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It's not because those are things we have positive emotional associations with from of our childhood that they're actually positive things. I for one would have
by Bayart 5y ago
It's not because those are things we have positive emotional associations with from of our childhood that they're actually positive things. I for one would have rather never played video games or watched MTV.
You remember those old farts, annoying everybody with their sanctimonious imprecations about video games ? They were right.
- pjc50 5y ago> I for one would have rather never played video games or watched MTV. This is rather sad; would you rather have been prevented from them? What would you prefer to have been made to do?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Bayart 5y agoGo out, socialize with other kids, experience a broader variety of things, grow up. I'm now absolutely certain my using video games as an excuse to stay inside as a teenager and young adult severely delayed my emotional and social growth. I was always a rather solitary kid but there was no merit in reinforcing those habits.
- Grustaf 5y agoFew things are as useless as watching TV and playing video games. Especially when you're young, the world is your oyster, you should hang out with friends and do things in the real world. Yes, playing video games occasionally with friends or watching the odd film can be good things but that's obviously not what we're talking about here. I'm very happy most of my childhood memories revolve around tree houses, bicycles and gangs of friends roaming the streets.
- FredPret 5y agoSpot on. I wish I “played” in my 20’s by starting side businesses in real life rather than ones that only exist on a tiny piece of silicon.
- FredPret 5y agoI'm with you 100% on this one. I wish I never picked up that first game when I was 6. I wasted so much time especially in my 20's racking up idiotic "achievements" that exist only in a Factorio savegame and other similarly irrelevant places.
- Grustaf 5y agoI completely agree with your sentiment, but it's important to be aware of the real problem. Most people, opponents and supporters of video games alike, tend to discuss if the activity itself is harmful - does it make us desensitised to violence etc, but the real issue is what you are NOT doing when you play those games. If a child doesn't have easy access to cheap thrills from a video game, she will start using her imagination, draw something, go to a friend, come up with some mischief. Time is limited, and childhood is the most precious thing in the world, don't waste it.
- Gene_Parmesan 5y agoNah, not really. Video games have been shown to be very good at increasing problem solving, planning, and fine motor skills. The problem is parents (including mine) who didn't/don't put reasonable limits on their use. A kid who plays video games a couple hours per week is going to turn out just fine. I think there are also serious qualitative differences between games in the 90s/00s and mobile freemium games of today.
- FredPret 5y agoPracticing problem solving skills in the simplified and consequence-free video game world is very useful at a very young age. But young minds must switch over to solving problems in the far richer and more complicated real world as soon as possible.