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[V87]Video Games And Television

by Victor Epand, Vic

I enjoy playing computer games and video games, although I am not a teenager, and even further from being a child - yet according to many people, I am highly likely to be a violent, irresponsible, society hating thug with no concern for the welfare of other people or the environment, and with a high chance of ending up either dead or in jail. Surprisingly, I am none of the above, and am actually a perfectly sane, perfectly sociable, intelligent professional who does a great deal for charity and has a family and two dogs. Statistics - they're always guaranteed to be wrong 67% of the time. Like that one.

The thing is, it is very easy for people to jump on to a popular bandwagon and assume that anyone who has a fascination with, or simple enjoyment of, computer games or video games which involve one character or characters killing or conquering another, must have an unhealthy tendency towards violence and that this will become so engrained within their psyche that, sooner or later, they're going to lurch down the street armed with a machete, an evil grin and a blood stained hooded anorak.

In fact, not only is violent crime decreasing quite considerably and quite quickly, but at the same time, the number of video games available, and the number being bought and presumably played, is increasing. How does that work out then? If the use of the games is on the increase, it would follow, according to popular assumption and argument, that violent crime should also increase.

The problem is, that time and again it has been shown that playing video games or computer games does no more harm to you than watching television or reading books. The real issues and problems with any social makeup or lack of morals lie with the upbringing of a child, with the family and its own morals and consistencies. Computer games cannot be blamed for society's general lack of understanding of how to tackle the issue of crime.

Granted, there are some very violent games on the market today, and personally, I tend not to favor them as much, and in most cases these games have age restrictions on them. Although this is supposed to prevent children from seeing or playing these games, there is no such check carried out if bought online, second hand, passed down from an older sibling or friend, and even many parents don't check the labels in the first place.

As with anything in life, computer and video games have to be used in moderation, and anyone who becomes unhealthily absorbed or obsessed with a game is doing no good to themselves in any case - such an addiction needs to be identified and dealt with early. But just because some children enjoy spending an hour or so each day pretending to be an orc, or a secret agent, or a military leader, there is no reason to assume that they will eventually walk down the high street, completely brainwashed into believing that they really are orcs and that they need to purge the high street of humans. At least, if they do have those thoughts, the cause of the problem lies a lot deeper than in a video game.

Some people jump up violently when they hear the word "video games." There is a common stigma about how video games negatively affects the spirit of today's youth by rotting their brain and draining them of drive to do anything in life. Do you remember those school shootings a few years ago? Those shooters played certain, violent video games that involved killing a lot of "bad guys" with lots of guns. And guess where most of the blame was pinned on...

Look around and see the hard-core video gamers that society loathes so much: the isolate locked in his room playing an online game for hours on end, the disconnected teen who trades a family trip for a day playing video games, and the introverted child who is able to play with his hand-held console but is unable to talk to anyone else.

With all this evidence presented before them (and their first-hand experiences bolstering that evidence,) an angry mob of parents would probably burn anyone who says that video games are educational toys that could help their children grow and develop into fine adults. But believe it or not, that is what they are meant to be.

Stop for a moment and think: what are educational toys? Or rather, where can you learn from something? Video games offer stories to tell, situations and problems that the gamer must overcome. As parents, your children are exposed to these situations, and their problem-solving skills are tested as they proceed along the story that these games offer.

Of course, standard toys don't normally let you use big guns to kill the evil alien or hack and slash your way out of a dungeon. That's the difference between a bucket of Lego blocks and video games: the latter deals with more mature themes and mature decisions, especially the morally-questioning ones.

Video games are double-edged swords. Without any parental guidance and involvement, they will definitely rot the brain of your child, especially if they play it in excess and disregard everything else in life. However, when parents play with their child, interact with them in a game setting, and teach them what lessons they could learn from video these video games, then these games transcend their stigma from being "brain-drainer toys" to being "brain-enhancing educational toys."

As parents, take time to watch your children as they play. Don't immediately dismiss the games as brain-rot. Make an effort to understand what they're playing and how the game works. Once you've done that, you can then set the necessary limits and at the same time, help your child integrate the positive lessons the game has to offer while helping them interpret the more difficult moral situations that they are placed in the game, like killing or other similar situations. The higher the age-rating of the video game, the more interpretation it will need, as these games offer much more mature situations than their brethren that are designed for younger ages.

With that said, all video games offer situations and problems to solve. As parents, it is your role to help your child understand these situations so that they can separate the fanciful situations of the game from the real-life lessons that they can bring with them as they grow up.

Now who said video games serve only to rot brains?

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Both Victor Epand & Rachel Nunez are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Victor Epand has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Trucks and Interest. Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for