violence and addiction? By Loïse Lyonnet and Michaël Stora

Having become cultural objects in their own right, video games occupy an increasingly important place in the daily lives of young people. True social phenomena, these games allow the player to be fully part of the scenario in which they evolve.

Video games are often seen as violent and addictive, and therefore harmful. They pervert young people by encouraging violent behavior, isolate them and are responsible for serious problems. Video games seem to be an ideal culprit for explaining deviant social phenomena. Clichés which can die hard, despite a set of protection measures developed at the initiative of the video game industry itself.

It is a media that rewards the player’s investment, particularly in terms of playing time. It’s simple, the more you play, the more you progress. Some of them even include Dark Patterns, features intended to increase players’ playing time or spending.

So many reasons to worry families, health professionals and public authorities, who are gradually tackling the subject of screen addiction.

In order to promote healthy video game practices, it is a question of mobilizing all stakeholders to better inform young players and better support parents. To open the debate also in the face of a complex subject which cannot be reduced to a binary debate. Finally, we must go further by developing the idea of ​​a necessary ethical and civic responsibility of industry players. Vast and urgent challenges, in the era of the omnipresence of screens.

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Titre : Video games: violence and addiction?
Auteur : Loïse Lyonnet and Michaël Stora
Editor: Fondapol
Commander : on the Fondapol website