The player

Of course video games were blamed for the London riots, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

IT WAS bound to happen. The riots in London were still raging when people started looking for someone or something to blame. It couldn’t have happened without social networks, they said, before it was discovered that Blackberry Messenger was the medium of choice among rioters. (These same social networks, incidentally, were where word was spread about the clean-up in the affected areas.)

Then they fell back on the usual culprits: immigration, single-parent families, gangs, unemployment.

Eventually someone got around to blaming video games for the rioters’ behaviour.

Not poverty. Not cutbacks. Not a lack of services and support. Not a lack of leadership and a widespread feeling of disassociation from the political system. Not even “because they felt like it”. No, video games are the problem.

The first person to mention it was an unnamed policeman quoted in the Evening Standardwho said: "When I was young it was all Pacman and board games. Now they're playing Grand Theft Autoand want to live it for themselves."

Because in the golden days of the 1970s and 1980s, when Pacman and board games were the entertainment of the day, there were no riots at all, right?

More recently, Noel Gallagher was quoted on Bang Showbiz, as saying: "We live in this age of violence, and I don't care what other people say: brutal TV and brutal video games are a reason for this pointless violence as well".

At least once a month theres a report of some sort that claims people who play video games are violent. Or obese. Or have learning difficulties. Mental health issues. Poor school performance. Divorced.

There’s only one thing for it. Parents: ban your kids from playing games. Burn the console. Destroy the discs.

Because clearly, if you don’t, it wont be long before they decide to move from the colourful kids’ games to the more adult, violent titles, and then it’s only a matter of time before their school grades plummet and they’re out trying to hijack a car and beat someone up. Because that’s how these things work, you know.

It’s lazy and blinkered to try to blame one thing for the problems that have surfaced in recent weeks.

If you take away the violent TV programmes, movies and games, will it make a difference?