Looks like gamers might have hurt our own argument in defence of gaming, and not in a small way. I don't think gaming drives normal people to become violent. DGP wouldn't have become a thing if I thought it did.
And whilst I'd love to say that's backed up by science, the science is most definitely still out on that. For every report saying gaming doesn't turn us all into violent psychopaths, there's one that will indicate that it does.
Here's why that's a problem: the United Nations has gaming in its sights, and not just for the violence. The World Health Organisation are trying to classify gaming addiction as a medical disorder. Rightly, the Entertainment Software Association went to the defence of gaming. Wrongly, they cherry-picked the data they used. Then they got found out.
That went down just as well as you'd expect. Now, instead of a well-reasoned argument that shows just how stupid it is to brand video games as a cause of violence, the UN got what they saw as a biased set of bare-faced lies. While the ESA tried to defend our hobby, what they actually achieved was to paint gaming as a guilty party. Before we go prepping the bomb-shelters and hiding our games, we need to take a breath. Each country will be able to interpret whatever ruling the UN passes in its own way, and that process isn't exactly renowned for being quick. I'd really like to revisit this in a year and laugh about how this was all just a false alarm. But even best-case scenario, things have gotten a lot harder for the gaming community to fight off those who think gaming needs limiting, or causes violence, or is the devil, or 'everything that is wrong with the youth of today'. Any study that shows gaming in a positive light will receive scrutiny regarding its credibility. Moreso than those claiming gaming is bad, they will need to prove their method and be flawless in their approach.
Its an extra step in the battle - one that those who want to shut us down won't have to take, and a potential tripwire that, if triggered, would invalidate whatever else the study said in the eyes of so many people.
Gaming is a force for good. It gets people talking from all across the globe. It interests kids in coding and programming when there is an industry-wide shortage, and massive growth in that sector. It's a whole load better than a bunch of the alternatives. But failing to acknowledge the downsides of gaming doesn't help our hobby at all. It makes us look dishonest and strengthens the arguments against PC and Console gaming.