ABSTRACT
Video games have been a normalized function of entertainment since the arrival of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Whether violence within video games has a negative impact or influences behavior, and to what degree, has generated global discussion. It is clear that video games are a definitive part of society and are intertwined into everyday life. The concerns become more pronounced due to a more visible medium being present in society, but are further expressed through the idea of moral panic. In an editorial by John Teti about pinball in the city of New York moral panic struck again in the 1940s. One of the most well-known incidents spurring societal moral panic was the Columbine High School Massacre. Moral panic can cause much harm and dismay when the masses grab onto rhetoric and do not think critically about the claims.
