There is always concern if video and computer games make people violent or they are just a waste of time. What do I say? No. The person makes themselves violent, and maturity plays a factor. My friends along with myself are pretty chill. Of course we get excited or may have a quick fist pound on the table, but nothing to the point where we are going to hurt anyone.
I have read dozens of articles on parents taking away video games because they fear they will make their child too unstable. There was even an incident in the media of a kid attacking his mother because she pulled the power on his Halo 3, but I’m sure there are many other issues there aside from video games. A huge part of that is the media, they hype it all up. Video games get blamed for a lot of it which I find very dumb. Check out how many copies of that game have been sold, the number of offenders/copies sold really don’t add up.
I believe there has to be an understanding between the parent and child. Most parents don’t seem to understand video games and probably don’t want to, which is a shame. If the child was into an acceptable sport such as hockey, soccer, baseball etc. the parents would most likely listen.
The parents may see their child sitting in front of that screen and think he’s doing nothing! Nothing at all! Which is half true… I have friends who now live in California that I grew up with in Juneau. With the whole distance thing we can’t exactly go out and do something. Instead we jump on World of Warcraft at least once a week to “hang out”. It keeps communication going and the friendships alive. But this also goes with my friends here in Juneau, all my friends either go to school full time or work full time so outside of the weekends I can still see them online and hang out with them there.
Growing up, my parents were always cool with my gaming, as long as I got my chores and school work done. But the difference may be with my parents. My dad has played computer and video games as long as I remember, my mom was really into Nintendo back in the day.
Games are just like anything else: “in moderation”. Get your responsibilities done then jump on a game for a hour or two, then go outside and do something. Of course, there will be those days you will be in front of that screen for a full day on the weekend… No big deal, it’s not everyday.
Now parents, let’s say you have read this and may agree with some points but not others. If your child wants that uber super new awesome game that’s out, Google it! Now, don’t just look for the NC17 rating, look deeper. Look for a reviewer who rips the game apart and has pictures of what is really going on; also check to see if the game has parental settings. Game makers are getting smart and adding in settings to eliminate blood, gore, and profanity.
If you are afraid of other people online stalking your child through his/her Xbox, you can turn off voice communication. There are so many parental settings on games now, so do your research! Never judge a book by its cover.. or commercially set rating:)
~Micah
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