Are video games to blame for mass shootings?

In the wake of three major mass shootings, violent video games are now being blamed as a possible contributing factor.

In a 2018 study done by Oxford University on video games and the possibility of a link to violence, no correlation was made.

News Channel 3’s Caitlin Thropay met with a local professional who deals with patients addicted to video games.

“The notion that violent video games directly result in mass shootings well the data is simply not there. However, what it does show is the dehumanization and basically turning humans into objects,” Terry Gatewood, CEO and Clinical Director of Blue Tiger Recovery told News Channel 3.

Gatewood believes addiction to video games is not the cause of these massacres.

“One of the things with violent video games especially with young men is generating a huge dopamine rush and release a award that you get from hunting,” he said.

Gatewood says that dopamine rush can intensify.

“How much more intense can it get? Does it go from being a person in a military platoon or on that mission kind of having that sense of heroism to a level of being able to totally disconnect?” he added.

But does disconnecting from society turn someone into a killer?

“It’s whatever turns people into killers. Whatever that is, whether it’s video games, whether it’s mental illness, the fact of the matter is that we are organic individuals and somethings can do it but it just seems to beg the question we’ve got to make sure whatever that is that they don’t have an assault riffle available,” he said.

There are many ideas around what could be to blame for these tragic events.

President Trump weighed his thoughts in saying, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

2020 Presidential Candidate Senator Corey Booker recently shared his thoughts. “I wouldn’t use the tired tropes that I heard before that somehow video games are making our kids do this kind of stuff. Other nations have video games, other nations have mental health, other nations have all of the same issues as us. What makes us different is we are the one country- the only country that comes close is Yemen where there’s a war right now- where we have such ease of access to guns,” Booker said.

One local video gamer stands firm that it’s not violent video games to blame.

“I grew up playing video games, violent video games even and I really don’t think it affects me or makes me more angry I feel like it makes me less angry,” Christina Holdiness said.

Gatewood also told News Channel 3 that everything is good in moderation, even video games. If you or someone you know seems to have trouble disconnecting from video games and it’s causing them to miss school or work obligations or even family obligations then they may have an addiction.

If you have any questions please contact Blue Tiger Recovery at (760)-534-3487.

There are also some good resources for mental health here and video game addiction here.