Virginia Tech Shooting - Video Games the Cause?

The headlines recently are depressing. Thirty three dead at Virginia Tech. A man with a shotgun spotted near 2 schools in Tennessee. And today two wounded and one dead over a dispute. What is receiving the most blame? You guessed it, Video games, and I think they are getting a bad rap.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the time of video games. I know that they can range from charming purple dinosaurs to bloody civil war recreations and battles in space. Yet, though I spent quite a lot of time saving the world in front of my game system and television screen, I don't feel the inclination to be violent. A lot of the blame that Video Games are receiving should be placed elsewhere. From my personal experience, video games did not alter the way I behaved and did not alter the behavior of others. In fact, I have read books that are far more graphic and violent that videogames, but parents let children check out books without restriction, and there is no rating system for books. There are also many other things that could be contributing factors in the behavior of people that it is hard to begin laying the blame anywhere.

So where should we place the blame? I think the first place to start is the parents. They don't deserve all the blame, but in this day of daycare and both parents having to work to make ends meet they parents are often absent though important developments in a child's life. As the child of a single parent I have had experiences where I did wish that my mother was there, but she had to work. Missing some of these fragile moments can be damaging to a child, leading to depression and aggression. Children tend to withdraw or act out if they are not getting enough attention at home.

Another avenue that should be explored is treatment of the children by peers and authority figures. In a lot of the case histories of criminals, they express that they felt bullied or they bullied other children when they were younger. What can seem harmless at times, can be incredibly damaging to a child. Another thing that may not been so evident is the way the authority figures handle instances of trouble. An indifferent teacher could cause further damage to a child, while a caring teacher can nurture a child. Which also brings up another problem, with the high teacher to student ratios that we see now, many teachers can't spend the time they should with each student. This causes even more problems.

There is so much that can help and hinder a child's development that I feel we can't blame squarely one thing, such as video games. This society is supposed to be an enlightened society, but I fear we are as backwards and superstitious as we have been for centuries. I think that we are right to look to the factors that affected the younger criminals from their youth. But take away all videogame, and I know that the problems will continue.