As a teen, I was told that playing Mortal Kombat would turn me into a serial killer. Now, as an adult with kids (one of which is an adult) I'm happy to report that I'm probably one of the most docile people you'll meet.
(Unless someone seriously hurts my family and/or cats.)
I used to have fun with Call of Duty, and I never saw it as "I am a soldier and I must kill these people." Every game needs a theme, and that just happened to be it. I just saw it as a competition of dexterity and strategy. Whether it's soldiers with guns or a yellow circle munching on ghosts, it's all just tapping buttons at the right time.
The reasons I quit playing CoD were because I got sick of buying the same game every year, and as I got older, I couldn't keep up with the kids. During the 12-25 year old range, your reaction time is WAY better than any other time.