gamepolitics: Editorial Roundup: If Games Are So Bad, Why Are Today's Kids So Good?

Game Politics (

gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2006-07-02 10:37:00

Entry tags:

brian slupski, congress, editorials, legislation, statistics, violence

Editorial Roundup: If Games Are So Bad, Why Are Today's Kids So Good?

For today's editorial roundup we find Brian Slupski (left) of the Northwest Herald (Illinois) wondering why video games have become a cultural whipping boy.

Slupski writes:

"It has become fairly routine in this country to decry the state of this nation's youth... I thought about this again in the wake of recent congressional hearings... on video-game violence."

"In case you missed it, video games have surpassed rap music as the leading bogeyman out to suck the innocence out of America's youth. The theory goes that kids will play violent video games and become violent..."

"Surely, if violent video games are a dangerous influence... there should be some indications of that. Juvenile violent crimes, particularly homicide, should be getting worse..."

"From 1994 to 2003, violent crimes by juveniles dropped 32 percent... Murder committed by juveniles declined by 68 percent... the number of juvenile arrests in 2003 was the lowest since 1987. Even more good news, the number of juveniles murdered in 2003 was at its lowest since 1984. Hmm."

"Maybe juveniles are too busy playing video games to go outside and kill each other... the current generation of youth deserves praise. Instead, we hear about how today's youth are so easily manipulated that if they play a game, they somehow will be transformed into drooling sociopaths."

"We often tend to think that the times we live in are uniquely bad, while nostalgically thinking that yesteryear was uniquely good. Neither is true. As for today's youth... I applaud them. They seem like pretty good kids."

GP: We note that our pal Duke Ferris at Game Revolution offered a much more detailed version of the same argument in this well-regarded piece from July, 2005.

Want to talk about it? You can discuss this story via the "comments" feature (click below), or in the new GamePolitics Forums...

(61 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	udx 2006-07-02 03:15 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah. It seems nowadays, people focus too much on the negatives and too little on the positives that it results in increased paranoia. (Reply to this) (Thread)

traiklin
2006-07-02 05:50 pm UTC (link)

Well it doesn't make for good ratings or readership.

When you hear about how many people died in Iraq you take notice, when you hear about them helping to build communitys no one bats an eye.

You hear about 20 youths coming together to help their neighborhood and make it a better place, might get coverage on page 20 of the local paper, but you have one youth kill another and that's front page material across the state.

It is rather sad that good news takes a backseat to bad news, but it's what get's people watching/reading and in the end that's all they care about.

It would be nice to see more posotive story's about people getting it on GP but those are very few and far between.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	grimm24 2006-07-02 03:28 pm UTC (link)
	Good point, although it was already well known. However, there are still those damn Emo kids that we still have to get rid of :p (Reply to this)

	typhoid 2006-07-02 03:33 pm UTC (link)
	Even if it's not a new argument, it bears repeating. A lot, and from as many sources as possible. (Reply to this)

Maybe?

trenthowell
2006-07-02 03:57 pm UTC (link)

Maybe its the past generation(our current politicians) are trying to make our generation look bad by making us seem like the violent, unruly type when it was their generation that was the violent ones. Hmmmm, makes you wonder. That and fishing for votes.

Even the FBI charts say that violent crime in youths has declined and at its lowest point in 40 years i believe and get this the drops seemed to have happaned at the release of the playstation and the GTA games(coincidence, i think not.). Everytime one comes out, crime seems to decrease in youths, not increase as the politiicians make it out to be

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Maybe? dreamshade 2006-07-02 09:49 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, because the Woodstock generation was such the epitome of good manners... (Reply to this) (Parent)

bigman_k
2006-07-02 03:59 pm UTC (link)

This guy is spot on. But going off on a tangent here i personally feel that there seems to be an extremely anti-youth setiment today and that anyone under 18 is being infantized rather then being treated like the adults in training that they really are. If your under 18 it's like you have no mind of your own and can't think for yourself and violent video games are going to turn you into a killer or physiopath. It's also starting to happen to young adults (ages 18 to 24) to, they are being treated in the media more like children then adults. I remember during Katrina they had a thing about missing children and there were like 19 and 20 year olds they were talking about. Also while your considered under the law an adult at 18 and can vote at that age you can't drink till your 21 in the states. Anyways i getting off topic so i'll stop my tangent here. These are just my personal feelings.
Yet again nice editorial and absolutly true.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

ss_ebonclaw
2006-07-02 04:43 pm UTC (link)

The reason for this, I believe, is because of an always-aging, technophobic generation. In the past 20 years, the way of the world has changed so vastly from how it was, with computers and the internet opening up global lines of uncensored communication that goes so far beyond what the parents of yesteryear were taught.

