|
Jul 07, 2010, 07:23 PM
|
|
|
at the mention of this vitriol towards videogames, I want to say a story about... pokemon (Oh? How did you guess I was going to say that?)
would you believe me if I told you that videogames inspired creativity out of me? I can't tell you how much cardboard from velvet art posters went into making fake pokemon cards and fake game boys. I'd make up my own badges by coloring marker on a piece of tape and putting another piece of tape on top of that so it wouldn't smudge off. I had an entire binder filled with fake pokemon.
Before it was banned from school all the kids would bring their pokemon things to school and show off during recess. we would trade and battle our pokemon until our games glitched (probably because link cables are crap) we'd trade cards as well. There was a supervisor who was partially disabled but she enjoyed drawing for us if we brought her a picture. I'd usually bring over my pokemon cards or a book about all the species of birds. I treasured those pictures.
Needless to say I do have a lot of fond memories to look back on and I think they were a positive influence on my life.
The other option of course was playing with other more old fashioned toys. Out of the two I definitely think that the videogames were better for developing social skills. We learned about treating each other fairly, that you can't always be the victor, (sharing was a bit more tricky because sharing took no time at all to become stealing, so everyone put their name on everything. This would have been the exact same way with the other toys had they actually belonged to us and weren't just laying around the after school program)
Those who feel videogames kill the imagination clearly underestimate the power of a child's imagination. Even with very simple videogames adults see as the same pointless thing over and over again to a child can be a rich and vivid world filled with wonder. If a character had no personality you gave it one yourself, that little sprite of food on a table used as a decoration? Well my guy has got to be hungry so let's pretend he's eating it. Those flowers used for decoration on the screen? Well, it is a nice day so lets stand in the middle of them for a little while.
Of course having your character enjoy the great outdoors is no substitute of actually enjoying them, all things need to be in moderation. I do not support children shut in the house all day playing videogames however I do think that they are actually good for kids if used in moderation.
If we want to say that they do nothing for life skills and do not prepare them for the real world then all playing aside from playing house can be classified as such. It is called play for a reason- not every second of a child's life has to be dedicated into turning them into adults. Children have enough pressure on them as it is.
A huge issue is that parents do not seem to be reading the labels on videogames. Games that involve killing such as grand theft auto and war games are usually rated mature. ONLY adults are supposed to play mature rated games. Not children, not even teens. Fantasy violence usually is more lenient because they are usually not horribly graphic about death and the bottom line is that it is clearly fantasy and as long as you have the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality you do not have to worry about becoming a murderous person. The only games children are supposed to be playing are rated E. (and if they are over 10: E+10 which is everyone over 10) these games I have found to be nonviolent or at least have no-visible-injuries or cartoon esque violence, they usually have puzzles involved in one form or another that stimulate your brain, and everything a parent may find objectionable is printed on the back for the parent to read next to the label. Even one of the least violent and most kid friendly E games I own "Harvest Moon" has a warning about the use of alcohol in the game by the label because there is a "bar" (all of the drinks have silly names and you can't get drunk though so I don't even know if they have alcohol in them  ). With few exceptions I usually only play E rated games and maybe a few T rated ones because I'm not a big fan of violent games.
... did I mention a friend of mine who has played games like an addict all her life (and just loves her violent videogames) and is going to college to be a video game designer? She is an incredibly talented writer and artist.
You do have a level of control of what your child plays and for how long. Each child is an individual and will react differently.
As for the topic: I think the attention span thing is that videogames are so stimulating that while being in this state they just aren't patient enough to preform whatever task they were required to do. Give them some time away from videogames and for their brains to settle down and they'll be right back to normal.
|