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Breaking The Cycle: Do video games lead to real-life violence?
FOX 26 Reporter Abigail Dye looks into the question that's been asked for decades.
HOUSTON - Do violent video games lead to real-world youth violence? It’s been a question experts, parents and politicians have stewed over since video games were born in the late 1950’s.
It’s a theory Roman "Titansl" Rodriguez hasn’t seen play out.
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"Never in my life have I felt that video games made me feel violent or have violent thoughts," he said.
Rodriguez is a full-time gamer and streamer. He began his competitive gameplay nearly a decade ago, as a teen.
The Pew Research Center says 85% of teens game and Forbes says Twitch (the streaming site Titansl uses) has more than 140 million users per month.
"There's a lot of money in this, literally millions at this point. It’s like a sport," he said.
He makes a living – and a happy one – from his PC.
"Through starting streaming, I learned a lot of practical skills. Lighting, cameras, I built my computer," he said. "I started streaming because I love video games."
Dr. Steven M Nelson, Instructional Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Houston, seems to think that love for video games – could even be playing a role in decreasing violence.
"The one thing we absolutely know is correlated with crime is having a lot of young men with nothing to do," he said. "We have noticed a big downturn in violence during the period of which the videos have become really common in the 1990s."
But, Dr. Nelson says to follow science. He has a background in criminology, so he’s thought about the question often: Do violent video games lead to real-world youth violence?
"We have been interested in this question for a long time, lots of people have investigated it and come up with basically nothing," he said.
He says the science just isn’t there.
"There’s very little evidence that violent video games cause violent behavior," he said.
Many studies have linked video games, namely violent ones, to aggression in the past. Like this American Psychological Association study from 2010.
The abstract says, "The evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive effects and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior."
Studies like this one (The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents 2004) and this one (Society for Research & Child Development 2016) echo a similar rhetoric.
But, Dr. Sarah Hays, Doctor of Psychology and Licensed Mental Health Councilor, says the data we have on the aggression link isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
"There are some very strange ways of measuring aggression that are not scientifically founded that people have used," she said.
Dr. Hays has worked in the intersection of games and mental health for over ten years. In that time, she published, researched, advocated and provided therapy on this specific topic. She agrees with Dr. Nelson and says that violent video games have no correlation to real-world violence.
"The prevailing research shows that, at most, frustration can be the result of playing violent video games, sometimes. But there’s no direct link between anger and violence among youth and video games," she said.
In 2015, The APA issued a resolution (which they revised and stood by in 2020) that essentially thwarted their prior stance and research on this subject. The resolution reads, "Attributing violence to violent video gaming is not scientifically sound and draws attention away from other factors."
Dr. Hays even argues that video games evoke positive behaviors in kids.
"I consider that games can be tools for all kinds of things; friendship, connection, learning, communication," she said.
In 2022, the National Institute of Health put out this press release saying gaming could improve cognitive performance, and that their research didn’t show a link to aggression.
Something Rodriguez, or Titansl, says he’s seen play out in his own life. He says talking to his community through streaming has given him great speaking and communication skills.
"I open up to people," he said.
He says he talks about a wide range of topics with his community. From making corny (and yes, raunchy) jokes – to having deep, meaningful conversations.
"We talk about how our days go. How we’re doing mentally… I’m a big advocate for mental health," he said. "The kind of community you build, it really goes to show the kind of person you are."
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Of course, experts (and Titansl) say too much of anything can be bad.
"Of course, just like anything else, games can be used in excess," said Dr. Hays. "Parental regulation and moderation of game choices are part of that picture," she said.
"It can be super fun playing video games 24/7. But, it could affect you if you already deal with depression and anxiety," said Rodriguez.
Dr. Hays says the best thing parents can do is engage with their children and video games. She suggests that parents grab a controller.
"Get involved in playing the games with the kids – ask them about the game, she said, "The biggest question a parent can ask their child is ‘what do you like about this game?’
If the experts say the science doesn’t add up… And that violent video games don’t cause real-world violence… Then why is it still a common perception?
You’ve seen it in the media. Politicians and parents blame video games for violence – even linking them to acts of mass violence. Like when former Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick linked violent video games to the 2019 El Paso mass shooting.
"I think we cast around for things to blame," said Dr. Nelson.
Dr. Hays calls the concept "Moral Panic".
"This is a concept that goes back to every new popular form of entertainment. Comic books, Dungeons and Dragons, a concept we call ‘moral panic’. It leads back to a fear of ‘how is this going to impact our society?," she said.
"It’s really easy from the outside looking in to judge things and come to these conclusions when you don’t have any experience in the field," said Rodriguez.
He says it's just another reason for parents to pick up a controller.
"If they understand it, then they can help their kids," said Rodriguez.
Dr. Hays holds a bi-weekly family-friendly stream that everyone is welcome to join where parents and kids can learn about the gaming space. \