In America teenagers committed thousands of homicides last year and many believe these are due to video game violence. This paper clearly explains why video games do not cause any type of actual violence. My argument is based on three main points. All video games produced in America today are required to have a rating system. No proof exists that there is any relation to video games and violence, and a large number of Americans play video games today.
All video games today have an ESRB rating system. This system involves a board that views the specified game and rates it on a scale. The scale ranges from "E" meaning for everyone to "M" meaning only suitable for mature or adult players. This system makes it very clear to any parent of a young child the content of the game. It also makes it clear for an older player who may be buying the game without parental supervision.
A typical retail display (in Geneva, Switzerland) ...
English: ESRB "Everyone" rating symbol, displayed ...
English: ESRB "Teen" rating symbol, displayed on t...This system puts the blame of a violent game squarely on the shoulders of the parents of the adolescents who are playing the game.
The second important reason is that there is absolutely no proof that violent video games influence actual violence. A common misconception is that it has been proven video games influence violence but this is untrue. For example numerous video games that involve firearms do not actually teach the user how to properly load or fire the weapon used in the game. Video game violence involves pushing a button and moving a control pad rather than pulling an actual trigger or aiming a weapon. It is also well known that video games are not the first to be considered at fault for other people's problems because before they were invented music and television took much of the blame.