Violent video games are the favorite scapegoat for all  problems ailing the modern world but have little to do with actual, real-life murder.

Before taking down a conception the media seems to have about video games, I love video games, but tend to shy away from any game with guns, knives, blood, sexual content or massive amounts of testosterone.

Perhaps my bleeding heart approach to ethics makes it so impossible for me to play violent video games, but really I just suck at them. 

I can’t imagine how a video game could lead to mass murder. 

Trying to kill someone with a video game is harder than someone may think. Chucking a disc at someone isn’t going to do too much damage. And throwing an old Nintendo cartridge won’t cause anything more than a small bruise followed by a brief moment of nostalgia.

That doesn’t stop the media from blaming video games when a mass shooting happens. 

Here are some of America’s little mistakes spouting nonsense for an attentive and misinformed nation.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is currently co-hosting my favorite dystopian morning show – Fox and Friends. She questioned if there was a link between a certain age group and violent actions.

“Are more people susceptible to playing video games?” Hasselbeck said. 

Hasselbeck is probably just a curious observer, asking questions to firmly grasp the mysteries of the world around her. However, later in the same program, she suggested there be a massive database compiled for those wanting to buy a video game. It is safer to say Hasselbeck is a misinformed neophyte when it comes to video games.

A study conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found there is no correlation between the amount of video games consumed and gun related deaths in the world.

South Korea and the Netherlands outspend the U.S. by more than double on guns, yet their gun related crime does not even scratch ours.

Despite the media having a clear anti-video game bias, it is not simply a matter of them not educating themselves on a not-so-complicated issue. Honestly, it’s not a matter of misinformation; it is a matter of good old fashioned ageism.

The older generation has hated on the newer generation ever since the time of Aristotle. 

Older people do not understand video games, much in the way they didn’t understand jazz music, comic books, rock’n’roll and the movies of Steven Segal. Most of these were blamed for an uptick in violence and scapegoated as the cause of all society’s ails.

In the end, only violent video games are blamed, which seems a little unfair. I’ve clocked countless hours into Angry Birds, and you’ll never meet a fellow who’s more pro-pig. 

I spent a good chunk of my Saturday watching my friends play through “Grand Theft Auto V” and rather enjoyed it. In it’s first week, the game’s profits are already in the billions. I can safely say, after watching the game for hours, I am no better equipped to fire a gun or steal a car, and I Oughta Know.