Written by: Bikarsha Ojha - 2022005, Grade X
Posted on: 14 October, 2020
This question can have two different reasons with equal facts of their own. But after certain years beginning from 2017, there has been some hot debate within the media that mass violence and bad social activities happening around the world is supposedly by “playing games.”
With due respect, I don't want to offend anyone here. I respect everybody's reason for games and how it affects one’s mind. Basically, it began in 2012 when a Mass Kindergarten shooting by a man named Adam Lanza, who killed himself during the rampage in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The connection link joins when Adam had stolen his brother, Ryan Lanza’s ID Card where he was supposedly arrested. After interrogations and information, it was revealed that he was addicted to “Mass Effect” (Basically a game which had guns which were lasers and existed in outer space). This as we know, got real widespread real quick. Media had later admitted the error of blaming the game for this “shooting activity”, but the bad news flew faster than the speed of light and caused a massive genocide in many social media platforms (which is pretty funny if you read the comments). Similarly, in many cases such as in the UK around 2016 when rickets was wide-spreading, apparently people playing games don't get enough sunlight (which is stupid to think that we are brainless people and never get out of our rooms) that causes rickets. Well, that had a different genocide in the UK with politicians demanding the same fact many times. The peak was in the whole 1990s when politicians had so many debates on just video games. Even a pixel game is known as “Death Race” (Google it, it's just white pixels and shooting with no graphic images) with real “gruesome”. When Mortal Kombat came out, respected Democratic Senator of the US, Joe Lieberman said,” We’re talking about video games that glorify violence and teach children to enjoy inflicting the most gruesome form of cruelty imaginable”. Let's take for example the USA, the place which is very famous for school shootings and violence. As the game's sales have gone up, crimes have gone down dramatically. Other examples can be taken from Japan which is one big gaming consumer, there are 96% fewer homicides than in the US on average. Other examples can be taken from an analysis from The U.S Secret Service and The U.S department of education in 2004, that people who later are known for their violent nature, 12% people used to play games and narrows if we talk about violent games. Facts are backed up by professionals by “Patrick Markey” A Psychological and Brain Sciences having a Ph.D. degree has statements relating “video games not causing violence”. As recently from the U.S, in 2018 during the Parkland School shooting, President Trump scapegoated video games for the main cause. Political Research and Studies show video games are just an excuse to “blame” and distract away from other main problems such as Educational and Employment Disparity or not counseling on mental illnesses and stigmas which cause such problems. Proving the fact all flimsy researches are just a “waste of time”,
As bold as the statements it may be which I have presented above, blaming video games with no actual evidence is just a waste of time. This is highly unethical for blaming something and linking something so unbelievable is highly unreal. The topic for its research and the wrong information made this topic from a flimsy discussion to a political debate.
