Violent video games have long been a scapegoat for violent acts in the real world.
But a recent study released by Villanova and Rutgers universities that found that with the increase of violent video game sales, the number of real-world violent crimes tend to drop.
This is not necessarily a new discovery, as a study from Texas A&M University from 2010 came to the same conclusion.
Neither study argues that video games reduce crime–correlation does not mean causation–but they both argue that video games do not increase violence.
After the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, the shooters” history of playing games such as Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D was blamed for the massacre.
Additionally, Vice President Joe Biden went on the record claiming that violent video games influenced the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, going so far to propose a tax on all violent video games.
In 2011, the U. S. Supreme Court voted that video games are considered free speech and protected by the first amendment, with a 7-2 vote. Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer were the dissenting votes.
Free speech cannot be taxed.
It is worth noting that the final report on the Sandy Hook shooting found no connection between video game and the shooting, despite the shooter having multiple violent and non-violent video games in the basement.
The shooter was also described as playing games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Super Mario Bros. a majority of the time in the final report.
Would video game have been blamed if the shooter was caught smashing bugs instead of shooting up the elementary school considering all the virtual turtles he had smashed with a hammer in Super Mario Bros.?
Granted, violent games may have some slight influence on a person committing real-world violence, there is more wrong with the perpetrators of such atrocities than their hobby.
What it boils down to is irresponsible parenting. When it comes to games, many parents don”t pay attention to content or ratings. Any logical parent wouldn”t let their child watch an R-rated movie, so why would you not care if they play an M-rated game?
Beyond that, anything in excess is unhealthy. So limiting time spent playing games is naturally the right thing to do, just as you wouldn”t want your child watching hours upon hours of television.
The use of media as a scapegoat is nothing new. Video games being blamed for violence is no different than rock ”n” roll music being blamed for corrupting the youth of the ”50s. Until parents can take responsibility for their own children, this trend will continue. Video games will eventually get over the hurdle, as other forms of media have – but whatever comes next will experience the same adversity.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
