United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that the National Institutes of Health are looking into a range of issues as it relates to what may contribute to gun violence in the United States. He also cited video games as a possible cause of real-world violence.
“The firearms question is a complex question, and it’s not an easy question,” he said in response to a question from PBS about if the government is looking into mental health when it comes to gun violence.
He called out a variety of factors that could contribute to an uptick in real-world violence, including “dependence on psychiatric drugs,” along with video games and social media. “We are initiating studies now that look at the correlation and the potential connection between over-medicating our kids and this violence.” He did not elaborate on video games, however.
This comes not long after RFK Jr. appeared in a tense Washington hearing in which senators questioned him about his views on vaccines and numerous other claims he has made over the years. Many have called for his resignation, including his own family members, while some CDC staff walked out in protest.
What some studies have already found
For years, people have maintained there is absolutely a connection between violent video games and increases in aggressive behavior. A 2019 study from Tobias Greitemeyer, a Department of Psychology professor a the University of Innsbruck in Austria, suggested that time spent playing violent video games “increases aggression in the player.” The research also suggested that “violent video game play also affects individuals with whom the player is connected.”
Another study found that, “Exposure to violent media, especially violent video games, may cause desensitization to real-life violence.” One further study found that video game violence “should be considered a risk factor for aggression, as in other violent media, as it provides a social reinforcement of aggressive behavior and observational learning of aggressive models.”
A study from Oxford discovered no link between aggressive behavior in teenagers and the amount of time they spent playing violent video games. “Our findings suggest that researcher biases might have influenced previous studies on this topic, and have distorted our understanding of the effects of video games,” co-author Dr Netta Weinstein from Cardiff University said.
This study came after years of published, vetted research that showed there is no connection between violent video games and increase in violent crimes.
What has Trump said about video games?
RFK Jr.’s boss, US president Donald Trump, has previously spoken out about violence in video games.
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” the president said in 2019 following mass shootings in America. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately.”
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which lobbies on behalf of the video game industry and seeks to avoid government regulation, said “numerous scientific studies have established that there is no causal connection between video games and violence.”
This has been a talking point for some time
The debate about violent video games and what effect there may or may not be on real-world violence has been going on for decades. Some may recall how then US Senator Hillary Clinton said in 2005 violent video games are a major problem and studies have shown they are bad for children. She also said violent video games should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco.
“Violent video games increase aggressive behavior as much as lead exposure decreases children’s IQ scores,” Clinton said. “We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco, alcohol, and pornography. We know these products are damaging to children and we ned to give parents the tools to keep them out of kids’ hands.”
RFK Jr. is, or was, invested in video games
In 2024, RFK Jr. revealed that he invested $24,000 into GameStop as a means to show support for retail investors over institutional investors following the 2021 GameStop short-squeeze situation. RFK Jr. said he invested in GameStop after Keith Gill AKA Roaring Kitty resurfaced in May 2024–when GameStop’s shares were trading around $17–and reignited the GameStop stock phenomenon. After Roaring Kitty began posting again, GameStop’s stock price surged, and the stock price remains above $23. We don’t know if RFK Jr. still holds a position in GameStop.
