Do violent video games actually make people more violent?

Over the past few decades, the people behind several different mass shootings -- including Newtown, Columbine, and the 2011 attacks that led to 77 deaths in Norway -- were found to be regular players of violent video games. This has led many commentators (and the NRA) to blame violent games for real-life violence. Virtually shooting others on a daily basis, they say, desensitizes people to violence and makes them more aggressive. Therefore, video games can push some people over the edge, turning virtual gunshots into the deaths of real people.

It's an intuitive idea. But is it true? The short answer: we don't really know.