[ESSAY] Stop Blame It All On Video Games
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 | 2:21 AM | 0
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The video games phenomenon is nothing new in these past decades. Its popularity as entertainment been started when Atari launched the first gaming console, stole the heart not only kids but also young adults and adults as well. As the technology getting more and more advancement, the video games is also evolving, making it more challenging and exciting. The graphics and sound systems are almost seemed too real especially with 3D computer machines. With the increased number of popularity among gamers, violent games are causing controversy here and there. Parents without knowledge of video games and even some experts are blaming video games as one of the main cause of violence behaviour and aggression in youngsters. But this is just a mere assumption and overly exaggerated reaction given by the media with no solid evidence.
In many cases related with “young man” and “shooting”, we are all can heard the words violent video games almost on all TV’s breaking news. Take an example from Navy Yard attack case back in 2013, which killed 13 people in total including the gunman, Aaron Alexis. But the strange thing here is that among all the worthy details that could possibly obtained from the terrible event happened was the fact that the shooter was almost an obsessive player of violent video games, according to one of his friend, Michael. It’s quite questionable how the media can make such a groundless assumption about what might have caused him to commit mass murder into their headings. The media does mention other possible reasons behind the tragedy, saying that the man was mentally unstable and had been hearing voices from his head, he also complained about the Navy and its racial discrimination during his time as reservist from 2007 until 2011. His father once told the detectives that his son had an anger management problems related to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from the 9/11.
As seen in the above example, the blame that people been dumped on video games is no joke. There’s so many factors in play — mental illness, racial discrimination, 9/11 and access to weapons but those factors are all nothing compared to the fact that the shooter is a hardcore gamer of violent games.Rather than blaming it all on video games as if they’re triggers of his violent action, isn’t it more appropriate to say that the man was supposedly receive mental health treatment and should be banned from owning a gun? I would argue that the “mentally unstable” was the key here, as the majority of gamers I know would try to avoid physical confrontation at all costs. No sane person would try their gaming experience as a shooter into the real-world experience. Just imagining the millions of gamers in this world motivated by their FPS (First Person Shooter) gaming experiences and put them into realization is terrifying. Even the folks in military claim that games don’t teach you how to shoot a real gun, being a gamer doesn’t automatically turn people to be a real marksman.
On the other hand, the case involving a shooting also happened in Clinton, L.A., where an 8-years-old boy killed his 90-years-old caregiver. The media stated that the boy was playing GTA just before the shot happened. The district attorney said the boy didn’t live with his parents but with a relative in order to enroll in East Feliciana Parish School. This prove once again how the media works, they make claims without any concrete reasons to back up their arguments. Logically thinking, the first thing that comes to mind should be “Why did she have a gun? Where was it placed?”, and that should be enough in identifying the motive behind the shooting. Lack of parenting could be the issue here.
Finally, any violent act would still occur with or without the existence of video games. It’s only a matter of media coverage now that spreads the stories quickly, steering people mind into belief that being a gamer is bad. They are someone who uselessly wastes their time in front of the screen, a hidden psycho who is more than capable to pull the trigger whenever they have the chance. Video games don’t kill people, its people who kill people for reasons. Don’t push video games as a scapegoat for every violence behaviour. But instead, let’s open our eyes wider to the people around us because a video games itself can’t be possibly the sole trigger for violent acts, there is bigger chance that psychological factors is at play. Preventing the children from playing video games is almost impossible but at least we can limit their time, pay more attention to what kind of games they like, and even participate happily during our free time by choosing a game that involve a logical thinking or intelligence. It will make them feel appreciated and important. There must be good in every god creature, we just need to take a closer look to cherish it and hold it tight. Stop blaming video games just because you don’t understand it.
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