One morning a few
weeks ago, I opened my inbox and found an e-mail from a
man named Matthew Metzo. Like a lot of people who send me
messages, Mr. Metzo is an avid video game player, or, as
he puts it, a gamer. Unlike most of the gamers who
send me messages, however, he didn't write to criticize
something I'd said in the press about the possible negative
impact of certain video games.
Instead, his letter asks me to help "those of us who
are tired of being judged because of something we choose
to do as a hobby." His concern: with all of the negative
attention on video games, the term gamer "is rapidly
becoming derogatory." Although, Mr. Metzo admits he
had not always agreed with the stands I've taken in the
past, I was struck, even touched by his letter. "For
over a year now," he writes near the end, "I've
written letters to newspapers, TV stations, and politicians.
I've either never been answered, or I was insulted by the
reply."
I can see why Mr. Metzo is concerned. Even more than a character
in a Street Fighter video game, video games themselves have
taken it on the chin lately. Bills designed to keep mature
games out of the hands of kids have popped up in state legislatures
all across the country. Last summer's Grand Theft Auto pornography
scandal spurred a nationwide recall of the game and threw
the industry's rating system into crisis. The fallout prompted
Senator Hillary Clinton and others, including myself, to
seek greater oversight and accountability from the mostly
unmonitored industry.
Suddenly, it seems that nearly everyone who cares about
children has something to say about video games. And most
of the time these people don't have many positive things
to say.
As I've said for years, some video games, especially ultraviolent
and killographic games and certain industry practices deserve
some public condemnation. The evidence for a causal link
between violent games and violent behavior is mounting.
And with so much money to be made, some in the industry
often seem to lose sight of their public responsibility
to protect children. As I've said before, however, there
are a lot of very good video games. The term video game
shouldn't be derogatory, and the term "gamer"
shouldn't be a dirty word either.
Criticizing the people who play video games for the irresponsibility
of some in the industry is nothing more than guilt by association.
Millions of people-hardworking, responsible adults and healthy,
happy kids-play good video games.
Censorship and demonization are not the answer. If we antagonize
thoughtful, reasonable people, we'll only make it harder
to reform a flawed industry and protect our kids. We'll
never find "the better way, the more effective way,
to allow both freedom and responsibility to co-exist,"
that Matthew Metzo hopes for in his letter.
But if we make an effort to be MediaWise, to Watch What
Our Kids Watch, we'll realize that gamers are people like
us. Some of them are probably the people we love.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the
MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute
on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org).
His latest book, Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival
Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen,
is a national bestseller.
