No video games – think again!
One day, his mother forced a 9-year-old boy to stop playing video games. They had argued for a moment. Mom said that computer games definitely won’t do any good and it’s all about senseless violence. Mom is afraid that her son’s life will be distracted by the fact that the child will spend most of his time in front of the screen, not having time to interact with the outside world and learn something useful. The boy could only close his mouth, looking at his screen and wondering when his mother will stop talking.
The occasion described above occurs commonly even in our family. Parents tend to limit their children’s playtime as much as they can. In his mind, there will be no knowledge to be learned from video games except violence, brutality, sex, weapons and all things bad. However, most children are powerless towards their parents. More often than not, the children will take the losing side in that battle, simply obeying mom’s orders and stopping playing, even though in their hearts the desire to continue playing is agonizingly high.
If we try to look outside the box, and uphold the myth that parents are always right, we’ll see that for all the whining about googly eyes and senseless violence, video games are a good thing integrated into family life. Also, its popularity is rapidly increasing faster than any other form of entertainment. So who is right in this endless debate? Children or parents?
Steven Johnson, author of the book Everything Bad Is Good For You, has said that what might matter about video games is their form and not their content. Parents often overlook the fact that through their interaction with the digital world, children will become more aware of the world. They will learn to explore the world and become even more curious about it. Forget the fact that kids can learn to drive a car carelessly, they’ll actually learn economics from The Sims, they’ll learn strategy from Command Conquer, and they’ll learn teamwork and strong coordination when playing Counter Strike multiplayer. Even in games like Flight or Train Simulator, children will learn how to fly a Boeing, an Airbus, or about the use of signal traffic systems in real railway technology. In addition, research by a scientist at the University of Oxford has claimed that playing the video game “Tetris” after a big scare could reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, although much remains to be done to translate this result from experimental science. in a potential treatment.
Today, the amazing success of the Nintendo Wii has brought about a new video game paradigm: mental training for your mind, visual training for your eyes, and physical training for your body. We can play golf like Tiger Woods did, play tennis with Roger Federer in his own living room; even learning how to quit by following the Allen Carr method. With the help of the mainstream, gaming is now moving to a much more social stage, not just playing online, but now friends gathering in living rooms to dance, sing karaoke, play quizzes or pretend to be in rock bands.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. The games still have some drawbacks and could cost people physically. The stiff joints and gnarled fingers that result from too long a joypad session, or the muscle strains that plague enthusiastic Wii users are some of the counterweights that follow the mental benefits generated by video games. That is why a control of oneself and the time during the games is very necessary. The most important thing is to relax during the game, as most people tend to get carried away when playing. They get frustrated when they lose and become addicted when they win. Remember, games are just tools for entertainment; they have nothing to do with your pride and your real life. Becoming a smart player is really a choice.
In the near future, as the world becomes more uncertain and the economic downturn continues, people will be more eager than ever to escape to another world, like the one in video games. There is nothing wrong with it, but again, self-control is needed to not become an addicted gamer who only thinks about his game instead of his real life. As time goes on, no answer will be satisfactory enough to answer our initial question. Who has the reason? Children or parents? The easiest way to answer is: both sides are right, and both sides should use their arguments to check each other.