There's a school of thought[1] that suggests that video games are a contributing factor in the steady fall of crime in the West. Crime is overwhelmingly perpetrated by young men, who also happen to be the main consumers of video games.
It could also be because of lower lead levels, a less competitive culture, greater empathy due to mass media, or a side effect of mens' generally lower testosterone levels. We don't really have a clue what really is causing the drop.
It seems like most men in general are less masculine and more defensive, considerate, and anxious. Very few men have close guy friends anymore, and most men in the media and news nowadays are androgenous. I think men and boys nowadays are really chastised in school for being masculine, and it carries over into their adult lives. With the loss of masculinity, male competitiveness goes with it.
In the 90's, the crime was even given the label "The Crack Wars". It was anywhere from 2 to 5 times higher than it is today depending on where you lived.
Fast forward to today and the drug of choice is different. It's marijuana, which I don't believe is an "upper". Whereas crack was an "upper".
So a lot of factors go into it. Trayvon Martin, for instance, most likely lived in a cleaner environment with respect to lead...
was definitely high on pot...
but was trolling for snacks and probably on his way home to finish playing some video game.
There are a LOT of Trayvon Martins out there. So all those factors, and more, have lead to a lower VIOLENT crime rate overall.
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There's a school of thought[1] that suggests that video games are a contributing factor in the steady fall of crime in the West. Crime is overwhelmingly perpetrated by young men, who also happen to be the main consumers of video games.
[1]: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/19/as-video-gam...
It could also be because of lower lead levels, a less competitive culture, greater empathy due to mass media, or a side effect of mens' generally lower testosterone levels. We don't really have a clue what really is causing the drop.
I'm curious how/why we have a less competitive culture. With globalization and automation it seems like at least the job market is more competitive.
It seems like most men in general are less masculine and more defensive, considerate, and anxious. Very few men have close guy friends anymore, and most men in the media and news nowadays are androgenous. I think men and boys nowadays are really chastised in school for being masculine, and it carries over into their adult lives. With the loss of masculinity, male competitiveness goes with it.
None of those things are mutually exclusive. It's likely a combination of some or all.
Don't forget the weed.
In the 90's, the crime was even given the label "The Crack Wars". It was anywhere from 2 to 5 times higher than it is today depending on where you lived.
Fast forward to today and the drug of choice is different. It's marijuana, which I don't believe is an "upper". Whereas crack was an "upper".
So a lot of factors go into it. Trayvon Martin, for instance, most likely lived in a cleaner environment with respect to lead...
was definitely high on pot...
but was trolling for snacks and probably on his way home to finish playing some video game.
There are a LOT of Trayvon Martins out there. So all those factors, and more, have lead to a lower VIOLENT crime rate overall.