"Video games cause violence" is a fairly widely used quote used by media, so-called experts, and parents around the globe; and, to an extent, it is true. Within each fandom of online gaming are bad apples; people who are misogynistic, racist, express radical political views, and more. There are numerous incidents where an individual who is exposed to/participate in online forums encounter these people, and sometimes apply those extreme values in their day-to-day routine. Hate is easily spread to others, but hate can fail to actually interfere with one's personal values. This is where the phenomenon of online gaming forums begins. The easily influenced are the best target for online forums when it comes to online interaction to real-life interaction. Take "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege" for example, a first-person shooter multiplayer game developed by Ubisoft, with tens of thousands of players in the community. The chat feature (text or live) is meant for strategy, much like how soldiers in real life radio each other commands and tactics. Unfortunately, there are thousands of interactions that quickly turn into rage and hate. From simple insults and excessive yelling, to swears, to slurs and bigotry, the words of anyone can be brutal if pushed enough. Oftentimes, there are some who automatically turn to violent behavior when discovering what another teammate is, whether a transgender woman, Arabic, or Buddhist, there is no limit. Sometimes, a domino effect ensues, when one begins to berate another, listeners become participants, and any and all societal norms, personal values, and beliefs are thrown out. This is where problems can arise, when the impressionable become influenced from toxicity from their favorite video game. In rare instances, this can spill into the real world, where prejudice or discrimination against a certain group can occur. These interactions can also be physical; these interactions are what mostly dominate the argument "video games are bad". As someone born in the early 2000's, I am a part of Gen Z, an era where technology was, and still is, very dominate. From big, hefty televisions to the IPhone 14, technology has widened in terms of advancement and accessibility. During middle school, my first exposure to online gaming forums was Minecraft, a very popular sandbox game with millions of users. In these forums and communities, thousands would talk about what ever was new, exciting, or interesting, and these conversations were mostly positive in some ways. There were, however, some interactions that became heated, beginning with two or three people throwing insults to tens and sometimes hundreds of people straight up cyber bullying. As an impressionable child, I was easily influenced into following this trend, and, while I never actually meant or knew what I was saying, I did say some regrettable things. Worst of all, those values became a part of me, even if I had no basis to support them, and this was shown in my behavior (for example, I tended to be colder towards women than men). But, as I grew older, I realized that those "values" were never what I truly believed in, and I made new values that were lined with my beliefs. The strangest thing about online anonymity is the fact that it allows for some ideas that usually wouldn't be allowed to, in fact, be allowed. And when these ideas are spread, they can permeate through people, where it can then be expressed by them, either through online text, or hateful speech.