Video games are often one of the first to be blamed for violent outbursts in today’s society. Most recently, Adam Lanza sparked more video game controversy when he shot and killed 20 children and six adults of Sandy Hook Elementary School, then proceeded to take his own life.

Many people were quick to jump to conclusions and argue that intense video game series, such as Call of Duty, were the reason that Lanza cracked and shot his victims. Adam Lanza is just one of many examples where video games are suspected to be the underlying cause of the crime.

However, a vast portion of Americans play video games and a majority do not act out in extreme ways. So, are video games really to blame?

Recently, Ohio State University conducted studies on the effects that violent video games have on the brain.

In one test, the participants were instructed to play 20 minutes of either a violent game or a not so violent game for three days.

After, playing for the 20 minutes, the participants were asked to predict what a character in a story they were given would do. As the days progressed, the violent video gamers gave more aggressive answers while the other players’ answers remained consistently neutral and passive.

In the second test, researchers noticed that when the violent gamers won, they reacted maniacally, and the nonviolent gamers reacted the same every time they won as when the study began.

Overall, OSU concluded that when people play violent video games they convince themselves that everyone around them is acting in malicious intent. As a result, the gamers may become anxious and respond aggressively.

In addition to being exposed to violence, the players are rewarded for actions such as killing people. By rewarding them for their acts of violence, expert researchers believe that the rewards are encouraging violent behavior and making it acceptable as a result.

Crime officials have noticed that in today’s society people are more willing to carry and use weapons than in past years. These video games are supplying people with confidence in their malevolent acts because of the rewards they are offered in the game as well as the practice that they get just from playing.

Even today, though many tests have been done, there is no real link between video games and violence.

Studies have shown that a person who plays violent videos may act out in violent ways, but it really depends on how often they play. If someone plays casually and not often, the side effects of the games will not last nearly as long as they would for someone who plays often and for long periods at a time.

Nonetheless, video games will always be a controversial topic, especially in cases like Adam Lanza’s where the crime is unexplainable.