Violence only seems like it has increased because of glorification through the media. In the year 2000 there were less murders than in 1976, and less of them were from handguns than in 1976 too. It is interesting to note that there were no violent video-games in the late 60s to early 70s to influence that generation of murderers and movies were quite tame compared to now. There was a spike in homicide in the late 80s to mid 90s that is thought to be linked to the "War on Drugs" but homicide rates have been declining to normal levels from 1997 onward. Obviously, neither games, guns, nor movies are the real deciding factor in homicide rates. The biggest jump was between 87-88, which was before "murder simulators" like Doom came out. In fact, by the time Doom became popular enough to largely influence teens by getting widespread release on consoles in 1994-1995, murder rates had already peaked and started into a massive decline afterwards. Homicide rates have actually declined as games became more realistic and violent between 1997 and 2000. These relatively peaceful years saw the release of games such as Soldier of Fortune, Quake 2 & 3, Unreal & UT, Rainbow Six & the Ghost Recon Series, and many many more. If you ignore the media propaganda and the agendas of "outspoken" minority groups and look at only the numbers themselves, it is clear that there is no relation between media and violence whatsoever. There are only scapegoats by parents to explain away their own lack of influence over their kids. Everything else is always to blame. Rock 'n roll in the 50s & 60s. D&D in the 70s & 80s. Heavy Metal in the 80s. Movies, videogames, guns, television, whatever, from the 90s forward. I'm not sure what new media will appear in the future, but you can bet it will be added to the list...
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