Last week President Trump met with leading figures from the video game industry and discussed the influence video game violence has on young people. This is in response to the recent school shooting in Florida. During the meeting a (bizarre) video showcasing some particularly violent scenes from video games was shown. What the President hoped to achieve from this and the meeting in general I have no idea. If I had to guess it’s because he wants to be seen to be doing something about gun violence but also wants to stay on good terms with both Republicans and Democrats. Also, given Trump’s age, background and temperament he probably thinks video games are just “weird” and instinctively views them with suspicion. Again this is only speculation.

This isn’t to signal out Trump. Video games have been a scapegoat for politicians on both sides of the aisle since programmers were able to make red pixels. Contemporary politicians are continuing this trend. Hillary Clinton was very critical of games back in 2005/6, stating that violent games significantly increased aggression in children and it’s unlikely she’s changed her stance. Bernie Sanders has also said that he thinks violent games (and movies) desensitise children to murder and death. It isn’t just politicians that blame games for violence either – the media has been doing this for decades alongside them and arguably to a much greater extend.

After a mass shooting or a game with controversial content is released (Grand Theft Auto is frequently the main target of outrage) it’s almost inevitable that the media will bring up the debate of whether games are “murder simulators” and brainwashing kids into becoming violent criminals. This predictable and over-the-top reaction has been referred to as a moral panic.

However, in reality, there is no correlation between fantasy violence and real violence, with a substantial amount of evidence showing this. But the biggest indicator that the link between the two is erroneous is this observation: video games have soared in popularity but rates of violence have continued to decline across the board in the Western world (and if someone asserts that playing violent games increases the risk of becoming violent then they have to explain why millions of people who play these games never go on to hurt anyone).

People don’t suddenly go from law abiding stable citizen to blood thirsty maniac after playing Halo and if this was the case, it would be blatantly obvious since our world would look like a Mad Max movie. In fact a handful of studies have indicated that video games somewhat reduce violence as it keeps individuals in front of their TV and off the streets. Additionally it’s important to point out that people have shown violent tendencies for thousands of years without the influence of Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto (watch this take from Penn and Teller).

So why do politicians and the media push the narrative that there’s a link between video games and murderous behaviour? As stated earlier, with many politicians and media figures it’s likely that they didn’t grow up with video games and dismiss them as a silly hobby for anti-social teenagers. As a result they automatically react to them with a mix of contempt and unease, and see it as a waste of time to research them in depth. But furthermore, many in these circles are merely jumping on the moral panic bandwagon and seizing the opportunity to condemn an easy target in order to boost their own image, sell papers or to get views and clicks.

In particular, the sensationalising, fearmongering and misinformation the media has perpetrated regarding video games has been disgraceful. What’s more is the hypocrisy of many of these outlets as they suddenly rush to defend video games now that Trump is flippantly disparaging them. It reveals how genuine they were in the first place.

Cynical reasoning aside, one of the other likely reasons video games are regularly pointed to as a cause of violence is that it’s a nice simple clear-cut answer to a complicated problem. And that’s not a new phenomenon. Prior to video games becoming popular, youth violence was blamed on rock music, comic books and the fantasy role-playing game Dungeon and Dragons. I’m reminded of an old saying, “The more things change the more they stay the same.”

All this being said, good taste and context do matter. Are there some vile video games out there that depict gratuitous violence? Without a doubt. Should they be banned? In my opinion, no. I don’t hold to the theory that censorship will make distasteful things go away, not to mention that once censorship becomes widely accepted practice it sets a very dangerous precedent. There’s also the argument put forward that violent video games are particularly harmful for young children to play as they don’t understand the difference between fiction and reality. This is a fair point regarding very young players but I would counter that this is why we have the age certification system and why parents need to use their discretion. Some games aren’t meant for kids, just as some films and books are inappropriate for children. That’s not because they’ll end up venturing down a path of violence if they do, but rather because they’ll find the content upsetting.

I’d say it’s unlikely that there will be any major consequences from the President’s meeting with the gaming industry representatives. We’ve seen this all before. But then again, we do live in interesting times.