The February 14 mass shooting that took place at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has stirred up an old debate about video game violence, and the potential it may have to influence real world violence. Previously,President Donald Trump has commentedon how video game violence may be shaping the thoughts of America’s youth, and decided to hold a meeting with top video gaming executives today to address the issue.
The meeting began with Trump showing a montage of video game violence to attendees. This montage can be found on the official White House YouTube channel as an unlisted video, and features scenes from multiple titles in theCall of Dutyseries (including the highly controversial No Russian mission fromModern Warfare 2that simulates a mass shooting), the horror gameDead by Daylight,Wolfenstein,Fallout,Sniper Elite, andThe Evil Within.
Watch the video game violence video that Donald Trump showed at his meeting today right here:
According to a report byRolling Stone, this montage shocked some members of the meeting into silence. Those in attendance representing the gaming industry defended the content seen in the montage by pointing out that the games on display are rated M for Mature, and aren’t meant for children.
Video game executives weren’t the only ones in attendance atTrump’s video game violence meeting. The meeting was also attended by members of The Parents Television Council, who apparently claimed that there is a correlation between video game violence and real life violence. It’s worth pointing out that while studies have found a link between aggression and playing video games, they have been unable to definitively prove a correlation between violent video games and real world violence.
Another argument against the idea that video games play a role in mass shootings in the United States is that many other countries around the world have access to the same video games, yet don’t seem to have nearly as big of a problem with mass shootings. Regardless of what side of the issue one falls on, though, it’s clear that the debate about video games andtheir impact on mental healthis far from over.
