Myths about gaming...

1.    The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence.

“According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure.”

2.    Scientific evidence links violent game play with youth aggression.

“Claims like this are based on the work of researchers who represent one relatively narrow school of research, "media effects." This research includes some 300 studies of media violence. But most of those studies are inconclusive and many have been criticized on methodological grounds. In these studies, media images are removed from any narrative context. Subjects are asked to engage with content that they would not normally consume and may not understand. Most studies found a correlation, not a causal relationship, which means the research could simply show that aggressive people like aggressive entertainment. That's why the vague term "links" is used here. No research has found that video games are a primary factor or that violent video game play could turn an otherwise normal person into a killer.”

3.    Children are the primary market for video games.

“While most American kids do play video games, the center of the video game market has shifted older as the first generation of gamers continues to play into adulthood. Already 62 percent of the console market and 66 percent of the PC market is age 18 or older. The game industry caters to adult tastes. One quarter of children ages 11 to 16 identify an M-Rated (Mature Content) game as among their favorites. But parents need to share some of the responsibility for making decisions about what is appropriate for their children. The Federal Trade Commission has found that 83 percent of game purchases for underage consumers are made by parents or by parents and children together.”

4.    Almost no girls play computer games.

“Historically, the video game market has been predominantly male. However, the percentage of women playing games has steadily increased over the past decade. Women now slightly outnumber men playing Web-based games. Spurred by the belief that games were an important gateway into other kinds of digital literacy, efforts were made in the mid-90s to build games that appealed to girls. More recent games such as The Sims were huge crossover successes that attracted many women who had never played games before.”

Information from
Henry Jenkins
MIT Professor 
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html 

There are longer decriptions for all of these myths, if you're interested!