Donald Trump links violent video games to mass shootings

Jalen Lopez | @JLwrites

On Saturday, August 3rd, a gunman killed 22 people in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

Hours later another shooter killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio.

With no clear evidence that either event was influenced by video games, Donald Trump stated that violent video games and other media are part of the problem that led to these mass shootings:

We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace.

House Minority Leader Keven McCarthy followed suit and stated that video games "dehumanize individuals".

Video games have become a scapegoat for politicians in the aftermath of atrocities such as these two mass shootings.

A history of false claims

In the 90’s, popular games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Doom were blamed for influencing the shooters involved in the Columbine Highschool massacre.

In a similar fashion, after the shooting in Parkland, Florida last year, Trump made similar claims that violent video games were to blame.

There is no concrete evidence that connects violent media, let alone video games specifically, to violent real-life events.

A review of the evidence

In February a study showed that violent video games do not lead to an increase in violent behaviour compared to individuals who do not play such games.

A Supreme Court case in 2010 established that any exposure to violent video games is comparable to exposure to similar content in other media types, such as cartoons or movies.

Research has shown that there is no correlation between violent media or video games and an increase or likelihood to commit violent actions. We can look at two countries who spend more time and money on video games and still have incredibly low crime rates.

The difference in other countries

Japan is a video game hotbed that hosts major gaming companies such as Nintendo and Sega and has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world. South Korea has a booming Esport competitive scene with professional teams in several different video games and has an incredibly low violent crime rate.

If violent games had any correlation between violent real-life events, other countries throughout the world would have the same trend of violence.

The one difference between these two countries and the United States is the difference in gun control policies.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their relatives.