ReubenK

Well Eric,You cant really try to stop children with video games..Its just like the government banning smoking..Also..The game makers would argue there case for around 50% of there buyers are actually kids between around 6-18 etc etc..
But yes, I agree with you about they are a "waste of time" but im sure the parents dont when it keeps them quiet for a few hours(if not to many hours)..
Just my opinion,
Reuben Keeney

Polyphemus_

I'm weird. I'm 15 and I rarely play video games, and I only watch TV when my family is watching an interesting movie .

Arevos

I'm surprised no-one has yet compared video games to television in this thread. Many people throughout the developed world watch a lot of TV. It seems to me that this passive activity is worse than getting actively involved in a video game. At least with a game you're actively exercising your mind to solve problems. With TV, you're just soaking up sensory input.

Whatever disadvantages video games have, it seems to me that they're preferable over channel surfing.

Sane

You guys seem to miss the whole point though. Video games do take up a lot of your life. It doesn't matter how little or often you play, it will take up a good chunk of time. I wouldn't have used my free time for studying, friends and programming if it weren't for putting the ol' controller down. Hell, I'd probably be the biggest game freak by now if I hadn't. But since I have, I've been able to pull up my average by 15%. Showing yes, to stop gaming can be very beneficial to your future.

King

its not weird if you dont play video games, its the people who say its a total wast of time... a moment enjoyed is not wasted.

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Seif

yeah stop gaming can be beneficial, so can no TV, less socializing more studying, drinking... etc, the list goe's on. Every teenager knows and understands this, and ultimately it's their choice (along with parents at times aswell), to decide whether they are gonna study or just slack off and play video games. If a child can't understand or make that choice freely at their age then they are gonna need a lot of help coz life has a lot harder decisions than that.

I believe in freedom of choice. taking away that freedom would do a hell of a lot more harm than good.

tempest

No, no I do not.

The simple truth is this, people have to be able to make choices and learn that their choices will have a consequence. This is how you grow, and an important part of the brain's development. For example: the people who go to college from a strict upbringing, start noticing some parties, flunk out, and leave the parents to ponder why. Simply, they're testing the boundaries of their new freedom in a way that they've never been able to do when they lived at home while they were taught the only consequences are the ones their parents can impose. This is obviously not the case of anything but bad parenting.

My parents take away my computers, game systems, pretty much everything if I do badly in a class, and from the simple perspective of looking at the people I know personally whom either share similar circumstances or don't; it works. After I failed biology in 9th grade, computers and games were enough of a motivation for me to keep my grades an average of B's for the rest of high school, and I learned quickly there was a reason behind what I saw as madness. I had the chance to fail, I did, I learned from it and then moved on.

The responsibility of a minor falls onto the parent who should know how to teach responsibility. If they don't, it's not the video games' fault.

Again, your earlier comment "Are video games a waste of time?": No, they're not. Are they productive in a scholastic sense? No, but for about 30% of an average adult's life they will be away from their job and spending leisure time. After school, homework, and taking care of any other responsibilities like chores, kids should be well adjusted to thinking this way and successfully managing their time.

Knowing this there will always be a time, a place, and a demand for games. The reality is, this is OK, as long as they understand that their own entertainment comes after their responsibilities.

Video Games also hold an important role in the stages of teaching this kind of responsibility management, considering it's something you're urged to do which doesnt require anybody else nor is it based on a time schedule like athletics. So teaching them how to manage playing video games with responsibilities, in sync with teaching them about other responsibilites, will teach them how to be successful.

A friend of mine said: You can't take the keys from a stranger buying beer at a grocery store because he might be kill somebody later on. People will always learn ignorance is not an excuse.

My opinion is this: don't blame the video games, it's the parents' responsibility to make intelligent decisions about the lessons they teach to their children. I'm glad to say that there will always be a time, place, and demand for games, but learning when that is and what you're willing to give up for it is up to you.

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King

Very well said tempest.

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Indigno

The thing is, if the person under 18 is really slacking so much that it's taking it's toll on society, then that kid is obviously stupid and probably deserved what he got.

You also have to consider the person that games responibly. If you ban people from playing them, then sure, you stop the irresponsible people from playing them, but you also punish the responsible ones. And besides, the irresponsible one will only find something else to blow his/her time on.

Lets compare it to the following:
If you take away the beer, then there will be no alchoholics. But then all of the people that drink it responsibly suffer as well. then the alchoholics just move on to something else to give them a buzz.

If you banned TV, then sure, all of the slackers would stop watching it, but the people who watched it occasionally would suffer, too. Then you also take away the benifits of the news, weather, etc...


Also, if you were to ban minors from playing videogames, then you would also ban them from making them. I know for a fact that one of the draws of programming is the ability to makes games. If you couldn't make them, then highschool programming classes would drop, because everyone would lose interest, then there would be a shortage of programmers to develop software for our computers. (Not to mention the fact that this forum would pretty much be non-existant )



I also noticed how you believe that videogames are a waste of time, and that you don't enjoy them. Well, just because you don't like it doesn't mean that no one else can. That's just you being a selfish asshole.

Also, how many gamers do you actually know who are a debt to society. I'm not talking about people you've heard of, but people you actually know? Then compare that to the total number of people you know that play video games that aren't debts, then you may just notice that the ratio is quite slim.

Eric the Red

I never said that "I don't enjoy video game". Now you're making things up. Maybe you can go back and quote me on "I don't enjoy video games". For, I do enjoy them.

My point is that they should be banned for only children. Primarily, there are studies saying that children have more aggressive behavior. "In a study by Irwin and Gross, children who played a violent video game displayed a higher level of aggression than children who played a nonviolent game" (link below), which is one reason why there detrimental to a kids future. Moreover, another argument is that they decrease child social skills: "Other detrimental effects of video games include taking time away from a child's studies or homework and decreased social skills” (link).

Therefore, you have your points and I have mine. There are 2 sides to this story. So there's no reason to write about me as follows:
For I have not shown any disrespect towards you. Show me otherwise.
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