SOC

1) Mass media and video games aren't the sole cause for violence, However, the sense of normalcy they bring can't be good for young and developing minds. With mass media today, violence is constantly being reported. It's impossible to shield children from violent current events. Violence in video games has always been a thing, but the broadcasting of violence through mass media has not. I believe that the combination of video games and mass media has normalized violence. It is less shocking to hear about a murder or a shooting these days, because you hear about it all the time through social media and using violence as entertainment through video games. 

2) I always giggle at the way Trump attempts to sound very professional during his conversations such as this one. Anyway, I feel that violent video games and violent movies aren't to blame for violence. They might give someone an idea or image as to what a violent act looks like and how its carried out, but they aren't the cause. A correctly formed human mind, a stable human, knows right from wrong. End of story. Even children as young as 3 and 4 know that hurting someone is bad. Hurting someone inflicts pain and causes harm. A stable human should know that a video game or a movie is simply that, its a "game". It's a "movie". It's fake and it's categorized as entertainment. We learn enough and see enough growing up to know that acting out violently will have very negative impacts and consequences. Following the plot of a violent movie or video game wont have different outcomes.

3) I do not believe that video games cause violence in society. As Samuel, the school shooting survivor mentioned, I am a huge fan of video games, as well. Video games are one of my passions in life, and they have helped get me through many hard times. I play many video games, including some violent games, and they allow me to escape from reality whenever I feel overwhelmed. Gaming helps calm me down whenever I am sad, anxious, or depressed, which I feel is the case for most people who play video games. However, I have never once had the slightest thought of acting out any of the behavior I see in the video games I play. As Samuel said, the video game is exactly that: a game. I feel that in these active shooter cases, if it was found that the shooter often played violent video games, it does not mean that the video game is what caused the person to commit such a horrible crime. I believe that there are much more likely causes, for example, an untreated mental illness or psychological disorder. While I agree that it is not healthy for any child to grow up surrounded by violence, I do not believe that witnessing violence in a video game or movie causes someone to want to commit violent crimes in real life