The elder generation, for the first time in centuries, since the dark ages really, is facing a global revolution where information and knowledge supersedes the bigotry and dogma that has reigned supreme. And the ones leading this charge, is the young generation. The ones who aren't limited only to the draconian measures parents and schools teach, who can see beyond the range of just the local neighborhood, or local county. Who can see what's going on clear around the world, in real time, instead of what the local news media decides to print.

Information is power, and the control of information is the control of the future. But, the ones in power today, are losing that power to the new generation. They are losing control of information, and in turn, control of the world. It is only a matter of time and biology, until the Nintendo generation grows up and takes over. Until the blind old fogies in the senate, in the government, are all overthrown, by people who lived with technology and with open eyes and who aren't in a position to control the information, but to ensure its survival.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	pahsons 2006-07-02 04:02 pm UTC (link)
	When I played River City Ransom, I took over my junior high. Seriously, are there studies done in other countries that can link video games to violence? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	xlorep_darkhelm 2006-07-02 07:55 pm UTC (link)
	There are no studies anywhere that provide a causal link between video games and violence. Only a correlation that violent people have been found to play violent games. That's it. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

And Jack's big logical fallacy... -

boffo97, 2006-07-03 11:06 am UTC

Re: And Jack's big logical fallacy... -

pahsons, 2006-07-03 02:08 pm UTC

Re: And Jack's big logical fallacy... -

gamepolitics, 2006-07-03 03:02 pm UTC

Re: And Jack's big logical fallacy... -

gamepolitics, 2006-07-03 03:03 pm UTC

Re: And Jack's big logical fallacy... -

xlorep_darkhelm, 2006-07-03 04:06 pm UTC

	*joins in* terminator44 2006-07-02 08:56 pm UTC (link)
	When I played Halo, I saved Earth from extraterristral religous fanatics. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

*follows suit* -

kittenseffy, 2006-07-03 01:29 am UTC

Re: *follows suit* -

muhammed, 2006-07-03 08:03 pm UTC

*joins in as well* -

curiousthompson, 2006-07-03 01:37 am UTC

Re: *joins in* -

gatz111085, 2006-07-03 02:21 am UTC

Re: *joins in* -

terminator44, 2006-07-03 03:37 am UTC

	razor5 2006-07-02 04:40 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, repeated argument, but this hasn't been spouted in the mainstream media very much. We should make certain that people know about this, maybe forward the article to a few national newspapers or something, like the NYT or the WaPo. It'd probably be stuck in the spam pile but hey, let's keep trying to get people to pay attention to the facts instead of the paranoia. (Reply to this)

thefremen
2006-07-02 06:31 pm UTC (link)

This is the sort of article that if he was still able to comment here, Jack Thompson would never respond to. The facts simply destroy his arguement as well as the arguements of those like him. Meanwhile, the fact is that a boy in Canada turned to extremism and terrorism while at the same time turning away from video games and preaching the same anti-game message we've heard from Jack Thompson and his ilk.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	mane115 2006-07-02 09:08 pm UTC (link)
	really? I've never heard about that. And I read the world news from various online sources. I'd like to read more about this indoctrinated youth. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Huttah! -

dtotheg, 2006-07-02 09:38 pm UTC

(no subject) -

thefremen, 2006-07-02 11:44 pm UTC

brown_wolf
2006-07-02 06:48 pm UTC (link)

Let's face it, while it's now common knowledge, the media and politicians won't stress that fact. Why? Telling people that crime is at a 40-year low doesn't sell as many newspapers as telling people that a blond-haired girl was raped and murdered in the suburbs. Politicians do not get power when things are going well. They get power when there is a real, perceived or imaginary crisis. "We'll keep crime rate low and economic growth high" isn't as enticing as "We need to save you from terrorists, drugs and violent video games".

