Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006
The fact of the matter is that video games are not the cause of an epidemic of violence in youth. In reality, crime rates have gone down drastically. Specifically, youth crime is at the lowest it has ever been. In 1993 studies showed in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs that violent crime peaked at over four million offenses; in 2003 it was less than half. Not to mention that only 8 percent of games are actually rated as M (Mature); 63 percent receive an E (Everyone) rating.
The media portrays people who play video games as dangerous shut-ins on the verge of violent behavior. Why now? Video games have been around for generations. Gaming has become quite popular in the past five years. It is actually becoming a large part of American culture, at the rivalry of mainstream media. People are spending less time watching television when they can interact with games; it is easy to see why they feel threatened.
Politicians have begun taken interest in the debate, the two big names being Hilary Clinton and Jack Thompson trying to pass laws limiting sales. Most of them have been overturned because they infringe upon the First Amendment. Why would politicians try and pass laws that would hurt one of the few industries that is actually making a profit during times of economic recession? The answer is simple; right now it is popular to be against video game violence, and it will give them a few more votes to speak out against it. Parents have been speaking out against violent video games and so to keep their votes they react to it. There isn't anything wrong with that, it is part of political nature.
The Surgeon General of the United States of America did an analysis of the risk factors of youth violence; violent media was categorized as risk factor number 27 with very small effect. It was put underneath factors like academic failure, weak social ties, and poor parent-child relations.
In the past few decades parents have taken a backseat to raising children. They depend on television and the media to bring up their children for them. If parents don't want their kids playing overly violent video games, then they need to pay more attention to their children, what games they are playing, and what games they are buying for them. Take an inactive in the child's life, and actually parent the child.
The media portrays people who play video games as dangerous shut-ins on the verge of violent behavior. Why now? Video games have been around for generations. Gaming has become quite popular in the past five years. It is actually becoming a large part of American culture, at the rivalry of mainstream media. People are spending less time watching television when they can interact with games; it is easy to see why they feel threatened.
Politicians have begun taken interest in the debate, the two big names being Hilary Clinton and Jack Thompson trying to pass laws limiting sales. Most of them have been overturned because they infringe upon the First Amendment. Why would politicians try and pass laws that would hurt one of the few industries that is actually making a profit during times of economic recession? The answer is simple; right now it is popular to be against video game violence, and it will give them a few more votes to speak out against it. Parents have been speaking out against violent video games and so to keep their votes they react to it. There isn't anything wrong with that, it is part of political nature.
The Surgeon General of the United States of America did an analysis of the risk factors of youth violence; violent media was categorized as risk factor number 27 with very small effect. It was put underneath factors like academic failure, weak social ties, and poor parent-child relations.
In the past few decades parents have taken a backseat to raising children. They depend on television and the media to bring up their children for them. If parents don't want their kids playing overly violent video games, then they need to pay more attention to their children, what games they are playing, and what games they are buying for them. Take an inactive in the child's life, and actually parent the child.
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