We are currently in a “media consumption = my values” and frequently “depiction = endorsement” moral frenzy. Not more than 5 years ago it was perfectly understandable by all, that supporting the “villain” faction/character in fictional media doesn’t instantly mean you endorse those values in real life.

I'm honestly split. On one hand, it's only a game. On the other, wanting to ruin the lives of characters for fun actually is being immature, even if there are no real-world consequences. Really, it's hard to distinguish the impulse to be "the bad guy" and the impulse to be an edgelord. They do purposefully transgressive activities that most teenagers find thrilling and glamorous, along with some adults. Like this Playstation commercial!

Really, as the world gets worse and worse, playing as the edgelord who conquers a whole town gets less and less appealing. It doesn't seem so transgressive anymore when the news reports on more and more taboos being broken. The question becomes less "How can I have fun?" and more "How can I mentally heal myself?". Of course, with someone still playing Lex Luthor, it would seem that they are being unearnest and purposeless, or lack the desire to help others to the point where they'd scoff at at least emulating helping others.

I do understand the worry that these people are just emulating Joe Lieberman in regards to Mortal Kombat. But these are entirely different people. They aren't going to someday go "and now you can't show real firearms!", or worry more about a gamer's individual habits than the economic system they live in.