Social Learning: Can violent video games cause children to be violent?

Social Learning is a concept that many use to explain the different kinds of effects all types of media have on people on an everyday basis. Many media critics believe that society makes certain life decisions based on the things they hear and see everyday, like the media outlets are conditioning people based on how these companies see fit. One of the most scrutinized aspects of media is violence, especially in video games. Many parents and concerned politicians believe that video games are one of the main causes for violent behavior in teens, but is it really the game causing kids to be violent or is it a combination of bad parenting and a predisposition to violent activity?

Politicians in Fayette, Alabama believe that video games are directly linked to violent teens.
60 Minutes Story
(cbsnews.com)
This is a story about how an 18 year old shot and killed 2 police officers and a dispatcher after being arrested and booked for attempting to steal a car. He managed to surprise the officer while grabbing his gun and then shooting him twice. Another officer heard the shots and went to investigate and then got shot by the teen who then preceded down the hall and killed the dispatcher. The game that supposedly caused this violence spree is none other than Grand Theft Auto, a game which has caused civil unrest ever since the series began in 1997. In this case the teen was gamer who played Grand Theft Auto for hours upon hours everyday. He was quoted when he was finally arrested saying, "Life is like a video game. Everybody’s got to die sometime." Teens saying things like this has caused many anti-violence advocates to bring lawsuits against the game makers and distributors, but none have been successful.

So, do the things members of society learn from this game cause violent streaks in teens? I don't think so. As an owner of 3 games of this series I can say that I have never committed a crime because of what I have experienced in the game. I will agree that the game is very violent but as a parent I feel that you must make sure the teen playing the game is aware that real life is very different from the game world and that real life has very severe consequences for actions like those in the game. If one wants to solely blame video games for violent behavior in teens you must look at all other forms of media. You can't say that any teen that supposedly committed a crime because of Grand Theft Auto hasn't seen a violent crime story on the news. TV and movies also tend to have violent plots that draw a lot of attention from teenage kids. Any one of these things could cause a kid to snap into a violent episode and video games shouldn't have to take all the blame, especially if they don't affect 97% of the gaming population.