My testimony in defence of video games
Video Game Voters called on developers to write a testimonial for lawmakers to read, so I posted a response.
- Such legislation should only follow once there has been a well-made study that shows a causal link between playing video games and being more likely to commit unlawful violent acts. Those who want this legislation should press for such good studies to be conducted. I would fully support these studies. Having read several key studies, I have concluded that there is no proven causal effect.
- If such legislation is in fact not a useful way to reduce youth violence, then working on and passing such legislation distracts from the effort and social focus that should be directed toward legislation and enforcement that will actually help solve the problem of youth violence. Passing feel-good useless legistlation is worse than nothing as it allows good citizens to dust off their hands and say that the problem has been addressed so we can wait another ten years before realizing in fact the problem has not been solved at all. That is ten years of tragedy we can avoid by solving the tough problems now with real means.
- Any governmental effort to restrict speech and expression should be inherently viewed with suspicion. Governments should only abridge speech when there is a proven harm in such speech. That proof is nowhere close to being established.
- Games deserve the same protections as an art form as is enjoyed by literature, movies, and music– media which, when they were new to the public, were similarly demonized as a cause of social ill. Games are a legitimate expressive art form.
- The video game industry is a major source of revenue for many Americans. It imports money into the US, and does so via an industry that is quite green, wealth-producing, advancing of technology and efficiency, a driver of higher education, and a teacher of useful technological skills.
- A society that spends more and more of its recreation time playing Internet-enabled games at home is going to have less impact on the environment compared to a society that spends recreation time driving to and staying in bars, clubs, sports venues, and restaurants.
- Games constantly push home computing power forward. If it were not for games, we would not have nearly as much advancement in computer tech in the home. This advancement has been a great boon to society in many ways.
