Before long people were running around lobbing fireballs at each other and blowing each other to bits with plasma guns. That's when they weren't running over pedestrians in mad races or flying supersonic jets into built up areas and dropping napalm, that is. Except they weren't. Really, they were just doing the same old shitty things to each other that people have always done, whether gamers or not. Society has always looked for any reason other than its own inadequacies to explain delinquent behaviour, and every generation fondly believes that things were much better in their day. This simply isn't true.
Not only are we being turned into psycho-killers and thieves, we're also are in grave danger of losing our very minds. Behold:

---------- may turn people into vegetables
'"Under the impact of ---------- I can contemplate a time when people can neither read or write but will be no better than a form of plant." - prominent US teacher.'
(Daily Mail)

The above article could easily be discussing computer games, but it isn't. Can you tell what it is yet? Yes, it's that other evil, television, in 1953. Is it only me or is the telly now just a part of life accepted by all but the most rabid Daily Mail reader? Yet in 1953 it was as feared as any new technology, especially as it proved very difficult to control as time went on. I can almost imagine the Elizabethan gossips moaning about this theatre stuff being the downfall of society and Shakespeare being the spawn of Beelzebub. Hardly a coincidence then that videogames have inherited this well-worn crown.

The argument has always been firmly aimed at the fact that until fairly recently, videogames were mostly played by children. Children (run to the hills, they'll getcha and eatcha up) are easily led and will therefore be turned into mad axemen by violent videogames, car thieves and speed freaks by driving games and thugs by beat 'em ups. Look at the evidence: children steal cars, fight and even, sadly, shoot people; and children play videogames. It's obvious, isn't it? Er, no - not really.