Violence and Video Games (again)

August 28, 2006 on 8:05 am | In General Gaming, Playstyles, Reporting, Industry

A guildmate of mine dug up last year's Game Revolution article about the corrolation, or lack thereof, between youth violence and video games. I'm reminded of the recent discussion over at Lum's place about the conventional wisdom of addiction and video games. And, of course, various states around the country pushing agendas that purportedly protect our youth from themselves.

The hysteria is reaching epidemic proportions, but I wonder if it can be stopped at all.

Every generation seems to get their scapegoat for their perceived ills. There seems to be a connection between a generation that once defined changes becoming comfortable with the new world they created and not liking when the next generation comes along to change things again.

Whether it's the evil of Books, Music, TV, Movies or Games, media has always been a favorite target. Add in the rise in sensationalist reporting from the late 90s onward, and how so many people believe Global Warming is for real when there's so little evidence to prove it's anything more than a planet that's constantly changing per natural course.

The more globalized our media outlets become, the easier it is to spread whatever message the vocal/political want to spread. Give it another year and probably as many people will believe in the corrolation between violence and video games as those who believe in Global Warming.

Maybe it's because the pro-videogames-are-bad movement makes for better soundbytes, more entertainment, more reader-/viewership. Free Speech is a business too. Or maybe it's just due to the above: those in charge are in charge because they defined the rules.

This would be all academic if not for the problem: Sensationalism that becomes conventional wisdom can become policy.

I am not sure if it because our system actually does work, or because we've just been lucky, that a lot of the attempted policies against video games have been overturned. They've all been overturned for the right reasons, but always at what feels like the last minute. So much time is spent trying to get laws on the books that the objective folks who could prevent such time wasting by pointing out obvious legal issues beforehand are ignored in the hype of politicians looking like they're trying to solve a "problem". Of course, in politics, it seems that trying to solve a "problem" is more important than actually solving it.

All of the information is out there. The objective information doesn't get the face time though.

For how long will we continue this cycle?