Violent Videogames Do Not Cause Violent Behavior

Who is to blame? First the blame was put on music, then soon after television was given the blame, and now in our time today it seems the violence in video games are taking the blame for encouraging violent behavior. But before we start passing the baton to violence in video games for the cause of violent behavior, ask yourself, is violence in video games really the cause of violent behavior, or are we just passing the blame like it if where a game a tag? Violence in video games should not be blamed for violent behavior because video games act as stress reliever, there are other forms of media which have their share of violence, parents who fail at raising their children and even despite these reasons, and studies have been proven to show there is no link between violence and video games. People play video games for a variety of reasons, some play video games for the sheer of fun their game has to offer, others play for the competition in their games whether it be a local game tournament or online against others, to some it is a pastime or hobby, and one of the most common reasons found among gamers is that it is a good stress reliever. In fact, I myself as a gamer benefit from stress relief from video games. Especially now as I finish another school term is ending and I being bomb barbed by papers and finals. In order to ensure I don’t crash and burn from such stressful events, I load up my favorite zombie killing game Resident Evil 5 on my PlayStation 3 and play for a good hour to calm my nerves. Of course, some might argue that I’m just one person and that my personal experience is not enough to prove such a ridiculous claim. However, various researches have been done to prove video games, especially violent ones, do relieve stress. One study in particular would be, “The Hitman Study” by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson of Texas A&M International University. “The Hitman Study” was conducted by Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson an assistant professor of clinical