Const. Khoa Hoang
Do you remember Nintendo when it was just Nintendo? Long before it ever became super, a cube, or Wii.
Ah, the good old days when strategy, patience and imagination were a part of having fun. No one ever complained back then that Mario didn’t look like a real plumber, or questioned why moving mushrooms and magical flowers had such powerful effects on the human body. Mario was Italian with a thick accent and had a brother named Luigi. Those were the days when video games were just that, video games.
I bet kids today wouldn't even play the games of my days. It's not fast enough, real enough, or violent enough. A recent statistic revealed that more than 72 per cent of all video games made now are classified as violent and players need to be at least eighteen years of age or have parental approval. The industry is targeting its most popular audience, young men. Young impressionable men, many of whom are teenagers and lack the parental structure to prevent exposure to such violence.
The gaming industry has argued that the connections between exposure to violence and real life violence are overblown; that those playing the violent games know it’s a game. Many have told me that it's not video games killing people, it’s people killing people – the National Rifle Association of America would like to thank them for their continued support!
Industry accepted numbers show 90 per cent of gamers are male and 40 per cent are female. The average age of gamers is currently 33 with more than 30 per cent of gamers being under the age of 18. That means, that one third of all people playing video games are young people, 90 per cent of whom are being exposed to a tremendous amount of violence; violence that goes beyond just killing (as if that wasn’t bad enough.)
Characters in video games no longer just disappear when they're killed. Software developers push the envelope by allowing users to become more interactive than ever before. This industry is becoming increasingly violent with fewer limitations. Yet we support them every time we buy violent video games, just like we support drug dealers every time we buy illegal narcotics. There is a supply and demand for violence that is reaching into our schools and communities that will undoubtedly find its way home in the form of domestic violence.
Current games are teaching players to shoot people in the head, stab, saw and mutilate bodies. Victims scream as they are being assaulted, and raping women gives you extra points in Grand Theft Auto, which has reached sales which exceed 100 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful gaming franchises in history.
Every study that I've reviewed associated with developmental psychology points to a clear correlation between exposure to violence and frequency of violent behaviour. It is the primary factor when examining violence in children, and we fail them every single time we allow further desensitization. We are all to blame for trash television, violence in schools, and a young generation that is being described as having the highest levels of narcissism in history.
So, there I was last weekend at Bayshore Mall. In front of me was a boy no older than 14, standing in line with his mother. He was purchasing a video game called Left 4 Dead and came face to face with his greatest opponent, store staff.
The man working at this store looked at the boy’s mother and said: "This game involves extreme violence and is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18. Do you understand and consent to purchasing this game?" She said without hesitation: "Yes, I'll pay for it."
The State of California is the first to fight back, leading the charge against violent video games by attempting to forbid the selling of it to minors, period. There will be more asking if we can trust parents to be parents. Still, I find such government interventions to be a sad reflection on society.
Why can we no longer be trusted to do what is right for the most precious investment of society, our children?