Rockstar Made Me Do It!

There’s a quick blurb at 1UP.com from yesterday relating a short report on an upcoming collection of studies devoted to videogames and violence in kids.  The statistics, the studies, and the general consensus have never really added up on this topic.  With Grand Theft Auto IV coming out next month (in the middle of an election year, no less), I’m waiting for this issue to find itself shoved front and center, again — especially with Clinton clinging to life in her campaign.  Near the end of the short article is this quote from the book author, Dr. Cheryl K. Olson:

“One reassuring thing we found is that most children who play GTA don’t see the characters as role models, and don’t see the game as like real life,” she said. “In fact, the ‘unreality’ is one thing they like about the series. They can test boundaries.” (para 5)

Despite fears otherwise, at the very least the statistics surrounding this issue have never really added up.  Below is a data table for violent firearm related deaths among 15-19 year olds from 1970 to 2004 from the Child Trends Databank (I found the linke through the US Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention).

I’m not a genius, or especially slick with statistics, but the downward trend over the last 10 to 15 years is unmistakable.  By comparison (VGChartz.com), the PS2 has sold approximately 47 million units in the US alone over last decade, too.  If there is a direct causal link between gaming and violence, then one would expect that these two notions would correlate more closely, that crime and violent deaths would increase as gaming became more and more popular.  Yet, the correlation doesn’t exist. 

Part of the problem is that good statistical studies require extended data gathering over long periods of study and observation, and extremely little work of this type has been done since this debate was intiated with Mortal Kombat. One of Olson’s criticisms mentioned in the article is that the environment for some of the older studies had kids playing games that weren’t of their choice.  The gameplaying atmosphere was artificially created, therefore skewing any results. 

Videogames are an inherently emotional experience for gamers.  I’ve thrown my fair share of controllers across the room in frustration, I’ve jumped for joy the first time I finished a videogame (Kid Icarus, FYI), and I watched enraptured with the mix of political intrigue and conspiracy theory that makes up the narrative arc of the Metal Gear Solid series.  But, then again, pretty much anything is an emotional experience in the right context. 

• Note: For a little extra reading, check out some of Henry Jenkins’s links on the subject (relevant links are toward the bottom of the page under the heading “Columbine and Beyond”).  Jack Thompson is the most high profile figure leading the argument against violence in games (though, he’s not always the best informed).