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My unscientific hypothesis is that video games are a bigger influence than movies as they put the player into the action and the player becomes an active participant. I don't think they have a negative impact on everybody who plays them, but I definitely believe that they could have a major impact on somebody with an underlying mental health issue.

I dabbled in first person shooters in junior high and high school and payed a lot of them in college and the few years after college. I was never at risk, but when you spend a lot of your free time playing them, my experience is that they do influence the way you see the world. When playing Grand Theft Auto for long periods of time, I might be driving around town and notice people leaving themselves susceptible to a car-jacking. When playing a lot of Counter Strike, I'd automatically notice the sniper lines of sight when I entered an office or college building. I wasn't thinking anything more than "This would make a cool custom map for the game."

I can see how somebody with a mental health issue could be absorbed into that world and lose the separation of reality and fantasy. There's also probably a reverse cause-and-effect situation. As stated, violent video games may negatively influence somebody with a mental health disorder. In addition, though, people with social or mental issues may be naturally drawn to the escape of reality provided by first person shooters or role playing games. In his manifesto, Elliot Rodger (the Santa Barbara shooter) admittedly wasted several years playing World of Warcraft obsessively. He had many other psychological problems, and my unprofessional opinion is that the video games weren't a driver for his behavior.