Some common received ideas about video games I will unscrupulously crush

Hey everyone !

This is my first article here, I’m really excited to share it with you !

You may know video games are fantastic (this is the reason why you are on this blog, is it ?) but unfortunately, as everything in this cynical and thougtless world, they also are the victim of prejudice. I will debunk three of them and show you they are completely wrong.

Video games are for boys

This one is quite simple to debunk.

Well, we are 2 girls on this blog… so obviously it’s completely false ! Of course it’s only an example but if we look at the figures, we can see that nowadays, 46% of the US gamers (2019) are women, and there are 1 billion female gamers in the world.

Fortunately, this idea is becoming less and less popular, as people understand that you don’t need any particular skill to play video games : since there are so many different games, there must be at least one for you ! 😉 Now, as I showed you, a lot of girls are playing all sorts of video games, whether it be on their phone or on games consoles, and many game producers are aware of this. Some video games are clearly “made for girls”, full of pink cute things, clothes, or whatever, which are complete clichés. Others want to attract girls, because their players are only or mainly boys : for example, the latest Professor Layton game is a bit different from the previous ones : the hero is a girl, Katrielle, Layton’s daughter. And it’s good, change is good ! Girls can now identify with the character, but I don’t believe being able to change Kartielle’s clothes and to redecorate the detective agency will help us to resolve the puzzles… Of course, Nintendo never clearly said they added this to attract more female players, but this is the way I see it.

And anyway, there should not be such things as “games for girls/for boys”. The most important thing is : your gender does not determine your hobbies ! Whether you be a man, a woman, or a non-binary person, you can do anything (it seems rather obvious but some people need a reminder sometimes) !

Gamers become violent because video games are violent

This idea is unfortunately very widespread and even deep-rooted in some politicians’ heads, such as Donald Trump or the former french president Nicolas Sarkozy. Indeed, after a terrorist attack, we can sometimes hear that “the killer used to play GTA/Call of duty…”, which influences us into thinking “well, that must be the reason why he was violent”.

Nevertheless, some researches have shown that violent videogames and violent behaviours are absolutely not linked ! In fact, the aggressiven ess is due to the frustration, the difficulty, and not the content itself ; thus, it can be caused by non-violent video games and many other things ! We all know board games can make people really mad… Moreover, this aggressiveness is not long-lasting. It is genuinely important to be aware of this : gamers are not more violent than other people.

We can add that video games have in fact positive effects on our brain : it helps to develop our spatial orientation, memory, social skills, and many other things. Still, we ought to remember that playing too much can be dangerous and lead to addiction : this is the real risk of video games.

Video games are for children

Let’s finish with a simple one !

Again, the figures show us this does not reflect reality :

Well yes, we can see that when people grow up, they play less, but in fact, there are more young gamers (and male gamers) partly because of a vicious circle : when you are told you can’t play because video games are not for you, it might discourage you from playing. If you are a woman, you may feel “illegitimate” and if you are a grown-up, you may feel immature or childish. This circle must be broken to let everyone enjoy video games as much as they want ! 🙂

Furthermore, as I said previously, there are thousands of video games, with different gameplays, stories, and among them some can be played by children (and adults as well, of course !), such as the Mario games. Others must be played by older players : for example, you usually have to be aged 12 years old or above to play a Legend of Zelda game, and you can’t play the game Gigi talked about in one of her reviews, the Last of us, unless you are, at least, 18 years old.

Thus, yes, some video games are not made for everyone, depending on their content (violence, sex scenes…), just like movies.

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Well, there are many other received ideas about video games, I couldn’t talk about all of them, otherwise this article would have been far too long to read !

I really wanted to write about this, to show you these ideas are completely false and based on… well, nothing serious ! 😉 Prejudice may seem “harmless” but they can cause serious damage. They can hurt and ostracize people, they can stigmatise things that are different and not really known or understood (because difference is frightening, disconcerting). Do not believe everything you hear or see. Do some research, find serious sources. Think, ask yourself questions. Fake news are not so rare. Received ideas are not so inoffensive.

I must add something : I used statistics to show you these ideas are not reflecting reality, however we have to be careful with this, since before, there were not so many female gamers for example ! Figures describe a situation and do not show that this situation is normal.

Thank you for reading, and I will see you soon !

Amalizzie

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Sources :

https://www.statista.com/statistics/232383/gender-split-of-us-computer-and-video-gamers/

https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/women-account-for-46-of-all-game-enthusiasts-watching-game-video-content-and-esports-has-changed-how-women-and-men-alike-engage-with-games/

https://www.kurzweilai.net/video-game-playing-found-beneficial-for-the-brain

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/12/17/ten-country-comparison-suggests-theres-little-or-no-link-between-video-games-and-gun-murders/?arc404=true

http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-04-08-games-linked-aggression-if-players-cant-master-technology

https://www.statista.com/statistics/379600/video-gaming-by-age-in-france/

“Versus” image : Designed by starline / Freepik