Video games aren’t to blame for gun violence, according to new research from Media Coalition.
Among the report’s key findings:
Crime statistics do not support the theory that media causes violence.
Research into the effects of video games on aggression is contested and inconclusive. Much of it suffers from methodological deficiencies and provides insufficient data to prove a causal relationship.
Censorship of violent content is barred by the First Amendment for all types of media, but industry self-regulation works.
Earlier this year, President Obama called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to renew scientific research into the relationship between video games, media images and violence. He also asked Congress to authorize $10 million for the research.
Horowitz cautioned that any new research must be neutral, comprehensive and transparent – and not driven by politics or professional interest. The research that has been cited to date, he noted, is flawed and inconclusive and has been tainted by a bias against results that do not support the popular view. In fact, Horowitz said, many respected scientists have left this area of research because of the lack of provable data that could lead to publication and professional advancement.
The Media Coalition report is available online at http://mediacoalition.org/only-a-game/
Only a Game confines itself largely to the issue of violent video games. A 2000 Media Coalition report, Shooting the Messenger: Why Censorship Won’t Stop Violence, examines at greater length the scientific claims of short- and long-term links between all kinds of media — movies, TV and music, as well as games — and violent crime. The report concludes with recommendations for helping kids to become smart media consumers and a reaffirmation of the American way of fighting offensive speech: not with censorship but with “more and different speech, informed speech, critical speech.”
