This article came up in a thread about video games on NPF and I thought it was well-written and very interesting: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_142/3052-The-Myth-of-the-Media-Myth

Quote: "Alexander Sliwinski, Contributing Editor at Joystiq.com, attacked the myth at the core of the image problem. "The thing I love people saying is that videogames as a whole are violent. Mature rated titles made up only 6 percent of the rated games in 2007. If there's anything remotely over the top with one or two of those titles, it'll receive 90 percent of mainstream media's videogame attention for the year. Not only that, but many mainstream media stories pick up on games that aren't even rated and are 'outside the industry' like Super Columbine Massacre or JFK: Reloaded. It would be like the film industry being blamed for people making snuff films or amateur bedroom porn."

For David Edison, Associate Editor at GayGamer.net, the "image problem" has affected him personally, as it also affects me. "There's certainly a prevailing antipathy against gaming out there," he told me. "I'm a gay man living in lower Manhattan - in other words, I've got a pretty open-minded support network! And yet I've been rejected on dates for being a gamer, lost the respect of 'mainstream' friends by working in games media and spent more brainpower and tongue-time justifying the participation of adults in the videogames industry than I'm willing to admit. And almost without exception, those non-gamers who do accept games as a valid, mature, interactive art and entertainment medium do so only after having their standing biases challenged."

I knew that there were video game haters out there, but I thought it was a minority, not a majority. I find the sentiment that video games are for children to be absolute hogwash, along with the fact that video games make children violent, lead to obesity, etc.

I'm an adult and I'm a gamer. I'm also a female gamer. I've been playing video games since I was 12 years old, along with my mother! I have fond memories of coming home from school to a snack and several rounds of Mortal Kombat against mom; or the day we celebrated with pizza for making it through the end of Smash TV and Ms. Pacman on two-player mode together in the same night. Ben and I play console games together, and we game online in an MMO together. I certainly don't consider myself a violent person, yet I've played video games from a young age and not all of them were roses and candy lets save the puppies kind of games. My brother played GTA when he was 13 and still loves ruthless games, and he's about as passive as they come. I've never even heard him yell or raise his voice before, let alone have a tendency towards violence. (And to make a point, my ex and I had a copy of GTA that my mother played through before she bought it for him because it was rated mature before deciding he was mature enough to handle it - because she's, ya know, an actual parent).

All in all, I agree with one of the experts who believes its just a matter of people fear what they don't understand. I'm shocked that there are so many people in this day and age of technology that seem to loathe and fear video games! Why not sit down and play with your child and see what it's all about? If you're worried about them wasting too much time, set a limit on the amount of gaming they do a day. And hey, if you're that worried about the games, why don't you set a limit for TV in general and make your kids do other activities? There's room for fun and creativity you know.

It reminds me of going into GameStop during the holidays at the Burlington Mall a few years ago. The line was huge, Dad gave the kid the money and he stood in line. The game was rated M, so the clerk had to have the father come over and tell him "This game is rated M for Mature, and I need you to agree to understanding that prior to allowing your underage son to purchase it. Its store policy." Bravo for Gamestop and the clerk! The man was livid yelling about how he just wanted to buy the damn game. In other words, he doesn't give a damn what his son does. But I bet if little Johnny goes out and shoots someone at his school, well it was the video games fault! Not because Mom and Dad didn't actually monitor and parent, but because they gave him what he wanted, sat him infront of the electronic babysitter, and never bothered to discipline or provide a true sense of right or wrong.

Don't blame the games because you can't be bothered to be an actual parent and involved in your child's life. Don't assume that video games are evil until you've sat down and played them yourself.