Video Games v Drones: What They Don't Tell You!

Stefan Molyneux: We hear this all the time - playing video games leads to violence. Gamers across the globe roll their eyes whenever they hear about a new study that correlates aggression and time spent in a virtual world. Titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto immediately draw controversy upon release because of graphic depictions of violence. Killing and robbing virtual prostitutes or carrying out a fictional terrorist attack on a Russian airport will make you more violent, the lame-stream media tells us.


The Oxford dictionary defines the phrase "video game" as follows: "A game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a monitor or other display."

You know what else fits this definition? Piloting military drones.

Sitting in a comfortable chair with your hands on the joysticks and your eyes focused on the monitor in front of you - you push a button and people die, there is no respawn.

A recent study of 1,000 United States Air Force drone pilots found that 4.3 percent of them experienced moderate to severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Amongst the symptoms were recurring nightmares, intrusive thoughts, trouble falling asleep and difficulty concentrating.

"People think we're sitting here with joysticks playing a video game, but that's simply not true," stated a retired Air Force officer. "These are real situations and real-life weapons systems. Once you launch a weapon, you can't hit a replay button to bring people back to life."

When was the last time your conscience haunted you for getting a head shot in Call of Duty? Shockingly, the brain is able to distinguish between real and imaginary violence.

Whenever you find yourself frustrated at the mainstream media's coverage of violent video games, remember the following principle that underlies their narrative: Killing virtual people is bad, but it's okay to play violent video games if you're blowing up real people.