Forums > News > Youth Crime is down and it's Video Games fault
nullnullnull (1463) on 7/13/2006 3:15 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Filed under, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure", that bastion of journalistic integrity, GameRevolution is speculating that violent crime is down amount young people ( 14-24 ) largely due to video games. While I would very much like to believe their hypothesis I am a little skeptical of the actual causality between games and violence for good or ill. Violent crime is down across the board, across ages and across genders. Most crime unfortunately is committed by the young and so one would see the most precipitous drop in crime among those age groups. There is obviously some macro trend at work. However, I think it is much more complicated that a simple single factor. There are some obvious positive forces in gaming. Child's Play is one that comes immediately to mind. Are video games the midnight basketball of the new century? What do you think?
PCGamer77 (3158) on 7/13/2006 3:50 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Three comments on the linked GR article:
1) It seems a bit dated now, being last updated October 2005
2) I don't think the author actually claims that video games have caused the decline in violence--in fact, he acknowledges that violence and video games have been positively linked in studies, although the relationship appears to be extremely weak.
3) The claim by the author that young people are being treated unfairly seems to ignore the possibility that the "unfair" treatment has been a cause of declining crime rates. Is it really so hard to believe that aggressive anti-crime measures have had the effect of reducing crime?
As for being the new midnight basketball--I wish games great success with the general public, but I hope they do not become the subject of a new federal government-mandated boondoggle. Imagine having your gaming needs met by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Now THAT would be grand theft auto!