Video Games Cause of Violence Among Youths (here we go again)

[KiwiHopeful]

I thought people in New Zealand were more sensible than this:

Video violence beyond a game: top cop - 28 Nov 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
Violent Xbox video games are being fingered by a top police officer as a possible cause of rising violence among young people.

Superintendent Bill Harrison, national manager of police youth services, says youth violence rates have jumped in the past two or three years throughout the Western world, coinciding with the rise of new products such as the Xbox.

Ministry of Justice figures given to a youth offending conference in Wellington yesterday showed sharp increases in the number of young people aged 14 to 20 caught by police for violent behaviour in 2005 and 2006.

The rate of all young people caught by police for all offences fell 17 per cent in the decade to last year, but the rate of young people caught for violence rose 25 per cent.

Mr Harrison told the conference the increased violence statistics partly reflected a shift in police resources to family violence, which was picking up more young people for violence against partners and other family members such as brothers and sisters.
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Everyone knows it's comic books that cause all the violence!

It can't possibly be this.

Actually, they're all wrong, because clearly this is where it began:

But the narrative of Hephaestus binding Here his mother, or how on another occasion Zeus sent him flying for taking her part when she was being beaten, and all the battles of the gods in Homer --these tales must not be admitted into our State, whether they are supposed to have an allegorical meaning or not. For a young person cannot judge what is allegorical and what is literal; anything that he receives into his mind at that age is likely to become indelible and unalterable; and therefore it is most important that the tales which the young first hear should be models of virtuous thoughts.

--Plato's Republic, Book II Section 3

It's clearly too late to nip this problem in the bud.

[Taffy]

Blame the video games! Yeah, cos it couldnt possibly have a link with the growing trend in substance abuse, like drugs and alcohol, and the violence in families which already has proven fallout for children. In fact, I'd bet that most kids caught committing the violent offences dont even OWN a games console!

It used to be movies that cause violence in kids, but since no one payed any attention to the do-gooders, they have to move on to some other product.

Bring back National Service - and not that namby pamby Bad Lads Army rubbish, REAL National Service. They'd soon think twice.