Added: 07.01.2014 13:54 | 4 views | 0 comments

After the horrific massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, many politicians and pundits blamed video games for the atrocity. But the widespread condemnation of video games is really just an example of "moral panic," as the shooter's gaming habits were largely overblown, Stetson University psychology professor Chris Ferguson argues in a new opinion piece at .

"The condemnation of violent video games following the Newtown shooting is a classic example of a moral panic," Ferguson said. "Politicians put pressure on the social science community to produce certain types of research results, based on an erroneous assumption. The news media churned out headlines that followed suit. Most of the debate over video games went forward without waiting to see how much the shooter had in fact played them."

"Newtown was an opportunity for moral crusaders to harrumph over violent video games as they did over rock music in the 1980s and comic books in the 1950s," he added.

By focusing squarely and "uselessly" on violent video games, we become distracted from the real issues, like addressing mental illness, Ferguson said.

"During the past 20 years in which video games have soared in popularity, youth violence has dropped by almost 90 percent," he said. "We would do well to remember this, concentrate on more pressing matters such as poverty, and forgo discussion of cultural issues, if we are really serious about crime."

Added: 30.12.2013 6:16 | 12 views | 0 comments


Steven Hyman, the founding president of the International Neuroethics Society and Harvard professor, leads an extraordinary discussion on rapid advances in brain research and the social implications of merging neuroscience and video game development with panelists C. Shawn Green of the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Adam Gazzaley of UC San Francisco and game developer Jonathon Blow.