8 Dumb Things Video Games Have Been Accused of Causing

Books, comics, and television—billion dollar industries loved by all, but at one point in time were collectively vilified and feared by parents everywhere.

So it’s no wonder that the more recent addition to the entertainment industry, video games, face scrutiny every day for ostensibly dooming our children’s future and molding them into fat blobs with horrible hygiene.

Video games are designed to take our money, destroy society, and train an entire country of gun toting psychopaths to go on senseless rampages.

These are just a few of the claims to “back up” those theories.

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In 2011 Fox News decided to warn parents about the upcoming game Bulletstorm, a first-person-shooter riddled with f-bombs and a system that gave colorful names for certain types of kills, like "gang bang."

Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist, went on record to say that, "The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games." In a follow-up interview she made sure to clear up any misconceptions by saying that there is proof to her statements, sort of, "I would have to dig into the things I have in hard copy or search the Internet. But rape [pause] there have been sexual crimes and the video games have become more sexual..."

Despite FBI statistics showing that there's actually been a decline in rape since the 1990's, Dr. Lieberman attests that those results aren't really reliable. But take her word for it; a woman who specializes on how to live with bad boys is the true expert.

When video games make the evening news it's usually to connect the latest school-shooting psycho to the newest violent first-person shooter, as was the case in the 2012 Sandy Hook incident.

This event pushed Joe Biden to begin a crusade to regulate video games, with the NRA reminding everyone it's not guns that cause these travesties; it's the entertainment we consume. Yet, in the case of murderer Adam Lanza, it was revealed that of all games he played, it was actually DDR he played the most... not exactly a how-to murder simulator.

Numerous experts have expressed that video games are a healthy pastime for normal people, but Lanza was anything but-he was mentally unstable, and that's what made him the murderer we know him as today. The same can be said for every other school shooter. The million other gamers who play violent titles are not to be associated with those people.

Mass Effect is a series known for its great narrative and relationship building, but Fox News knew that was just a façade, and the game was actually a sex simulator targeted at children and teens.

Cooper Lawrence, a psychiatrist pundit, agreed that the game was aimed at young boys to fulfill their sexual fantasies, giving men complete control over women and setting a precedent for their bad behavior.

Not only does Mass Effect not have full frontal nudity, you also can't "simulate sex" (God of War fills that role instead). Moreover, you can play as a WOMAN in a game that's rated 'M' for mature. As in, the game is not intended for children. After facing scrutiny for her words, Lawrence recanted her claims and blamed Fox for cornering her.

From that day forward, Fox News learned from their mistakes and never said anything phony again.

Steve Pope, a therapist with nothing better to do than stir the pot, went on record stating that spending just TWO hours playing a video game is equal to taking a line of cocaine (I hope you haven't been wasting your money on the real stuff guys!).

When he was asked for data, he said all he has is anecdotal evidence, which is exactly how science works!

UK neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield is the brave woman who made the accusation that playing games online causes temporary brain disconnect, and in some severe instances causes dementia.

When she was criticized by the scientific community, her spokesperson said she was misquoted, whilst refusing to provide any clarification to what Dr. Greenfield actually meant. Not to be outdone by, well, herself, she's also casually made the connection that Internet use is a factor contributing to the increase of autism, and that video games cause ADHD.

Once again she offers no proof, beyond a small blog post she made on her personal website. Nor does she have anything to say when she's shown studies that link video games help ward off memory problems and dementia.

Before video games, society was completely civilized.

The organization known as the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine are more aware of this than anyone after conducting a study that demonstrated how individuals who played Grand Theft Auto were more inclined to have sex without the use of protection.

It had nothing to do with their sample size of just 100... undergraduate... males... aged 18 to 21... who are no longer under their parent's roof... nope, not that.

Everybody knows antisocial behavior goes hand-in-hand with video games; after all, we suffer from decreased empathy and prosocial behavior.

Many so-called experts worry that "the number of hours their children spend gaming is directly related to the decline in the number of hours they spend playing or communicating with real people." Except many recent studies have been published to refute those claims, especially when you take into account the type of community the game industry thrives on.

Not only are consoles designed with families and communication with our friends in mind, there's LAN parties, gaming events like PAX and MLG, and even couples meeting in game lobbies. Loners indeed.

The always reputable UK newspaper, The Mirror, wants its readers to stay informed, which is why last January their front page headlines read, "TV & Computer Craze is giving kids cancer."

This is undeniably a troubling notion, until you read the article and see there's no actual proof within it to back up this allegation. At most it warns against having a sedentary-only lifestyle, which is something doctors advise us about all the time, but even that's not linked to cancer.

The institute that was cited within the article, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, refutes they ever said anything of that magnitude.