Differentiating Video Games from Real Life

This article was originally posted on www.ButtonMasher.tv

It's no lie that violence is rising in the United States. The causes generally always differ. Bad economy, pressure, or a bunch of other plausible causes. Well, no matter what these acts of violence are caused by, the media seems to always lead them back to video games. If, say, a troubled kid goes into his high school and starts shooting, then the media always blames the incident on the latest violent video that is out. Doom got a bad rap in the media because of Columbine. Well, as much as the media says that video games are the cause, I've never seen them take into account the constant bullying in school. You'd think that over the years, constant bullying would cause a lonely kid to think a lot. Video Games might have been involved, but in most of these cases, the shooters have cases of drug problems (anti-depressants) or mental issues from the increasing rate of bullying. You mean to tell me that video games are a stronger motivator than mental issues? I find that very hard to believe. I've played my fair share of violent games, and the thought has never crossed my mind to do something so bold. Also, I'm willing to bet that the people who make these claims (Jack Thompson mainly) have never spent time talking to people with mental issues, or spent time to play violent video games.

Jack Thompson on CNN

Now, I'm no physic, but why don't we stop worrying about making bogus claims towards video game publishers and developers, and start worrying about lowering bullying rates in schools? Bullying is an extremely angering thing. I've seen kids get bullied, and you can see the anger in their eyes. You can see that they're contemplating what to do next. Take it from a gamer, you don't go and play a violent game and decide that you want to go and kill people. The media needs to get it right.