When The Surgeon General Warned About Pac-Man

We had a post earlier this week about the silliness of the Surgeon General’s idea for a warning on social media, and that linked to a longer piece Mike wrote about it at The Daily Beast, which talked about a similar push by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop getting upset about video games. The excellent Pessimist’s Archive put up a whole article about that historical farce, and has given us permission to repost it here. We also recommend subscribing to the Pessimist’s Archive for a regular dose of lessons of moral panics from years past.

News: U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy published an op-ed in The New York Times advocating for a ‘Warning Label on Social Media Platforms’ to address possible risks to adolescent mental health. Despite the nation’s top doctor suggesting harm, the causative effects of social media on teen mental health is still uncertain, the science is not in.

This isn’t the first time a Surgeon General jumped the gun in response to concerns about technology and children.

In 1982 then Surgeon General Dr. Everett Koop would sound a warning about the risks of video-games to youth and resulting “aberrations in childhood behavior.” He would note the risks weren’t proven, but ensured scientific proof would inevitably emerge:

“Koop said he had no scientific evidence on the effect of video games on children, but he predicted statistical evidence will be forthcoming soon.” – Associated Press report, 1982

PAC-MAN PANIC

The Surgeon General’s comments came amidst a boom in arcade machines and the first of many panics about video-games. Children would swarm the machines, feeding them coins obtained from parents: sometimes covertly. Where comic books and television were blamed for corrupting the youth in prior decades, video-games were the new boogeyman. The Surgeon General’s comments only added fuel to the fire:

Age limit laws would be proposed, one police department blamed burglaries on the rapacious demand for quarters and one Massachusetts town even outlawed the commercialization of arcade machines. Dr. Everett Koop’s implication that his opinions would soon be proven scientific fact were quickly denounced by psychologists and the burgeoning video game industry.

One industry rep. wrote to the Surgeon General saying: “Respectfully, we must remind you that your only official mandate and authority is to develop scientific evidence.” Another said emphasis should be on proven harms to kids – like cigarettes – not speculative harms. Dr. Everett Koop would in turn issue a statement that made clear these were opinions only:

“My off-the-cuff comment was not part of any prepared remarks. Nothing in my remarks should be interpreted as implying that videos are per se violent in natures, or harmful to children”

It turned out the scientific evidence didn’t emerge. In retrospect it seems clear Dr. Everett Koop – as a medical authority – had the opportunity to quell unsubstantiated panic that distracted from more empirical threats to kids – like smoking. A few years later Dr. Koop would wade into the TV violence debate, citing the 1972 Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee coming to a unanimous conclusion that violence and TV increased aggression.

That correlation is now long debunked.

Louis Anslow runs the Pessimist’s Archive, which is well worth subscribing to.