Are video games and violence linked?

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Is there a link between violent video games and violent behavior?

The discussion has intensified after the Newtown, Connecticut shootings. The shooter was found to be playing violent video games before the massacre.

However, local experts told News 10 violent games and violent behaviors are not necessarily related.

Zack Johnson, the owner of Ebash in Terre Haute said the problems normally begin with the person and not the game.

"I don't think any of them [shooting incidents] have been the normal typical kid that plays video games and then does the monstrous things. It's usually, there's a long list of other things that are wrong with the kid before the video games are then tied in there." Johnson said.

Meanwhile mental health experts agree, video games within themselves are not necessarily bad. However, they can make a bad situation worse.

"if children are exhibiting behaviors that are negative or violent, you certainly don't want to introduce more violence into their lives," Debbie Hills a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Hamilton Center said.

Hills said it's important to know your child. She said children who begin exhibiting abnormal or violent behavior need to be monitored. At the end of the day, Hills believes parents need to be involved in what their children are doing.  

Both Johnson and Hills also said it's very important to consult the game ratings on the box before you let your child play.