Every few years, a tragedy happens, and once again someone points a finger at video games.
Now there are calls to ban so-called “violent digital games,” and even suggestions that game developers or publishers should be summoned to Senate hearings as if they are responsible for every violent act committed by a young person.
But are we really looking at the right problem?
This feels like another attempt to treat the symptom while ignoring the disease.
Millions of Filipinos play action games every day. They battle monsters, shoot enemies, drive recklessly, or compete in virtual wars. Yet the overwhelming majority of them never become violent criminals. If violent games automatically created violent people, our streets would already be in chaos.
The reality is far more complicated.
The biggest issue isn’t the games. It’s how children are being raised, guided, and supervised.
Many Filipino parents are doing everything they can just to survive. They leave home before sunrise and return late at night. They work multiple jobs because life has become incredibly expensive. For many families, it’s a daily struggle—isang kahig, isang tuka.
When parents are exhausted from trying to provide food, rent, and education, they naturally have less time to monitor what their children are watching, playing, and experiencing online.
That’s not a criticism of hardworking parents. It’s simply the reality that many Filipino families face.
Children need guidance, discipline, conversation, and emotional support. No video game can replace those things. Likewise, no government ban can replace responsible parenting.
Technology has always been an easy target.
Years ago, people blamed television. Before that, comic books. Later it became the internet, then social media, and now video games.
But violence existed long before any of these.
Instead of asking which game someone played, perhaps we should ask:
- What kind of environment did that child grow up in?
- Were there warning signs that were ignored?
- Was there bullying?
- Was there abuse?
- Did anyone notice their mental health struggles?
- Were parents, schools, and communities able to intervene?
Those are much harder questions to answer. Unfortunately, they’re also the questions that matter.
Holding Senate hearings to question game companies may generate headlines, but it won’t solve the deeper issues affecting Filipino youth.
If lawmakers truly want to protect children, they should invest more in mental health services, strengthen guidance and counseling programs in schools, support parents through better economic opportunities, promote digital literacy, and encourage responsible parenting.
Banning games is easy.
Building stronger families is difficult.
But only one of those approaches has a chance of creating lasting change.
It’s time we stop looking for convenient scapegoats and start addressing the real issues facing Filipino families.
Because raising responsible children has never been about what they play.
It’s about who teaches them right from wrong.