Portrait
illustration by Alex Martin
The reality of gaming culture
“VIDEO GAMES CAN rob you of real life experiences”—or at least that’s what some people, like the staff of familyresource.com, claim. To plainly say that video games are branded by stigma would be an immense understatement. Games and the people who play them are faced with a surprising amount of criticism from groups and individuals outside gaming culture. But perhaps what is most surprising about this widespread anti-gaming public censure is how baseless, unsubstantiated, and ill-proven it is. Many claims relating to the supposedly dangerous or damaging qualities of video games, such as the aforementioned quote from familyresource.com, are fallacious and unsupported—not to mention arbitrary and uninformed.
In preparation for this piece, I spent the better part of my day researching both sides of the video game debate and, if there’s one attribute that ties all of the anti-gaming literature together, it’s poor logic. In one characteristic article I came across on addictionblog.com, I was surprised to find the following listed as one of the top ten negative effects of video games on children: “Family interaction problems such as less positive parental relations.”
Granted, I’m unsure of the method by which the study that produced this conclusion was conducted, but I’d be a fool not to question whether or not these researchers have confused cause and effect. Would it not be just as plausible to suggest that children with already poor parental or other familial relationships could find more positive reinforcement in a game they enjoy than in a neglectful parent? Likewise, would it not be reasonable to say that a naturally introverted child can be expected to prefer individual activities and also display signs of “interaction problems” as a result of their natural disposition? Can it be definitively stated that video game usage causes these interaction problems? Correlation does not mean causation—a tenet it seems many would do well to remember.
Sadly, this study is just one of many that follow presumptuous, unsubstantiated logic to derive arbitrary, self-serving conclusions. Even more unfortunate is the fact that these sensationalist studies have a tendency to overshadow valid and intriguing research that suggests video games may have positive, valuable effects.
One study, for example, found that action games assisted in improving the brain’s ability to process visual detail. Scientificamerican.com reports on another study that found contrast sensitivity, an eyesight condition more commonly referred to as lazy-eye syndrome, can be drastically improved with the help of video game usage. Still another report suggests that certain games designed to challenge the player’s attention to detail and ability to process information quickly may help concentration and memorization in adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
So why then does this stigma still appear to dominate public opinion? If you ask me, concerned groups and individuals are tying a false negative value to games and gaming culture.
“[Gamers] think about getting home and playing games. They also spend a great deal of time reading gaming magazines, participating in online gaming forums, looking for future game releases, and of course, spending countless hours playing games,” states familyresource.com.
I would like for someone to explain to me what exactly is so harmful about a person feeling passionate about their hobby and actively participating in the culture that surrounds it. Why is it more dangerous for a gamer to “spend their time in a virtual reality” than, say, for an avid reader to shun social interactions, preferring instead to immerse themselves in the imaginary reality of Tolkien, Le Guin, Lewis, or Rowling? There is no inherent danger in video games, whether physical or psychological. As a hobby, video games are just as valid as reading and even more involved and engaging than watching TV. And, to be quite honest, I find it much more frightening to hear students across campus talking about characters from The Office or Jersey Shore like they’re close friends than I do hearing others boast their kill count on Call of Duty.
I think it’s high time we started re-evaluating our societal censure of video games and began looking at them in a new light. Forget the notion that these games are harmful, dangerous, and violent, and stop blaming these games for every social issue you can. Video games are a valuable pastime, and we need to start taking them and the culture that surrounds them seriously. Game over.
arts@thefulcrum.ca
613-562-5931