(Reply to this)

	jargon_john 2006-07-02 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	The problem is not the facts that violent games != violent kids, but the news outlets sensationalizing every juvenile murder or school shooting that occurs. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	terminator44 2006-07-02 08:54 pm UTC (link)
	That, and the harsh school culture where anyone who doesn't sacrifice their originality and identity is singled out and mercilessly ridiculed. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

I find this odd -

braindead1, 2006-07-03 01:04 am UTC

Re: I find this odd -

terminator44, 2006-07-03 02:12 am UTC

Re: I find this odd -

froggersrevenge, 2006-07-04 01:39 am UTC

Re: I find this odd -

terminator44, 2006-07-04 03:40 am UTC

	Long story short. terminator44 2006-07-02 08:18 pm UTC (link)
	Random columnist pwns criminalization of America's youth, wins at life. PS: I'm unable to get to the GameRev story. I click on the link and all I get is "Warning: Smarty error: Unable to read resource". Fix plz. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Long story short. gamepolitics 2006-07-02 08:29 pm UTC (link)
	weird. That link was working this morning when I posted it... (Reply to this) (Parent)

karak
2006-07-02 10:51 pm UTC (link)

Does anyone have hard data showing that youths are still increasing in number as consumers of video games? Wikipedia states the avg gamer age is now 30, but I'd like more detailed info. I'm sure it is, but it would be a significant flaw in the logic if this wasn't actually the case; we'd like hard data to support the arguments with :)

I did however find "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report", describing the violence/murder trends:
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/nr2006/downloads/chapter3.pdf
Among other intersting stuff, this states that the majority of juvenile violence is still gang-related. Maybe JT should be arguing that video games make kids join gangs? LOL

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	gamepolitics 2006-07-02 11:49 pm UTC (link)
	I don't buy that average age of 30 thing at all... the industry likes to put that out but I've never seen the underlying data. I suspect it includes grannies playing Windows Solitaire, and not what you or I would consider "gamers." (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

kajex, 2006-07-03 01:30 am UTC

(no subject) -

sleepchamber, 2006-07-03 05:57 am UTC

(no subject) -

terminator44, 2006-07-03 08:04 pm UTC

dustin1986
2006-07-02 11:19 pm UTC (link)

I'm not sure that I always like this argument. Sure, youth crime is down, but couldn't you argue that it would be even lower if not for those video games? I think it's better to concentrate on wether there is an actual link between a game and a violent crime. I can't think of one claim that seems to have much merit. Jack Thompson seems to find these links all the time, but I think his argument is usually a bit weak. And by weak I mean batshit insane. I don't think that there are any games out there that could be considered a public nuisance and deserve restriction.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

terminator44
2006-07-03 03:43 am UTC (link)

The point is that if video games increased violent behavior, then we would have more violence than we did before the earliest violent video games like Mortal Kombat and Doom (yes I know Death Race 2000 was around before them but I don't consider that game explicitly violent by any stretch of the imagination). That is simply not the case, as the stats overwhemingly show. Of course, it DOES help to show that no causal link between games and violence has been established.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) -

cyn1c42, 2006-07-03 11:44 am UTC

Heres a spin....

scazza
2006-07-03 12:15 am UTC (link)

Heres a spin on it. Maybe violent crimes in youth have dropped because they have indeed been too busy training on those "murder simulators", that they cause the murders and killings when they hit 18, using all their procured knowledge to rampage efficently on the populace....

Ya... okay, maybe not.

