I can speak for most people when I say that we have all heard the whole story that playing video games destroy children’s’ brains. Parents have seemed ultra-concerned with this generation of children and their propensity to indulge in virtual activity. While it is known that parents tend to more a little old fashioned and unwilling to adopt the technology of a new generation, there may be truth in what they say. So should we all pay heed to the cynic’s warning? Or is their warning nothing more than the fruitless worry of an older age?
Well like most things in life, the answer is not a simple one. Video games possess both positive and negative qualities. While it is somewhat obvious that video games have potential to be good, there are also convincing arguments that they can be bad. The fact that companies are making video games as tools to teach children is an obvious sign that there is some good to be had in the video game industry. But there are also games that have violent tendencies, and those are generally the main concern.
Video games have been shown to improve hand-eye coordination, problem solving skills and the ability to process information more efficiently than standard training methods. These statistics show a fairly convincing argument to me. Certain games can also be great as a substitute for family board games and such. The positive effects of games largely depend on what type of game you’re playing. The coordination and problem solving skills seem to be universal though.
Video games do not rot your brain, but they do have some potentially bad effects. It is true that playing too many games will lead to being overweight, but that really isn’t exclusive to video games. Any hobby that you spend all day on is likely to lead to weight gain, with the exception of exercise. There are also many arguments that playing video games re-wires children’s minds to mirror the violence that is in the games they play. There is really no solid evidence for this so I don’t consider it a true problem. All they have to prove this is news stories where a bad kid plays games. “Timmy plays Grand Theft Auto and punched his neighbor so it must be the game’s fault.” In reality a very high number of people played Grand Theft Auto and murder rates did not skyrocket.
While I am obviously not a fanatic hater of video games I do believe that they are completely over used. A video game should be enjoyed as a book. A couple hours a day is a healthy relief of stress for youth and should be well within their bounds. Too many video games can be a bad thing, but that opinion does not stop at video games. The fact is that video games should be limited just like everything else. Keep in mind though, that they really are not harmful in themselves.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/video_gaming.html
