.Aggressive behavior. Defiance towards parents. Fights in school. Many people believe a major factor contributing to these hostile confrontations is the use of violent video games. Halo, Assassin’s Creed, and Call of Duty are just a few of the games that have been shunned by countless individuals due to this belief. However, multiple studies have debunked this myth. Violent behavior is not increased by barbaric gaming, as most individuals presume. While this may be tough for those who are against violent video games to hear, the studies don’t lie.

Numerous individuals throughout the world seem to assume the worst of violent games. These inadequately educated men and women place all of the blame on violent gaming. Do they not consider other options that may just as well be the cause, such as violent movies, television shows, and music? For some reason, these categories seem to “pass the test” on having a non violent impact, yet video games do not. Ryan Hall, a psychiatrist at the University of Central Florida, wonders why this is. “I don’t think we have enough science to suggest that playing video games causes violence in children any more than watching violence on TV.” Nonetheless, violent gaming continues to take the brunt of the blame.

Those who believe that playing violent video games leads to violent behavior have several simplistic reasons formed in their minds as to why. “May engage in fights with their peers” and “prone to confrontations with their teachers” are two of the many rationales that people against these games have, states Palo Alto Medical Foundation. However, these incidents have taken place far before violent gaming was introduced to the world. It seems as though excuses as to why violent gaming is a problem just keep piling up, with no logic behind them.

If most people had to guess the genre of video games that lead to violent behavior, their minds would most likely jump to the ones involving blood, guns, and cruelty. Violent games are bound to cause violence, right? Wrong. A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester and the University of Oxford unveils a less commonly considered factor: it is not the cruelty of the game that makes players more aggressive, it’s the extreme difficulty, according to Newscenter. Think about it this way: in sports competitions, bad calls can affect the end result of a game, leading to aggressive outbursts by the players. “When people feel they have no control over the outcome of a game, that leads to aggression,” motivational psychologist Richard Ryan explains. Something as nonviolent as the addicting game Candy Crush can do more harm than a gory scene in Call of Duty, simply because of the difficulty.

There are other factors as to why violent gaming receives such a bad reputation. One example is school shootings. Whenever these horrendous acts take place, people tend to pin part of the blame on threatening video games. Yet, if they were aware of the findings of Villanova Associate Psychology Professor Patrick Markey and his wife, Charlotte Markey, this premature theory would be put to rest. After conducting a study on violent video games, this duo concluded that they do not trigger violence, like many seem to believe. In fact, violent video games and aggression are less associated with one another than people think.

Make that much less. Psychologist Christopher Ferguson orchestrated a long-term U.S. study on this controversial topic, and what he discovered is most likely a huge shock to many: no link whatsoever was found between youth violence and violent video games. The problem is, doubters of this proven discovery tend to conjure up their own assertions, and share them with everyone they know. This leads to false information, and it only multiplies.

There are an innumerable number of factors that play a role in the occurrence of violence, and our world seems to be overflowing with these aspects today.That being said, violent video games are not a component, contrary to widespread belief. Yes, violence in our society is a problem and action needs to be taken to control it, but placing the blame on violent gaming is not going to get us anywhere. Violent gaming? More like violent blaming.