Violent Video Games, Sexist Video Games, and the Law: Why Can't We Find Effects?

Posted: 9 Feb 2020

Date Written: October 2018

Abstract

During the early 2000s, several states and municipalities sought to regulate minors’ access to violent video games owing to perceived harms to minors. The resultant case law, culminating in the US Supreme Court case Brown v. EMA (2011), demonstrated court skepticism of the science linking violent games to harm in minors. Such skepticism was increasingly confirmed as numerous newer studies could not link violent games to socially relevant outcomes. In more recent years, there has been a newer focus on sexist games and the harm these might cause. This field appears at risk for repeating some of the problems of the violent game field, including exaggeration of mixed findings, lack of curiosity regarding null findings, and unreliable research designs. By persisting in advancing a narrative of public health crisis, despite evidence to the contrary, social science has risked damaging its reputation in the eyes of the courts.

Suggested Citation

Ferguson, Christopher J., Violent Video Games, Sexist Video Games, and the Law: Why Can't We Find Effects? (October 2018). Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 14, pp. 411-426, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3273806 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-101317-031036

Christopher J. Ferguson (Contact Author)

Stetson University ( email )

Gulfport, FL 33707
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
436
PlumX Metrics