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from the is-it-still-ok-to-kill-zombies-and-storm-troopers? dept.
Trump Meets With Video Game Industry, Watchdog Groups to Talk Gun Violence
President Donald Trump met with video game executives and watchdog groups on Thursday at the White House to talk about gun violence, one of a series of meetings planned by the White House in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shootings.
The meeting started with the showing of a series of particularly violent video clips, according to two participants who were there, Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center and Melissa Henson, program director of the Parents Television Council. Both are media watchdog groups.
[...] "This is not a simple thing," Bozell told Variety. "This is not to say that the video game industry is the alpha and omega of the problem, but they have to be part of the discussion."
[...] The White House released a statement afterward. "The conversation centered on whether violent video games, including games that graphically simulate killing, desensitize our community to violence." They also released the video that was shown.
The White House posted the video to YouTube. As of this submission, it's got 53 kilodislikes.
After industry meeting, Trump highlights alleged game violence effects
If game industry representatives hoped their meeting with President Trump today would help change his mind after recent statements of concern over violence in video games, they came away sorely disappointed. In a statement following that meeting, the White House said that President Trump "acknowledged some studies have indicated there is a correlation between video game violence and real violence."
"During today's meeting, the group spoke with the president about the effect that violent video games have on our youth, especially young males," the White House statement reads. "The conversation centered on whether violent video games, including games that graphically simulate killing, desensitize our community to violence. This meeting is part of ongoing discussions with local leaders and Congress on issues concerning school and public safety and protecting America's youth."
The White House statement goes against the overwhelming consensus of the research community, which has shown wide agreement that exposure to violent games in youth has little to no relationship with violent outcomes later in life.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 14 2018, @12:42PM (3 children)
[Citation needed.] https://xkcd.com/285/ [xkcd.com]
In the meantime, noting that this is a complex subject that soundbiting *will* end up distorting the content no matter which side one is ultimately on (there are scholarly results on both sides), let's look at what the American Psychological Association (2015) has to say about it:
( http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/violent-video-games.aspx [apa.org] )
There's a lot more to it than that, but that headline and subtitle summarize it nicely. That same article does in fact call upon the video game industry to include parental controls while noting that there is insufficient research to establish any causation. So, true: violence can desensitize people and violent video games expose kids. Lie: There is a correlation. Double-duh, IMVHO.
Aside from that, this was a very photo-oppy way for the administration to say it is "doing things" about the "violence problem", when it really did not much of anything. Since our President has already more than proven he is not interested in facts, only his opinions, I expect no further positive developments. (Why would "the industry" expect a true dialog - as in a give-and-take - with Trump? Nobody else has managed to do that.)
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday March 14 2018, @03:28PM (1 child)
[Citation needed.]
The President acknowledged some studies have indicated there is a correlation between video game violence and real violence. [whitehouse.gov]
Or you mean a citation to back up a statement from the White House? 'Cause that ain't gonna happen!
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 14 2018, @06:01PM
The latter, if you please. I'm well aware that this White House asserts all sorts of things, uses terms of art (like "correlation") most haphazardly, and that if I want to hold my breath for the actual proof I'd better be near the event horizon of a black hole. Or travelling away at a large fraction of lightspeed. While I'd hypothesize that these are the locations that this administration would prefer those who believe in science and precision to be at I'm afraid I would have to decline to be part of the experiment.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 14 2018, @06:03PM
Self-correction. The lie is that there is causation implied, not correlation. And I know better.
This sig for rent.