Stop Blaming the Content : A Rant

Is video game violence really the root of our children's problems? Will more laws really be what protects our kids? We hear it all the time...

“Videogame violence is the root of all that’s evil! Video games are ruining the hearts and minds of our children!”

“Games depicting violence should be outlawed!”

“Burn them! Burn them all!”

Are you kidding me? Is this the 1950s? Is Elvis somewhere gyrating his controller and wildly offending the blue hairs’ fragile and dated sensibilities?

Let me back up, do the background thing.

There’s this trend going around the country’s state legislatures concerning video games. They’re seeking to regulate the sale of video games. And by regulate, I mean controlled by law. That’s the part that bothers me. The “law” bit.

For instance, this month Oklahoma state representative Fred Morgan, via the House Health and Human Services committee, asked for a study on video game violence with possible laws awaiting the outcome. According to the Associated Press, Morgan believes video game violence is a problem “that needs to be addressed.”

Seems many states think video games should be regulated, equating games to pornography and smoking. One guy in California, the Founder of Common Sense Media, said, “Studies prove that playing these violent video games are bad for kids’ mental and physical health. The health threat involved with kids playing such games is equivalent to smoking cigarettes.”

What studies? And what health threat? Is he seriously equating playing a video game to a lifetime of smoking cigarettes? Video games are going to give kids emphysema, lung cancer?

How can he honestly stand in front of the public and say something that irresponsible?

I’m so tired of people stating their opinion as fact and the media reporting it without context. If a guy says that about video games, it’s the media’s job to do the research.

Do the statistics support his claims? If not, don’t give him the headline. Don’t just feed his words straight to the unsuspecting masses.

Yes, I blame the media… for being irresponsible and lazy.

All this got stirred up by the Grand Theft Auto series of video games. Basically, you play gangsta or career criminal. You get to free-roam a virtual city and can do basically whatever you want -- Shoot people, steal cars, pick up prostitutes, anything unlawful. The game is rated M, meaning only people 17 years and older may purchase it.

Personally, it was fun for a whole five minutes, then I just kind of lost interest.

I can understand why parents wouldn’t want their children getting hold of one of these games. I wouldn’t let my children anywhere near one of these games, at least not until I thought they had the cognitive abilities and emotional maturity to handle it.

There’s a mechanism already in place to help parents determine whether or not their child is mature enough to play a particular video game.

Just like the film and recording industries, the game industry has adopted a ratings system. The ESRB – Electronic Software Ratings Board – provides warning labels to inform parents about a game’s content.

In fact, the ESRB has an entire ad campaign designed to educate parents about their ratings system. You can check it out at http://www.esrb.org/. Click on the big yellow “OK to Play” logo at the top right of the page.

The ratings function just like they do for movies. A 12-year-old kid usually can’t walk into a movie theatre and buy a ticket for a rated R movie. Well, that same kid is also going to have trouble going into a store and buying a rated M video game.

We need a law to make this work?

Parents, the tools are there for you. Use them. Don’t get lazy on us and ask for a state law.

I’d say by the time a kid is three or four, he or she should know it’s not okay to hit someone else. The child should be aware violence is not an acceptable response.

Parents, grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, teachers… anyone older than a child should reinforce certain societal values and traits.

Kids should and mostly do know better.

I talked with a psychologist who told me children can separate reality from fiction at about nine or ten years of age. Well, “pre-teen” is what he said. At that age, they know what’s on TV isn’t real, what’s in a video game isn’t real. Video games are easier; they’re basically just moving cartoons.

If children know it isn’t real, then what do these violent videogames teach kids? Studies have proven IQs are increasing and that children who play more video games are showing enhanced problem solving capabilities. I’ve seen stories on the BBC and in USA Today reporting this, but apparently legislators just ignore information that doesn’t support their agenda.

I see this as a generation gap. My generation doesn’t get agitated about videogames. Why would we? We see them all the time. I’ve played video games pretty much my whole life. I’m 32 years old and had an Atari 2600, one of the first home videogame systems. I am the first generation of Americans to grow up in a videogame world and I still play video games. That’s what my generation does.

I’m a Halo 2 junkie. Halo 2 is a videogame for the Microsoft Xbox. It’s rated “M” for Mature, meaning it’s suitable for those 17 years and older. Basically, it’s a sci-fi game where you assume the role of a futuristic soldier and save the world from the alien menace.

I get online with anywhere between three and 16 friends a night, probably four or five nights a week, and shoot the crap out of people. It’s a good time. A social experience.

We talk, joke around, and, oh yeah, play the game. I refer to Tuesdays as “Bowling Night,” because my friends and I treat it like we’re in a bowling league. We meet up online at an assigned time, play for a couple of hours, then resume our lives.

None of us has ever gone out and robbed a convenience store or roughed up the neighbors after a particularly intense evening of gaming. I’m also fairly certain kids who play these kinds of games don’t go out and cause trouble because of the game.

Isolated incidents… Sure. Epidemic? Hardly. And I guarantee in those “incidents,” you’ll find an unsupervised or already troubled kid.

Here’s the reality: video games are not causing kids to become more violent. In fact, violence among teens is at an all-time low, at least according to Bureau of Justice Statistics, which might suggest a cathartic effect. Violent crime rates are at their lowest ever. Homicide rates are the lowest they’ve been in 40 years.

According to the Bureau, “The proportion of serious violent crimes committed by juveniles has generally declined since 1993.” And by “generally declined,” they mean that “the number of serious violent offenses committed by persons ages 12 to 17 declined 69 percent from 1993 to 2004.” (If perchance, you want to see this handy little chart for yourself, go to: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/offage.htm)

Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but that time frame is smack dab in the middle of the video game revolution.

So where then, is the “epidemic of violence?”

Where’s the proof?

While working on my master’s degree and studying mass media effects, I read studies on the influence of violent television. If I’m remembering correctly, violent television did influence violent behavior in children. For about 45 minutes. The effects were limited, ephemeral. Kids properly socialized and “normal” did not continue to exhibit signs of violent behavior. There was no proof of long-term effects. And, again, the statistics provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics doesn’t support the notion of long-term effects.

Okay, so then what about desensitization? Maybe. But then again… we’ve all grown up watching violent television and violent movies. Do you feel desensitized to violence in real life?

I don’t. Seeing real life violence turns my stomach. I have no desire to witness it, much less inflict any.

I’m not condoning letting your young kids play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I think that’s a bad idea. But it’s your call as a parent. Not mine. And sure as hell not the state legislature’s.

We don’t need a law for this. If they regulate this, what’s next? A law for movies? A law for books? We already have to deal with short-sighted groups banning books from elementary school libraries.

It’s an easy step from video games to other forms of media or entertainment in general.

Land of the free?

We need people to step up and be responsible for their actions. We need parents to be more concerned with preparing their children for the big bad world than pursuing legislation that absolves them of responsibility.

And most of all, we need people to stop over-reacting. Video game violence is an epidemic? The statistics don’t prove it.

Don’t believe the hype. Don’t condone this type of lawmaking. And above all else, please, please, think for yourself and take steps to be informed.