Many people claim that video games cause violence. 

Blaming video games for violence is like blaming hot wheels for car crashes. You can’t blame make-believe for real-life actions. 

Video games are an escape for many people, and gives them an outlet to release the stress and frustration of the day in a make-believe world with no consequences. Video games are make-belief and if a gamer can’t separate that from reality then the problem isn’t the video game, it is a mental health issue. Most violent people are violent due to something that happened in their life, rather than because they played Call of Duty. 

In addition, not all games are violent. Many popular games, such as Minecraft, Animal Crossing and Rocket League, offer game play without any hint of violence at all.  

The reality is that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows, but video games make it easier to handle the pressure of life by providing a fun, no stress way to spend downtime.  

Those who are opposed to teens playing video games, should play for themselves. They will see, that video games aren’t going to make them violent. If anything, it just might release that stress of life, and improve their mood.