Unfettered Blather

Social issues and games can be a real chicken-or-the-egg scenario. Do games influence social issues or do social issues influence games? Did violent video games push the Columbine kids over the edge or were the games acting as an outlet for the duo until they could carry out their master plan? What are the role of games in influencing our kids in terms of sexual or violent behavior?

I think a better question is, who cares?

I’m not trying to downplay that video games could be influencers of behavior, but society will always set the ultimate standards for acceptable behavior. If I steal a car in a game I know that behavior is not only unacceptable but also illegal. Aside from having the stigma of being a thief I also could face penalties such as fines or jail time. It will carry with it a black mark on my person that will haunt me for the rest of my life. “You stole a car once?” is not going to win me a lot of influence in the right circles. It is certainly not something I want to come up in conversation as I try and ascend a corporate ladder.

I know this because I’m an adult. Critics of video games say that youths are not fully imparted with a sense of cause and effect for their actions and that they may try to emulate behavior without fully considering the consequences. I think this is a fair argument except that it overlooks one fatal flaw, the games that typically depict the worst acts are not rated for younger players anyway. I know it’s hard to believe, but a lot of video games are made, marketed, and sold to adults. Whacky, isn’t it?

If there is a social issue we need to tackle it is the preconceived notion that video gaming is essentially a hobby for minors. We know this isn’t true, gamers know it isn’t true, and the game industry know it isn’t true. The only people who don’t seem to know this are lobbyists, anti-gaming advocates, and the politicians making the law. According to societal standards, the concept of who video games are for is badly out of date. What society often perceives and what is actually happening are two very different things.

The other aspect to this is general hypersensitivity to everything. We’ve let a few isolated incidents color American views on violence and sex. Janet Jackson lets a nipple slip and suddenly we’re sensitive to sex. Some kids shoot up a school and suddenly we’re scared of toy guns. We never look at the underlying problems and often respond to the most superficial of incidents. The nipple slip I could explain to my children, but the cheerleaders ripping off their clothes that had slinky dancer outfits on underneath at the same show were a lot harder to explain. The entire half-time show that year was utter trash and embarrassing, yet the outrage is over something relatively minor. Thus is how the American public reacts these days. “Hey, the faux-strip routine was ok, but the nipple slip was just too much!” Yes, I am dragging this out. My point is that becoming hypersensitive doesn’t really fix anything, it just ends up putting restrictions on our activities without addressing the real problems. Assuming there is a problem in the first place.

My question is not how do games like Grand Theft Auto influence the views of young males towards women, but rather why are you letting them play the game in the first place? I know parenting is a tough job, but people don’t complain about renting R-Rated films and then being surprised that they contain content unsuitable for their 12 year old. If they do complain that person is considered a flaming idiot.

I fully expect art to imitate life and vice versa. If an adult emulates Grand Theft Auto we call him disturbed and unbalanced. If a kid does it we blame Rockstar for making games unsuitable for kids. We’re placing an impossible double standard on gaming. The public says you can make games, but be sensitive to social issues. I say keep your social issues out of my games and quit ignoring bad parenting.

Disclosure: I myself am a parent, so I am not unaware of the problems of raising kids, games, friends with games, and all the other arguments.

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