This is hardly new information.  However, I’ve personally never seen the data put together quite so graphically as it is in the illustration above. 

As the population rises in the U.S., and as more and more violent video games and violent television shows find their way into the hands of our children, it seems that crime rates (especially violent crimes) keep trending downward. 

Note the source.  That’s the U.S. Department of Justice.  According to their data, you were 5 times more likely to be raped when the most violent video games were Pong or Pac-Man.  You were nearly 2.5 times as likely to find yourself robbed when it was Pitfall Harry jumping over some pixelated crocs was the scariest thing you could play with a joystick.  You were three times as likely to be assaulted when stomping out Millipedes was still popular in the arcades. 

I’m not drawing any major conclusions here except to say that the facts are pretty contradictory to the popular media representations these days.  Once again, it would seem that facts are greater than mere assumptions. 

Imagine that.