violent crime fell substantially in the United States from the 1990s to the 2010s, while video game sales grew.
Why it persists
Video games are a visible part of young people's lives, and many perpetrators played them, as do most young men. Blaming games offers a simple explanation and can deflect attention from contested issues such as gun access and mental health services.
Lessons for readers
- A behavior common among nearly all young people cannot explain rare events.
- Lab measures of aggression are not the same as real-world violence.
- Consider whether trends over time match a proposed cause.
- International comparisons can test causal claims.
- Moral panics about new media have occurred with comics, television and music.
See also
- Superpredators would cause a juvenile crime wave
- Digital natives learn differently
- Satanic ritual abuse at the McMartin Preschool
Sources
- American Psychological Association, "APA Resolution on Violent Video Games" (revised 2020).
- Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 564 U.S. 786 (2011).
- Bryan Vossekuil et al., The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative, US Secret Service and US Department of Education (2002).
- Christopher J. Ferguson, "Do Angry Birds Make for Angry Children? A Meta-Analysis of Video Game Influences on Children's and Adolescents' Aggression, Mental Health, Prosocial Behavior, and Academic Performance," Perspectives on Psychological Science 10, no. 5 (2015).