Video Games Don’t Cause Gun Violence, So Don't Point Fingers

Story by Marcellus Peters-Jackson. Photo from WBUR

DEC. 2, 2019: Video games are thought to cause a lot of violence. This is mostly because of how violent first person shooter games are. But this is only one genre of video games. And gun violence mostly stems from people being allowed to have guns. Many video games have nothing to do with violence.

One of the games that a lot of kids play that has gun violence is Fortnite. Most kids who play the game and talk to each other about the game talk about their “skins,” or how good they are compared to each other. This causes some toxicity between children. But, let’s take the violence from Fortnite for example.

As a student who actually plays the game and plays with others who I know, no fights have actually been caused by this game. More violent games with guns actually only cause violence if someone loses a whole lot, and I mean a whole lot. And most people actually just keep playing to get better.  

Racism also plays a factor. NPR states, “When a minority commits a crime some people assume it’s because they are a minority.”  But when a nice white kid from the suburbs commits these crimes, they look for causes. And they say it’s because of video games.” 

I believe this is just racist people pointing fingers at minorities who don’t have any way to fight back. 

All of the evidence stacked towards video games and violence doesn’t add up. While it may seem like video games are to blame, blaming them allows us to ignore the real problems that lead to violence. It’s time we open the conversation so we can fix the problem once and for all. 

Marcellus Peters-Jackson is a 5th grade scholar at Friendship Woodridge International School.