Background
Today, I want to share a reflection on a recent intervention project I presented, part of the Box of Uncertainties project. This project intersected at the crossroads of video game culture and the public perception of violence, which is a space filled with media-fueled stereotypes and personal anecdotes.
Video games have long been in the crossfire of debates on societal violence. Politicians often use it as a scapegoat of violence that is happening in their countries, and mainstream media helps to paint a dire picture, suggesting a direct correlation between in-game violence and real-world aggression. My project aimed to peel back these layers of assumption and prompt a more nuanced discourse. The central question that guided my exploration was: “How can I challenge the stereotype of violence in gaming and enhance the public’s perception of video games?“
The Intervention: A Digitally Distributed Poster
As a response, I created a poster that juxtaposes everyday objects with gaming peripherals, and symbols of violence often seen in game, in this case, weapons. Combined with the text on the poster, I hope to provoke people into reflecting on whether individuals close to them, people they know and care about who engage in violent video games, are indeed violent human beings as often portrayed, challenging them to reconsider their bias.
The poster was distributed through my own social media channels, followed by an invitation to fill a survey to capture reactions. The results were varied. A majority expressed a softened stance towards violence in video games, yet many remained unmoved in their previously held beliefs. I also just recognized a risk in this approach after gathering the responses. If a viewer does have a violent gamer in their life, the poster might reinforce negative stereotypes instead, and from my survey, out of all the participants who have gamers in their lives, 25% of these people identify these gamers as violent individuals. Based on my secondary research, I did not expect the percentage to be this high. This statistic is a stark reminder of the complexities of this topic.
The Path Forward
This project has been eye-opening, reflecting not just societal perceptions, but also the complexities of individual experiences. The path to challenging entrenched stereotypes is a winding one, and the results showed the necessity of properly thinking through my approach and making informed decisions instead of just jumping the gun.
As I continue on this journey, the experience gained here will undoubtedly inform future endeavors. The intersection of video games and violence is a microcosm of broader societal dynamics, and it deserves a balanced, thoughtful exploration – one that acknowledges the shades of gray in a conversation too often rendered in black and white.
Links
Survey Results and Presentation Deck: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bZc3ST4qOjOwg33sH2-1-z0i6mcQnB3S/view?usp=sharing
Project Summary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MIiQgGlkd4z_oNcyJpMp5D4aiqqzEGFXY1kwk9HpaAE/edit?usp=sharing