BBC Misuses Footage to Sell Video Game Exposé

As we've reported, the BBC is to run a Panorama show next week that seeks to speak to "youngsters who are addicted to video games". Not content to call "addiction" where none has been proved, the program is now distorting film footage of young people playing games to sell the program.

Back in 2008 we reported on photojournalist Robbie Cooper's Immersion project in which he filmed the facial reactions of people to playing video games.

These included young people. Real life ones.

Back then, Robbie Cooper explained that, "It seems possible that there's a link between violent games and social aggression, bullying or exclusion; but whether the violent game is the biggest factor in that, it's hard to say. I think a lot of what has been said so far about the effect of media violence on children doesn't take into consideration the psychological make-up of individual kids, and how big an impact the different types of media violence have on different children."

Not a great deal about addiction.

Ben's video can be seen first. Then the BBC's promo for Panorama can be seen below. It uses the clever phrases, "For these kids, it's harmless fun. For some, its lure can become irresistible and casual use can become a relentless craving."

This really does not indicate an evenly balanced, objective study of gaming. It does indicate a very heavily slanted piece of lowest-common-denominator 'journalism'.