Discussion topic: video games

Pesky

I've been reading a really interesting book called Boys Adrift that my BIL (a psychologist so this is work related for him) had on his wishlist and I ended up picking up for me too.  It's about how boys and young men are disengaging from education and life in general and there is an entire chapter devoted to video games, primarily violent video games.  He thinks it is a more appealing "reality" for certain boys (he does recognize that for some it has this impact and for others it doesn't) than real life which is why many boys seek refuge in video games to the point of ignoring friends and even teen boys ignoring girls.

Thoughts?  Do you think video games are a problem today or no?

ondrea

we are justing starting the video game realm with DS at 6 yrs old.    he loves Mario brothers on his NIntendo DSi and then right after that his next 2 favorits are sword fighting on Wii and Legend of Zelda.  Zelda is more of a fantasy world where you have to fight to find the girl.  I think that he definitely zones out and disengages when he's playing these, but at age 6 I can't comment on ignoring friends and education. 

We limit his time and exposure and he still would rather play with his friends and loves school and doing extra homework at home.  we'll see how it goes as he gets older...

daisies0406

I think it can go both ways and it can depend on the guy/kid.  Both of my brothers are big gamers.  1 brother is an electrical engineer and is married and there will be kids in their future.  He's and eagle scout and he has always had lots of friends.  My other brother has never  been great in the education department and he zoned out much more in the video games than my other brother did.  He always had friends and he's an eagle scout as well and he's also married, but he's never had the same motivation as my other brother.  DH is not a gamer at all, and I'm happy about that, we don't even have a gaming console in our house so we'll see how DS is once he's exposed to that kind of stuff at friends' houses when he gets older.  I know a guy who spends hours and hours playing World of Warcraft and his wife can not stand it because he ignores her and their 6 month old daughter.  Now, he was like this before they got married, but she was kind of desperate to get married and have a baby.  So, I really think it depends on the guy and maybe the parents too when the boys are younger.  I think limiting gaming time is good and exposing them to other things is good too...keep them well rounded, I think.

carrierrie

My nephews just turned 9 and 12 are really into video games including the extremely violent ones.  I really worry about them.  I might have to read this...

tra_la_la

DH is a gamer. When we met it was really bad- 5-7 hours a night. From then on it went through phases. For the first year we were together he really cut back, his roomate and I didn't get along so I wasn't allowed at their house. Then he got his own place and he started spending more time gaming again.

Up until G was born he was spending atleast 2 hours every day gaming. Well even after he would lay her on the couch or his chest and play. As she got older he cut back even more and now it is about every 2 days he plays for a few hours. I think it becomes an addiction and like most things people get addicted to they use it as a coping tool. If DH is upset of having a hard time it is one of the only things that will pull him out. He gave up video games 100% for lent last year and was started to exhibit signs of being depressed. To the point where I ended up talking him in to playing. He has never chosen that over socailizing and he has never neglected his responsibilties or relationships over it. I could see it happening to some people but again I think that has to do with the addticion part.

FWIW I don't think violent or non violent have anything to do with it. It is more the platform that people like. Games like call of duty and world of warcraft, halo, etc are all very popular because they are "connecting" with others out there. These games aresemi- violent (shooting, hitting, swords, but not graphic) but there are much worse ones out there and those are usually not the games people get hooked on.

ETA: DH does not play violent or even semi violent games unless G isn't home or is alseep.

WonderRed

Generally speaking, I loathe video games.   Now, that said, we do have a Smart Cycle video game system, the kind that requires N to ride a stationary bike to play the game.   I feel like at least he's getting some exercise when he plays and the only games we have are educational games.  He doesn't even play them once a week and when he does I limit it to 30 minutes.    I don't see me buying him a "real" game system for a very very very long time, if ever because I just think the true games are too violent and are mind sucking.   I guess, if I have the Smart Cycle for the exercise thing, I should consider a Wii too, but I just think it's a slippery slope for something I don't really want in my house.  

EngagedinVegas

Eh, if there is good family structure, I don't think video games are a big deal.