So video games could be good for kids? Everything I have heard about video games are they are bad, evil, rot your mind. Hillary Clinton made a huge deal out of it years ago and came up with the game rating system. Every time I see someone say how bad video games are for kids I always immediately throw up the B.S. flag. I grew up playing video games and I was able to easily understand the context of a video game. With me though I know I would have rather have played with one of my friends than playing alone. That is the thing with most gamers as well. According to a Pew Internet study it said that some 65% of kids play with other people. A great excerpt out of the article is "I think we have this image that people who play games are playing them alone in a dark basement and in fact what we found is that the majority of teens engage with other people most of the time," said Amanda Lenhart, of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which supported the study.
I couldn't agree more. I know with most the people that i know that play games are always on Xbox Live playing with their friends or coworkers. Very few people I know actually lock themselves up in their rooms and play alone. and the data backs that up. Like Jenkins said with his 10 traits of the new media landscape, networking has made this even more possible. Also in the same study it says what the most popular games are out there, they are not shooters, not fighters. They are puzzle games, racing games, and sports games. In the article it says that gaming is a peer based learning system, kids are learning how to cooperate with each other to solve problems, to communicate, and to share knowledge. So is gaming really that nerdy and bad for the kids? I think not.
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I agree. The theory that playing video games can be bad for children is an old fallacy. I have actually read somewhere that playing video games can actually speed up your metabolism, not to mention encourage better hand and eye coordination. All things in moderation of course. The problem is not the actual act of playing video games that is harmful it's is the amount of time that children spend doing it and I'm sure it isn't beneficial to be also playing them by yourself, but like you said, 65% of kids play with other children. I think it is time for parents to step in when the see excessive use of video games especially when a child is constantly doing it alone. We simply need a little more parental guidance.
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