Mainstream Media Continues to Attack Video Games and Esports
Traditional mainstream media has long mocked gaming and esports.
Ever since the release of Bertie the Brain in 1950, gaming and gamers have been ridiculed, mocked, and blame for violence in society.
With the evolution and growth of competitive gaming, aka esports, the attacks by traditional media have only gotten worse, as exemplified by recent comments by President Donald Trump blaming gaming for causing mass shootings in the US, a fact that has been disproved countless times by credible research studies.
Even Jimmy Kimmel has come out swinging at gamers, mocking them several years ago for watching other people playing games, saying it’s strange wanting to watch other people play something (almost as weird as wanting to watch someone talk for an hour).
The comments don’t end there, however, as a new report from ABC13 yesterday on esports and the upcoming Houston Outlaws Overwatch League season was mostly utilized to warn parents about it leading to possible gaming addiction among children.
According to the article, if your kids want to get into esports, you should, “look for signs of isolation, irritability, school issues and lack of sleep.”
Reactions by the Public
While many gamers have scoffed at the ridiculous accusations perpetrated by these media outlets, many older folks who still rely on them for their news and information are easily misled into believing video games are problematic.
Growing up, my parents were always worried about me spending too much time on games, fearing they’d rot my brain or prevent me from developing proper social skills. It took me showing them the benefits of gaming (and all the money esports makes) for them to accept that it wasn’t doing me harm finally.
My parents are very open-minded individuals; imagine, though, you’re typically less than tech-savvy parents seeing reports like those from ABC13 on the news.
Would you expect them to question these historically reliable sources of information instantly, do their research, and come to their conclusion, or would you expect them to take what they heard as gospel?
While the former is better and should be the norm for society, it is the ladder that often permeates the societal zeitgeist quicker and further.
As gamers and members of the esports industry, we must sadly work harder than traditional media to make our voices heard; to get people to understand that gaming is not the cause of violence and social problems.
It’s a hard battle, and one that will rage for decades to come, but if we are to avoid the same troubles problems gamers in more socially backward parts of the world face, we must press forward.
Until the time comes where gaming is no longer associated with these problems, we’ll have to keep fighting against this spreading misinformation from mainstream media sources.
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