However, I must chime in.. Sure violent crime may be down in teens, but I seriously do not think they are "good" by any standard... They are just as mean, and attitude-y (heh) as ever. I have hit the big ole "21" years, and looking at kids of today at my work, they are loud mouthed, evil brats compared to like 10 years ago, at least from my viewpoint.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Heres a spin.... kajex 2006-07-03 01:32 am UTC (link)
	I must agree. Kids may not be bloodthirsty, game-controlled demons, but they can still be little monsters in their own right. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Heres a spin.... -

scazza, 2006-07-03 05:05 am UTC

Re: Heres a spin.... -

terminator44, 2006-07-03 02:16 am UTC

	timbo1138 2006-07-03 01:23 am UTC (link)
	Well said, Mr Slupski, that's about all I can say. It shouldn't be quite so much of a breath of fresh air when someone in the media gets it, but unfortunately it is. Still, at least there are people who get it. (Reply to this)

	FYI unang_bangkay 2006-07-03 09:42 am UTC (link)
	The link to the GR article in the main post leads to a script error. Here's a proper one: http://www.gamerevolution.com/static/index.php?section=feature&sub=violence&page=violence (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: FYI terminator44 2006-07-03 08:08 pm UTC (link)
	Finally! Wait a minute, I've read this article before! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thaddeusrrboyd 2006-07-03 05:07 pm UTC (link)
	While I certainly don't think games cause violence, the "juvenile crime has gone down" statistic is misleading -- because the birth rate has gone down. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	terminator44 2006-07-03 08:15 pm UTC (link)
	And we all know the population is the ONLY factor in crime, right? RIGHT? (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) -

goodrobotus, 2006-07-04 01:57 am UTC

It's nothing new...

goodrobotus
2006-07-04 12:07 am UTC (link)

Your parents went through pretty much the same kind of persecution from an older generation who were scared of change, and incapable of adapting to the new devices of the time, like Record players and Roller Skates. Though, admittedly, studies show we were more violent, and our parents more violent still :)

It's been about 15 years since I was a teenager, but even I can remember the 'Danger' of Gangsta Rap or Thrash Metal, and the little Red Triangle that Channel 4 used to put in the corner of the screen to warn viewers that boobies was about to be perpetrated.

As I've said before, people fear what they don't understand, and a lot of older people don't understand modern media. They saw MP3's, IPods, Handhelds, Gameboys etc coming out in quick succession, it's too fast for them, and they don't realise, because they didn't grow up in the culture, that most of these devices are extensions of older technology. MP3's were around for years as a computer music format before MP3 players came out, and MPG and JPEG files are older still.

Most of you grew up with this, it's second nature to you, but the generations above are having to adapt, and some of the more scared ones will always try to find excuses to go 'back to the old days' where they feel safe.

(Reply to this)

slayemin
2006-07-04 06:23 am UTC (link)

DRUGS cause crime, NOT video games!
Data collected from male arrestees in 1998 in 35 cities showed that the percentage testing positive for any drug ranged from 42.5 percent in Anchorage, Alaska, to 78.7 percent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Female arrestees testing positive ranged from 33.3 percent in Laredo, Texas, to 82.1 percent in New York, New York.[1]

A police officer once told me that he believes 90% of crime is drug related. I couldn't believe it, so I had to ask another officer to confirm that. He agreed, and was bold enough to say that its probably even higher then 90%.
WHY are VIDEO GAMES the scapegoat for crime? People claiming video games have a direct relationship with crime are blowing smoke up everyones ass, and diverting attention from the REAL problems in society.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Good point re: drugs

gamepolitics
2006-07-04 12:27 pm UTC (link)

..although many factors cause crime, drugs are certainly VERY high on the list.

Possible reasons why games are blamed:

- you can't sue the Cali cartel for $600 million but you can sue Sony, Wal-Mart, Take-Two Rockstar, etc.

- it's easier to blame some external factor like games than to actually create a workable national drug policy, reduce the factors like poverty that contribute to the drug trade, ect.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Good point re: drugs -

goodrobotus, 2006-07-04 03:17 pm UTC

Re: Good point re: drugs -

slayemin, 2006-07-05 10:31 am UTC

Re: Good point re: drugs -

goodrobotus, 2006-07-06 12:25 pm UTC

Re: Good point re: drugs -

slayemin, 2006-07-06 07:01 pm UTC

	exodiatfo 2006-07-06 04:08 am UTC (link)
	Today's kids are good you say? It's more then ever from what I see that kids are disrespecting their parents, doing drugs, having sex, cursing in every sentence, committing crimes, the list goes on. (Reply to this)

(61 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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