This stuff has been going on for a LONG time, but the media is just much more pervasive than it was before so we hear about every little thing that, in the past, we would never have known about.
Remember in the early 80s when everyone was trying to say that playing Dungeons and Dragons caused kids to kill people? Ever hear of Lizzy Borden? That happened in the 1800's. Charles Manson? Hell, Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear and mailed it to his girlfriend. That's pretty twisted.
This crap's been going on forever, it's just being hyped by the media more. Video games, music, role playing games, etc, have nothing to do with it. I'll admit that lack of parenting is probably escalating it, but that has nothing to do with games/movies/etc; bad parenting has ALWAYS been linked to bad children.
You can't say, "Playing video games makes people violent!" just like you can't say, "Listening to heavy metal music makes people violent!" There's just no link there.
CW