Blaming gaming

A lot of things have been blamed for corrupting the youth. It used to be that heavy metal made kids misbehave and dress weird. Then violent movies were believed to be the cause of so much violence among teenagers and young adults. Then it was rap music and after that Marylin Manson. These days, the cross-hairs are lining up on video games more and more.

Opportunistic individuals like Florida attorney Jack Thompson continue to perpetuate the myth that video games are one of the main causes for violent events such as the Columbine shootings and the recent university shootings in Illinois. There is no evidence to suggest that playing video games will turn you into a murderer. Yet, people will jump to this conclusion based on this flawed logic.

It's very irresponsible for Jack Thompson to continue to say the things he does and it's ridiculous that media outlets take people like him seriously. I cringe when people who are otherwise level headed thinkers will accept this argument simply because some idiot with a supposed sense of authority is saying it.

The fact is playing Wii, Xbox, or Playstation games is not going to cause people to take a gun and go on a shooting spree. Even if you limit the argument to just violent games, the conclusions do not add up. Thousands of people get online every day to frag the crap out of their friends on Halo 3 and Call of Duty. If what Jack Thompson is saying was true, there would be numerous incidents of violent crime happening everyday all committed by gamers. But look! That's not true.

Scientific studies conclude that playing violent games does indeed increase aggressiveness in players afterwards. But there is evidence that this will lead to violence. It's the same thing as listening to Metallica at high volume or watching Saw II, Fight Club, and 30 Days of Night in one sitting. Yeah, you feel excited afterwards and your adrenaline pumps up. But you're not going to go put a bullet in someone.

News reports tell people that the killers from Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University were avid gamers who spent hours playing Call of Duty and other first-person shooters. Yeah, and so do thousand of other college kids! I mean, why mention that background info without any sort of context? It's irresponsible. If playing Resident Evil 4 makes you load up a shotgun and plan to aim it randomly into your classroom tomorrow, then you obviously have some deeper issues underlying your actions.

But it's like I mentioned before. Video games are the new scapegoat. There's currently no call to ban violent movies or to ban heavy metal but there is one to ban violent video games. It's a stupid move that isn't really solving anything and is standing in the way of having a real discussion of why this sort of violence occurs at a higher rate in the US than in any other country in the world. Well, at least Thompson is being held accountable for his behavior.

Additional reading:
Off Target: Games Leading to Violence
Fox News Headline - Video Gamers Leave Baby to Die
After Shootings, Illinois Campus Prepares to Mourn Victims