Video games, as we’re all keenly aware, are the work of the devil himself. Murder simulators and hypnotic pornographic smut-fests, the lot of them. The filthmongers who produce them are awful men who only seek to profit off of the downfall of society; Lord knows I’m only interested in games because I’m paid for it. Most of all, I’m worried about the kids. How will these violent and addictive games affect our children? The world needs to stay on top of these things if civilization is going to survive (regardless of whether it’s available for the Wii).
Thankfully, studies have recently been done to examine this looming threat. Have a look at this:
Interviews with psychological professionals, child-development experts and family therapists yielded conflicting views about the effects of home video games. While many said they were troubled about some aspects of the games and the potential for children’s overinvolvement, the consensus was that there is no evidence that the games are harmful, especially if use is monitored and controlled by parents.
Okay, well, that’s encouraging, I guess. What about this one?
It’s clear that the “big fears” bandied about in the press—that violent video games make children significantly more violent in the real world; that they will engage in the illegal, immoral, sexist and violent acts they see in some of these games—are not supported by the current research, at least in such a simplistic form. That should make sense to anyone who thinks about it. After all, millions of children and adults play these games, yet the world has not been reduced to chaos and anarchy.
Well, thank goodness someone finally did some research on the topic so we can finally start looking at this issue rationally. Video games have been around for ages, but it’s only recently that we’ve started getting some experts to deliver their opinions.
By “recently,” of course, I mean “Have you been living under a freaking rock?” The latter excerpt, you see, is from Grand Theft Childhood, a book released earlier this year by a psychologist and a public health researcher. The former excerpt is from Video Games: Diversion or a Danger?, an article published in the New York Times over twenty-five years ago. The article examines parents’ concerns about game systems in an age dominated by the Atari, Colecovision, and Intellivision. Nobody had coined the terms “Murder Simulator” or “Pixelante,” and the phrase “Grand Theft Auto” only referred to stealing a car. In the last two-and-a-half decades, video games have been through five generations of home consoles. They have suffered a debilitating crash, and a subsequent rise to rival the movie industry. With more market sectors, genres, developers, and related media than anyone in 1983 might have imagined, video games have evolved and changed by immeasurable leaps. So, why are our fears and criticisms exactly the same?
This is not a rhetorical question. I genuinely want to know the answer to this. Even in 1983, video games and home computers had been around for a while, but even if we pretend video games had just been invented, an entire generation has now come of age who are familiar with gaming… and we’ve had 25 years to wait for the apocalyse to come about thanks to the perilous pixels. Pro tip: It hasn’t yet. Can someone please explain to me why we’re still having the exact same argument, only louder? It’s as if we took the brain of a reactionary, cryogenically froze it, and hooked it up to a loudspeaker. It’s unable to learn, but it won’t shut up.
It’s embarassingly easy to draw parallels between video game controversy and the outrages over rap music, comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, rock ‘n’ roll, and pretty much everything which has at some point promised the irrevocable destruction of our children but failed to deliver. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, or so the saying goes. That saying, mind you, is credited to the philosopher George Santayana, who also said: “Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.” Perhaps this is merely a perpetual cycle we’re stuck in; video games are bad for you, so we should warn others about the danger. How do we know video games are bad for us? Because somebody warned us about the danger.
Honestly, as long as both sides have been at it, you’d think something would have changed. Someone would have something new to say. Grand Theft Childhood is great, in fact, simply because it relies on actual study instead of doom-saying predictions. It looks at what has happened, not what might. You know, like how science works. For, you see, that is how knowledge becomes accepted in a modern, rational, civilized society. When you assert something, the onus is on you to back it up. It is not the job of the rest of the world to prove you wrong. Saying “you can’t disprove it” or “what if it does happen?” is not a valid argument. Check with the creation vs. evolution camps; they’ll tell you it’s a frustrating process. And, clearly, this has been a frustrating debate as well:
”To an extent,” said Dr. Michael Lewis, a child-development researcher, ”we are in the realm of no information. There are no important studies that give us useful information about the effects of these games.”
That excerpt, again, is from the 1983 article. So, okay, it’s been 25 years. Advances in psychology and neurosurgery have been made; hell, we’ve cracked the freaking human genome. We’ve had time to study all kinds of long-term effects. Surely, by now, there’s information, isn’t there? Where is the information, and what does it tell us? Still inconclusive or disputed? That can’t be right! Surely, after half a lifetime of having this discussion, there has got to be some proven link, some incontrovertible silver bullet that will put this thing to rest. Where’s the link? Where is the evidence? Where is the nation of zombie drones and/or sociopathic killers?
Still waiting, huh? Sure. Let me know when you find it. Until then, I will do my damnedest to stay off your lawn. It shouldn’t be hard, I’ll probably be at home getting my Okami on.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The fact that nobody has yet commented on this excellent article is either a damned shame, or a tribute to the fact that you are completely right and everyone who read it was struck dumb with awe.
Perhaps both.
Yes, readers, I’m baiting you. Go ahead, try to disagree with Jesse. Make my day.