The idea of retiring after school to play an online game of Call of Duty is what undoubtedly inspires certain students to get through the day. Over the years people have blamed violence in video games for causing disruptive juvenile violence, ranging from lashing out in class to school shootings.

    The first video game was invented in 1958 called “Tennis for Two”, where two controllers were connected to a computer and then showcased on an oscilloscope. Video games weren’t always defined as “violent”, but as technology changed and Xboxes and PS3s were invented, the demands of the people have also been twisted. Needless to say, throughout our lives we have been taught violence otherwise through television, play, and the people around us. Video games have also been proven to have pleasant, relaxing effects on children who play consistently and in a nonviolent manor.

    In 2008, 298.2 million video games were sold in the US, with six of the top ten including violence. A 2007 study done by the Journal of Adolescent Health reported that 45% of boys played video games because it helped them get their anger out, and 62% played because it helped them relax.

    While sales in video games have nearly quadrupled over the years, juvenile crime rates have fallen. According to the FBI’s official website, the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes has declined 49.3%. “Correlation is not causation” is what most people say when video games are believed to encourage violent acts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the correlation has shown to be negative, demonstrating that violent video games actual decreases the rate of violence.

    For the boys and girls who use violent video games as an anger outlet, arousal and aggression is increased but only for a short amount of time. Violent video games do not produce long term effects and as a result, the rage one may feel from losing a match at night will not transpire to the next school day.

   According to the American Physiological Association, there is some relation between highly aggressive individuals being more affected than the non-aggressive, but that finding does not consistently occur. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if a child has a history of violence; in fact they might display similar reactions to a child with no record of aggression at all. Children are more vulnerable to aggression created by disruptive home situations, such as a divorce, or the development of psychological disorders.

    In a growing age of new technology, the sale of video games will only rise. In the upcoming month, new releases of games such as Mass Effect 3, MLB 12: The Show, and FIFA Street will only prompt more people to invest. No matter what, people of all ages will continue playing video games, whether on their IPhone, computer, or gaming system. Stopping the circulation of violent video games in inevitable, and as those stocks rise, the rate of crime has decreased. Society tends to focus on individual case studies where violent video games have provoked excessive violence, overlooking the effects of psychological disorders. The bigger picture is that the rising sales of violent video games have produced a safer, and less aggressive society.