How much longer do you think video games will be a scapegoat for everything?

[jetriot]

It isn't as bad as you think. It is a misunderstood hobby by older generations but there are very few politicians that actively want to censor or place sin taxes on video games in America. Hell, even Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, strong representatives of the conservative right, have stated repeatedly that they disagree with any attempt to censor or place sin taxes on violent video games. Even so, they do believe that video games and media in general are the cause of many social ills.

Some of their beliefs are rooted in simply being unable to understand a world that completely fails to interest them. However, it scares them when they see kids and young adults spending so much time doing something they consider empty and without value beyond a basic mindless distraction. They make many good points even if they lack that basic understanding.

That said, we will continue to see these pieces as long it feeds into the fear that T.V. news' target audience has. The fear, and in many cases reality, that our younger citizens are wasting their lives in false worlds that are able to pull our attentions from the real world like no other media in the past has been able to.

 

[Mechsoap]

Until the next big form of medium comes out. Probably in something like 30-40 years if you compare TV to vidya.

 

[Zhukov]

Yes, mock the most popular channel in America. That isn't horribly offensive at all. Want to make fun of George Washington, while you're at it?

Let me ask you an honest question, what evidence do you have that Fox News tells lies? Answer: there is none. That's just baseless conjecture. All this Fox News hate is completely braindead. They are the BEST news channel in the world. This is coming from someone who no longer watches it, but I know it because I can grasp the blatantly obvious.

You know that thing where it's hard to tell when someone is being sarcastic in text?

Yeah, well, I'm getting it right about now. Getting it bad.

 

[Playful Pony]

Until everyone over 40 is dead? So 30-50 years I guess =p.

 

[Frotality]

well someone's always going to use technology as a scapegoat when some psycho stabs his mom and it turns out he was an avid starcraft player or some s**t, thats just how it works. as for how much longer gaming will be the go-to excuse, until the next niche product turned popular come around or until everyone who didnt grow up with video games is dead.

 

[Something Amyss]

Heck, before that comic books were seen as evil.

And before that, dime novels. And before that, novels in general.

I give it another generation or so. Once people who grew up on games are the mainstay, it'll die off.

 

[redmoretrout]

Until the next popular form of media comes around.

 

[BrotherRool]

When it's our turn to call what the young uns are into the bane of everything. And we're not going to even remember that's ironic

 

[TAGM]

The way I see it, one of two things is going to have to happen before we get even close to video gaming not being a scapegoat.

The first option is that the media - newspapers, news shows, etc - actually start doing their job properly, putting research into the stories they put out and presenting facts rather then possibilities, and not slanting the story to make it seem more scary. This would solve some other problems as well (Vaccine = autism scare, anyone?)

The second is that gaming actually starts getting from respect from the majority of people. The news media and everything stop seeing it as just a toy to be used for education, or worse a killer-making device, and start to see it as something with the potential to be an artistic masterpiece.

Given the way the world seems to be going, though, I'm not holding out hope that either of these changes are coming anytime soon. If it happens within the next 5 or 10 years, I'll be impressed. Hell, if it happens before the previous generation dies off, I'll be impressed.

 

[Reyold]

People can't accept that society has some pretty fucked up notions.
People can't accept that society is sometimes blatantly wrong and holds the wrong principles.
People find it easier to point their fingers at the symptoms rather than the cause.
People can't accept responsibility.

That's why, in short.
Scapegoats in general will continue as long as the above continues.
The underlying issue isn't with games, movies, books, film, hobbies or what have you.
It's something deeper that requires more or less a societal reform to correct.
But alas, we're lazy so let us deem a few people crazy and damn whatever it is they enjoy.

Hear, hear! Well said, friend.

This snippet at the end of the article caught my attention:

This is the actual endgame. Not compassion, not harm reduction, but blame.

You guys ever wonder how much we could accomplish if both sides had compassion?

Holy crap, my mind was just blown thinking about it.

 

[NeutralDrow]

How long did it take comic books to stop being scapegoated? I'd say video games have another thirty years...

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Well, heavy metal still gets this shit and that's been around since the '70s. Clearly it will only stop when video games stop corrupting our youth!

 

[Stryc9]

Give it another fifteen years.

That might sound like a lot, but bear in mind this has been happening at least since the Columbine massacre and shows no signs of slowing down. If anything, it's gotten more frequent in recent years.

More like 25-35 years, people are living longer and keeping their positions of power longer as a result. On top of that there's still a few politicians out there that are still in that age range before playing video games was a hobby that most people did but not quite old enough to die in the next 15-20 years and unless a congressman really fucks up politically they pretty much have a lifetime appointment because they keep getting re-elected.

 

[Zeraki]

Considering music, TV and movies are still to this day being used as scapegoats as well... never.

There will never be shortage of people who don't want to accept reality, and search out "evil" where none exists.

 

[MiskWisk]

Video games will be the main scapegoat until a new form of media appears to take its place. This happened with books and movies to. Trains as well for some reason. Point is, until something else comes along, video games will be the scapegoat.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I'd say about as long as it takes to get people that understand video games in more positions of power.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Presumably until they find something else to blame everything on. Which could be anytime between now and doomsday.