like Call of Duty: WWII —

“I need morphine” —

Destiny 2

and Battlefield,

are among America's most popular entertainment.

And politicians have been quick to say

that the violence on screen

contributes to violence in real life,

such as mass school shootings.

“Congress should fund research into the effects

that violent video games have on young minds.”

“Violent video games have encouraged the killing

of innocent people for sport.”

“I'm hearing more and more people say

the level of violence on video games

is really shaping young people's thoughts.”

There's just one problem with that.

Back in the 1990s, people were worried

about games like Duke Nukem, Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil.

Over the years, these games have become

more lifelike, with better graphics,

more detail and more violence.

And some of the gunmen who have terrorized schools

have been known to play these kind of games.

The Columbine shooters played the then-controversial game Doom,

even building their own customized levels.

The Virginia Tech gunman played similar video games.

And the neighbor of Nikolas Cruz,

the accused Parkland shooting suspect,

told The Miami Herald that Cruz may have played

violent video games for up to 15 hours a day.

While some studies may have found correlations

between playing violent video games and violent behavior,

they have not been proven to cause actual crime.

Some studies even suggest the opposite.

“We find no evidence of an increase in crime

associated with video games and perhaps a decrease.”

“Unexpectedly,

many of the results were suggestive

of a decrease in violent crime in response to violent video games.

Some psychiatrists warn of the dangers

of focusing solely on video games.

“To look at violent video games,

in my opinion, is a red herring.

It's not going to lead to anything helpful in regards to gun violence.”

The argument has even been rejected by the Supreme Court.

In 2011, it ruled that California cannot ban the sale

of violent video games to children

on the grounds that they cause real world violence.

But the narrative has an appeal.

It's a simple explanation in a debate

that has become increasingly caustic.