Recently on ExplicitGamer.com, ShadowOfTheStatue has posted an article about the corruption of the innocent by videos games according to “experts.” As with most of the “experts,” they believe that video games are the cause of violence and crime amongst teenagers and young adults. The article hits the nail on the head in the violence vs video games debate. Below is an excerpt from the article, however we recommend reading the full thing:

Just on the off chance that any anti-video game folk find their way to this article, here are a few home truths that you can consider next time you decide to campaign against a little bit of 18+ gaming.

1. Movies find their way into the hands of children as easy, if not more so, than video games. There are many movies and TV shows out there that are readily available for younger audiences at any time. These days, anything can be found online, and there are no age restrictions on who watches a movie on the internet. Violent movies are even shown on TV sometimes, again with no age restriction.

2. It’s a known fact that teenagers will look up to and attempt to copy their heroes and idols. These people are more often than not music, movie, or sports stars that are in the public eye every single day. Its no secret to anyone that many are also from gangs, on drugs, and are constantly seen falling out of nightclubs half-naked, unable to stand. Good example to be setting? I think not. It’s not very often that a kid idolizes a game character, and to be quite honest, if he does he’s not going to be breaking laws anytime soon.

3. Games tend to keep us OFF the streets. People who play games enough to have even the slightest chance of being corrupted don’t go out enough to cause any trouble. They’re usually safe and sound at home, concentrating on their K/D ratio or building a pretty level on Little Big Planet. If you believe that there is anyone out there who shoots someone on a game and gets to urge to go out and do it for real then you probably haven’t played many games. Don’t speculate on something you’ve never been a part of before. If somebody commits a terrible crime and it turns out that they were a fan of video games that does NOT mean that the game is responsible. Studies have shown that only children that have already been exposed to great levels of violence are affected by violent games. This means that even if a violent child plays games, his aggression was most likely brought on by something earlier in his or her life. Plus, if a child is even in the frame of mind that copying a game is a good idea then surely that says more about the environment they are living in, rather than the games they are playing.

4. Games are all age rated judging on how much violence, sexual content, swearing or other adultery is featured within it. The same can be said about any other piece of media. Consoles also have parent locks, to prevent their kids playing adult games without their parents knowledge or consent. It can be argued that some shops will sell underage people things that they shouldn’t, but surely the blame then lies with the company or shop keeper who sold it? The same can be said about parents who buy their kids adult rated games. If you think they will corrupt your child, DON’T BUY THEM IT.

 

We would highly recommend that you check out this article by clicking here