Preaching to a Cow's Ear
There wasn't actually that much to prepare. I'd dug through plenty of academic papers, but most of them had such sloppy experimental methods that I tossed them all aside. There were probably some decent ones back in my original world, but it wasn't like I could bring them here. Instead, I ended up focusing more on counterarguments this time. After the beating we'd given them last debate, it was likely they'd come better prepared, so I gathered every possible claim they might throw at us and ran practice sessions with Representative Park Kyung-yul until our responses were rock solid.
And at last, the day of the decisive battle arrived.
"We will now begin the Current Affairs Late-Night 100-Minute Debate."
A cold sweat seemed to be forming, but I told myself it was just my imagination. After the introductions for each panelist, applause rang out. No matter how many times I heard it, that sound always felt burdensome.
"Will the side affirming the claim that games are harmful please give their opening statement?"
"I will. The harms of games can largely be divided into addiction, gambling-like properties, violence, and effects on the brain. To explain simply, addiction is literally becoming so hooked on games that you can't think of anything else. Gambling-like properties refer to the structure that requires continuous spending to keep playing. I'll explain violence and the brain effects in more detail shortly. The four harms I've mentioned have already been verified in America and became the reason games were banned there. We believe there is no need for us to walk the same path America has already taken."
Games being harmful has already been proven by America firsthand. Do I really need to taste it myself to know if it's shit or doenjang?
"Negative side, please speak."
"As I stated in the previous debate, games are a new culture and a comprehensive art form. The Atari Shock that caused games to be rejected wasn't because games are inherently lowbrow, but because low-quality titles flooded the market. That's why home consoles, which typically handled those games, were the ones regulated, while arcades faced no restrictions whatsoever. We shouldn't remain trapped in that era of overflowing trash games and view the entire medium through nothing but preconceptions and prejudice."
Still haven't learned your lesson after getting wrecked last time? Go study why games collapsed in the first place before showing up again.
The debate unfolded even more fiercely than last time, just as I'd expected. The panel arguing games were harmful had prepared considerably more than before, but it was also because I was coming at them harder—far more aggressively, to be precise.
"Games have high addictiveness. Why else would people keep throwing money at them? It's because they've become addicted. Because they've reached a state where they can't live without games."
"I'll counter that. What you're calling addiction is simply the natural human response to doing something enjoyable. We don't label amateur musicians who play because music is fun as 'music addicts,' so the same applies here. There is no such thing as game addiction."
Game addiction? That doesn't exist. Even in my original world, its existence was never proven; it ultimately came down to nothing more than individual over-immersion.
"It sounds like you're claiming games don't cause addiction, yet I've brought an article from an American newspaper. The piece states that young people are addicted to a game called Space Invaders, losing their eyesight, money, and time. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Does that newspaper article even possess any credibility? Would you also believe a story claiming Seo Taiji is pregnant? Is yellow journalism like that even worth citing as evidence?"
Bringing up a tabloid that even I recognized showed exactly what level they were operating on. Just because something was written in English, it automatically counted as valid material?
"Above all, the danger of addiction lies in its persistence. Are people still flocking to Space Invaders in arcades today? Did American gamers ever rally under a slogan to purify games because of this so-called addiction? This can no longer even be called addiction."
"Can you truly say that while watching students head straight to the arcade the moment school ends?"
"The conversation is going in circles. Students are simply consumers using their limited free time after school and before returning to studies to pursue whatever gives them the highest satisfaction for the lowest cost. The reason they flock to games isn't because games are the problem—it's because the environment has left them with no other options."
That was exactly why students formed the main customer base for games. There was nothing else for them to do. Most other hobbies required long stretches of time to enjoy properly, but games could deliver maximum satisfaction in a short period.
"The world is changing. People thirsty for novelty are creating new culture to match the changing times instead of clinging to outdated traditions. When a new movie comes out, is watching it and repeatedly listening to its soundtrack 'movie addiction' or 'music addiction'? Please stop distorting simple hobby activities to this degree. Everything the vice representative is saying amounts to nothing more than 'call it an earring if you hang it from the ear, a nose ring if you hang it from the nose.'"
