Violence, Videogames, Parenting

So recently there has been a lot of legislation and political posturing claiming that violent video games are the cause of teen shootings and violence. It is interesting to note that there is not a solid scientific base to argue the case. According to recent data students face a seven in 10 million chance of being a victim of a school shooting and while extremely disconcerting when they do occur, random school shootings statistically are incredibly rare, the media merely focuses on these occurrences and harps on them for significant amounts of time. Juvenile homicide rates have actually fallen in the past decade, even though first person shooters such have become extremely popular.

Historically politicians have complained about every new tech toy and blamed its influences on youth, be it radio, TV, movies, music, comic books, cars, computers, the internet. Instead of focusing on these devices shouldn't we be focusing on parenting? Yes the Nintendo Wii can connect to the internet and there are things on the internet that are inappropriate for children. Turn on the child lock! It is absurd to expect corporate business to make products that are protective of children, instead it is up to parents to be parents.

At the risk of this turning into a rant, it also angers me greatly when I read of school districts that no longer allow teachers to mark up student's papers and tests in red ink because it scars them psychologically. Give me a break! What about athletic competitions where the score isn't kept. I think it is important for youth to recognize that family is unique in that for the most part, family will stand behind you no matter what. This is not necessarily true in the real world. If we continue coddling America's youth, they are in for a very big surprise in the real world. Your boss will care who is "winning" and earning him more money. If you hand in crap, it will be marked up with "red" ink and you will be in danger of being fired. Learn from your "red" and fix it.

Lastly, is it not also interesting that there has not been much research into the profile of a "typical" school shooter? So far they have been predominantly white and middle class yet why haven't there been more studies about this demographic. Perhaps it is because most of the media is *gasp* white and middle class and it feels better to show off minority violence and think that they are above such problems.

As long as the current media and politicians continue to focus on arbitrary reasons the main underlying causes will never be explored. Parents need to recognize the fact that they need to step up and be parents.