If 2018 has taught us anything, it is that the debate on gun control is alive and well, and rightfully so on both sides. However, I believe these conversations and actions are going in the wrong direction, especially regarding the seemingly endless debate about video games.
Sure, let's not hold ourselves and our leaders accountable, but video games. So if I go home to play the newly-released "Sea of Thieves" tonight, that automatically makes me a pirate that steals and uses a sword? No. What about Fortnite or Call of Duty or Fallout? No. Why? Because most of the gamers I know, and speaking from personal gaming experience, none of us would hurt a fly let alone think of causing violence in a school or anywhere. Sure, we may get angry at life, personally or professionally, but video games reduce stress. After all, you haven't played The Sims right if you haven't removed a ladder from a pool to get rid of your extra sims in your household.
You may be wondering where the argument came from regarding video game controversies and violence. Incidents in the U.S. really came to the surface connecting violence and video games in the 1990s. Two school shootings, the Westside Middle School massacre and the Columbine High School shooting, came to the attention of researchers regarding video game usage and if it connected to violence. However, contrary to rumors, the student shooters at Columbine were gamers, but there was no connection to their plans. The only connection from Westside Middle School was that the students played first-person shooter games. However, what researchers should know is to not take these isolated cases and generalize them. That's stretching generalizability too far thin.
The debate resurfaced especially after Sandy Hook and the misidentification of the suspect. Media reports originally misidentified the shooter, Adam Lanza, for his brother who was fond of games including Mass Effect which is a science fiction based third-person shooter game. However, once it was realized it was Adam Lanza instead of his brother Ryan, they took the narrative back. Adam was more involved with games including Dance Dance Revolution and Super Mario Brothers, both of those games are nonviolent in nature in comparison.
For me, video games were always a source of fun, enjoyment, and time to relax from school and life. As a soon-to-be college graduate, I still play my Xbox after a long day of work, school, and leadership activities. I have no shame in throwing a wrestler through a table in WWE 2k18 or crashing cars in Grand Theft Auto. Why? Because I know that I would never do any of that in real life.
With these cases and from personal experience, the case is valid. However, video games, like television and music, are a form of media. Like with technology and television, it's up to the parents as to what they want their child exposed to at least in their household. Kids are going to ask questions about current events and what is happening in the world. They are curious. I'm not a parent, but I remember being a kid and having questions when the Chardon High School shooting and Sandy Hook shootings happened even though I was a teenager at the time.
What we need to really be doing is holding our policymakers, law enforcement, and lobbying organizations accountable, We need to take a step back and look at how these weapons were obtained, their motives, and actually processing everything. We live in a time where social media makes us retweet an article that could possibly be considered fake news instead of holding out for the truth.
It's our responsibility to create change in our neighborhoods. This debate is not a black and white issue. Both sides of the debate must come together to realize that this should be an issue of keeping our children safe at schools. Some kids may have a rough home life and see school as an escape. We should not have young children scared to go to school because of all the school shootings that they have been exposed to or have been through personally. You send your child to preschool, high school, college, etc. and you expect them to be safe. I don't see where we fell from that. My point: do something. Do something to make kids feel safe again in schools. Stop putting the blame on video games. Stop putting the blame on video games or something else and hold yourselves accountable. We must do better.