Addiction. To be precise, what they meant by addiction could be defined as a dependency where one becomes obsessed with a particular substance or behavior and can no longer maintain a normal life. But if you looked at it that way, there was nothing that couldn't be called addictive. Beyond caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs, you had studying, work, reading, Go, exercise, radio, food, television, and even religion. There was nothing that couldn't become an addiction.
Still, the vice representative probably had nothing left to say now. It was my turn to go on the offensive...
"That's enough of that topic. There are other harmful aspects as well."
...Wait, what did I just hear?
"The effect games have on the brain is also a problem. According to a book written by a Japanese university professor, research shows that the brains of adolescents playing games exhibit similarities to those of drug users due to stimulation of the pleasure center."
That book wasn't supposed to come out until the 21st century. Where the hell had this snowball started rolling from?
"...Any hobby activity naturally affects the pleasure center, doesn't it? Reading books or playing Go produces the same effect."
"That's not all. Long-term observation of gamers' brains has revealed a continuous decline in brain function. This is a recognized paper that has been cited multiple times. How do you respond to this?"
"Isn't this also obvious? If you repeat the same task, of course the brain optimizes for it and uses less overall function. Let's take piano as an example. At first you follow the sheet music and press each key individually, using your full brain capacity, right? But as you improve, you'll be able to play chords with both hands. This is the process of brain optimization, and it's how our brains normally operate. Don't try to incite panic by calling it weakened brain function. Studying goes through the exact same optimization process, so according to the vice representative, we shouldn't make students study either, correct?"
"People addicted to games develop holes in their—"
"Just where are you digging up these claims? Oh wow, you've even prepared photo evidence. If games created holes in the brain, I wouldn't be able to stand here right now."
At this point it was honestly impressive. How did someone manage to select only the perfect lines guaranteed to get completely wrecked in a debate? Though to be fair, when it came to criticism of games, there really wasn't any argument that could avoid getting utterly dismantled.
And finally, my turn arrived!
"The reason people—especially students—enjoy games is simple. They provide rewards that are faster, clearer, and more immediate than reality, and above all, they can become the strongest bond between friends. In this world, there are countless cases where effort receives no reward, or the reward comes far too slowly. Look at students studying. After twelve years of effort, can you guarantee they'll get into a good university? Can you be certain when the reward for such an incredibly long period will finally arrive? That's why students turn to games. Drop in one coin and play freely, and it immediately shows you exactly how skilled you are. As you grow familiar with the game and improve, it lets you know right away. And at school, talking about games—'I pulled this off, but you're not supposed to do it that way'—do you know how fun it is to build a shared topic like that? In the past it might have been books or Go, but how many students engage in those things nowadays? Music and games have taken their place. We shouldn't distort and suppress the only joy and the only outlet for relieving stress that people—especially students—have."
"The problem isn't simply using games to relieve stress, but that it severely interferes with academic performance."
"Don't blame games for the fact that they're not studying. If they weren't playing games, do you honestly think they'd be studying during that time? They'd just desperately look for some other way to have fun. Rather than going down a bad path, huffing glue behind the school and actually putting holes in their brains, wouldn't games—which have no harmful physical effects—be the better option?"
When I attended high school in this world, there were quite a few kids who really did huff glue behind the school building. They were the ones causing a ruckus about some kind of school alliance or whatever. Seeing the delinquents I'd only known from webtoons in real life gave me complicated feelings.
The debate continued like that. Though I'm not sure it even qualified as a debate anymore.
And finally, the vice representative began speaking again.
"Among the initial points I raised was the gambling-like nature of games. Regarding that—"
Here it comes. This was actually where we held a massive advantage...
"This is the current scene inside arcades. These entertainment devices that are essentially slot machines modeled after pachinko are being installed, with staff exchanging the winnings for real cash. The reality of today's arcades and games is that they have become nothing more than gambling dens wearing the mask of legitimate entertainment venues."
No, fuck—wait a second. Isn't that Sea Story?