In the run-up to the NATO summit, the Ministry of Defence is organising a gaming tournament to inform young people about NATO, but also to recruit new recruits. Dr Pieter van den Heede, historian at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication with a PhD on the representation of war in games, has his reservations about it. In a Volkskrant report, he and other experts talk about the armed forces' recruitment strategy.
The e-sports tournament “NATO Esports Cup” is part of the “NATO through the Netherlands tour”, with which Defence is touring cities to talk to young people about national security. Recruiting recruits is not the main goal of this cup, but it is at other Defence game tournaments.
Qualitative reach
In times of international tension, the Netherlands will invest more in Defence, including personnel. So recruitment campaigns are launched among gamers, as well as spectators, who watch livestreams at home. This is cheap and delivers qualitative reach. Pieter van den Heede understands the strategy: 'Thematically, many popular games overlap with work at Defence. I can imagine that young people interested in shooting games would also like to know more about working in the military.'
Shield Twitch from minors
But there is a downside. On video platform Twitch, streams are watched by young people, estimated to be between 13 and 20 years old. According to the UN Children's Rights Convention, military recruitment among young people under 18 is prohibited. In the Netherlands, that age has been lowered to 17, due to the early choice on further education. While it is possible to shield a Twitch profile from minors, Defence has not done so.
A filtered representation of war and violence
To what extent is it desirable for young children to be exposed to shooting games like those in Defence streams? 'There is very little monitoring of what children see in public online spaces like Twitch,' says Van den Heede. According to him, many games give a filtered representation of war and violence.'Often, games barely address the consequences of violence. 'Neither the physical damage nor the psychological damage you can suffer in combat situations. Otherwise, the game would be a lot less fun to play, and probably less likely to be socially accepted.'
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Read the full article on the Volkskrant website (in Dutch, paid)
