It's common to see violence in the media these days, especially in video games. In today's society, games rated M (for adults) are the most popular due to the excessive amounts of blood, gore, and overall violence. Despite this, does violence in video games have an effect on violence in the real world? Many people say this affects real-world violence; however, some studies on the issue claim the opposite. In recent years, violence in video games has been blamed on violent actions by society. In the media, school shootings are often seen as the result of violent video games. Twelve years ago, a massacre took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the school wearing long black trench coats concealing their weapons. They opened fire on the school, killing 12 students and injuring 24 others (Krotoski). Then they committed suicide. After the massacre, everyone wanted to know why it happened and what their motive was. The media searched for answers and ultimately blamed the game Doom, a bloody first-person shooter. The game was controversial at the time due to the excessive amount of blood. Harris and Klebold were found to be avid players of this game, to the point that they were often called unhealthy obsessions (Krotoski). The media quickly took advantage of this information and began giving answers as to why they did it. In 2004, the FBI, with its team of psychiatrists and psychologists, conducted research into the issue. After reviewing all the evidence collected during the case, the team came to the conclusion that Harris was a psychopath while Kle...... middle of paper ......-198. Internet. April 21, 2011 http://www.grandtheftchildhood.com/GTC/Research_Papers_files/Olson_M-games%20and%20aggression.pdfJenkins, Henry. "Reality Bytes: Eight myths about video games debunked". Impact of gaming. Internet. April 21, 2011. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html “Violent and young video games”. Harvard Letter on Mental Health, October 1, 2010. Gale Student Resources in Context. Internet. April 21, 2011. “Create evil? Defend video games. » The Economist [United States] August 6, 2005: 9US. Gale Student Resources in Context. Internet. April 21, 2011. White, Nancy J., “Virtual Violence Shown to Boost Brain Power.” Toronto Star [CAN] February 5, 2011. Student Research Centre. Web.April 21, 2011. “Could violent video games reduce rather than increase violence? » ScienceDaily. May 15, 2008. the web. May 1, 2011. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm