Violence in video games is the same as fantasy violence in any other media like television or the movies. It has extremely little to with contributing to actual violence in the real world. If video games were responsible for triggering violent acts, then our species would’ve experienced a massive kill off in our population during the 1980s, when video games first became widely available.
After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012, plenty of blame went around as to what set off Adam Lanza, including the violent video games he played, such as Call of Duty. Many studies have shown that video games do not inspire violence. One three-year study of 165 Latino Americans showed that playing video games was not a sign that a kid was going to commit gun violence.
Why Are You Thinking For Someone Else?
Saying that video games, movies or music is responsible for a person’s decision to commit a violent act is like saying that a person – even a child – has absolutely no ability to think for themselves. Children might be famous for imitating what they see but they’re just not that stupid. You’re really insulting the innate intelligence of children by thinking that you know what is going on in their heads.
Children under the age of 7 can have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality, suggests a 2012 study of 80 children done at Tel Aviv University. But the vast majority of gun violence in America is committed by people older than 7 years old, when they are able to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Case In Point: Me
If I was an avid video game player, I’d be insulted that I would be thought of as someone who could not distinguish fantasy from reality. Even little children have no problem distinguishing fantasy from reality. We all learn very quickly that what behavior is approved in one area of life is not acceptable in others.
If video games were responsible for violence, then everyone who ever played a video game would’ve been long jailed by now. And I’d be one of them. Go on and Google my name if you don’t believe me. I’ve never been convicted of any violent acts, whether they had to do with violence to people, animals, zombies or space invaders. Yet, I was an avid arcade video game player in the 1980s.
The Real Reasons For Violence
The controversy over violence in video games is taking much needed resources and brainpower away from the real core causes of a person’s decision to commit a violent crime. Rememebr that study of 165 youths playing video games I talked about in the second paragraph? The researchers listed other precursors of violence:
- · poverty
- · witnessing violence in the family
- · peer influence
- · depression or no hope of ever finding a point in life
- ·.
Trying to solve these problems does not give any short term, quickly measurable results. Politicians, however, need short-term solutions because they want to be seen as those who can get things done. This is why very specific things like video games are targeted as a menace to society. It’s easy to get rid of video games and proclaim, “Mission accomplished!”, but it’s not so easy to get rid of poverty, drug addiction or domestic violence.
Additional Resources
Reducing Gun Violence in America. Daniel W. Webster, et al. Johns Hopkins University Press: 2013.
The Christian Science Monitor. “Stop blaming video games for America’s gun violence.” Kristian M. S. Bezio. Feb. 12, 2013. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0212/Stop-blaming-video-games-for-America-s-gun-violence
