Video games are once again in the media spotlight after some members of Congress are suggesting that video games are to blame for violence in the United States. The latest comments come from Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, which he made to MSNBC. He said that he believes games are more dangerous than guns, he doesn’t think the government will do anything with games because of the First Amendment. You can see his comments in the video below.
As someone who has spent 22 of my 24 years of existence with a controller in my hand, these comments are nothing new. The video game community has had to deal with comments like this since Mortal Kombat, Carmeggedon, DOOM, etc. The Columbine shooting was blamed on video games, as was the Virginia Tech shooting, and now this most recent one in Newtown, CT feels much the same. There has been research done to see if video games cause violence, and the more reputable experiments have shown video game players experience an increase in aggression while playing games. But researchers believe that this is due to the competitive nature of the game, not the violence.
As video game players, what are we to do? The first is to let people know that not all video games focus around violence. One of my favorite games of 2012, Kerbal Space Program, is a game based around exploring a solar system with space ships you design. The game is more educational than anything.
The second would be to point out the fact that the violent games are not meant for children. Still to this day there is a belief that video games are made for children, which is not true at all anymore. The average age of a video game player today is 30 years old. These are people who have jobs, careers, families, a mortgage for crying out loud! That is who the violent video games are designed for.
When I was younger, my mother would purchase violent games for me when I was under the age of 17. She felt that I was mature enough to handle games like Grand Theft Auto. But she would also sit me down and make sure that I knew the difference between the game and real life. This is what politicians should be talking about. Instead of trying to censor works of fiction, they should be telling parents to watch what they purchase for their kids. With ESRB ratings, there should be zero confusion on the type of content is in a game.
All of this will eventually end. In the 1950’s, comic books were to blame when bad things happened. In the 1960’s and 70’s, it was rock and roll. Video games are the rock and roll of the 2000’s. Video games are in the mainstream, and they are new. People are weary of new trends, especially when they don’t understand why they are popular.
In the meantime, as a video game player, you have the obligation of informing the people who are against video games. They need to be educated that video games are not “murder simulators,” but are a source of entertainment, just like the new Bond movie we watched last fall.
