Until they actually look at which games they're playing, I think they're missing an important factor.

Are they playing solo games, against a computer? Are they playing 'duel' games, where you work to defeat another human? Or maybe MMO's, where you can either run solo or interact with many others on a continuous basis, in online social settings such as kinships?

And is it playing the game that causes the behaviour, or is it the behaviour that results in playing the game? Do people who aren't satisfied with their lives play games a lot to escape their lives in a way that's far cheaper than drugs or alcohol?

Kids with shittier lives probably try to escape into video games the way the kids I grew up with escaped in to Dungeons and Dragons, science fiction novels, and music.

My hand-eye coordination has improved as I get better in games, and my left hand almost as used as my right now.

Our reflexes will be better tested & our minds will be swifter.
The only thing we'll probably have to worry about is arthritis.
But by then they'll probably some remedy for that too.

John Lucas

As a child I learned many things from a videogame screen.
A little bit of art, a little bit of literature, a little bit of music, a little bit of business, a little bit of life.

The older generation demonizes what they don't understand.
It's nothing new.
But over time the hysteria dies down & reality sets in.
The great Shigeru Miyamoto once said this in response to the videogame hysteria:
"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll"

I played more than 3 hours a day & I'm just fine, by the way.
I'm also pretty satisfied with life.
I can turn off technology & have long face-to-face one-on-one intelligent conversations with somebody.
Doesn't sound like less prosocial behavior to me.
And I'm pretty copacetic most of the time so there goes that fear about emotional problems.

Ralph Baer, the creator of the very first videogame console—the Magnavox Odyssey, always believed that television should be an ACTIVE medium rather than PASSIVE medium.
It's no wonder that he transformed the TV with the Odyssey & helped usher in a new era.
Thanks to INTERACTIVE videogames, we now have this interactive technological world we're living in today.

Tired of the worrywarts.
The generation who grew up with gaming are taking over & these panicky attitudes about videogaming will go Jurassic just like other dinosaurian types of thoughts.
Hell Forbes magazine is talking about videogaming on a regular basis!
That was unheard of 20 years ago!

Games are fun.
Games are good.
Games are forever.

John Lucas

Ballet!

Togas without sandals!

These kids today, We're DOOOOOMED!

Why does each generation forget the silliness foisted upon them by the last generation & put that burden on the new generation?
Why does each generation forget what they were like when they were young?
Why does each generation by & large forget the history of the sentiment "These kids today" through the centuries & millenia?
Why does each generation slowly become a bunch of old fogies for the most part?

What happens to the brain that causes these changes & blind spots?

I told myself in my teens that I would NEVER become one of those people when I get older.
I do my best to fight that attitude & not fall into that trap.

I remember the days when they said that Bart Simpson would corrupt children.
I remember when there was a furor & panic over Beavis & Butthead.
Generations before were so worried about Elvis Presley swinging his hips like a Black man on nationwide TV.

After awhile all of this ends up on Sesame Street as part of the culture.
Little Richard's on Sesame Street singing "Tutti Frutti! Oh Rudy!" to the kids.
Tutti Frutti was originally a BOOTY song!
It's supposed to go "Tutti Frutti! Good Booty! Whooooo!"

South Park was once dangerous crude humor.
Now it's intelligent social commentary.

Videogames were for losers & freaks.
Now it's accepted as a legitimate medium of entertainment.
Adults have game libraries like people used to have book libraries.

Centuries down the line Super Mario Bros. will be revered like Shakespeare.
John Lucas

That's a fucking no-brainer, but good luck communicating that to the neo-luddism crowd.

I thought the game was stupid until I picked up a controller one day to play with my son. It's so addicting...

namely open-ended web based collaborative efforts, which may be the defining way for humans to actualize their ideas and creativity in the 21st century.

https://medium.com/message/the-secret-of-minecraft-97dfacb05a3c

had a field day with it. And he was creating stuff that just amazed me.

Lets see, sitting passively watching TV or sitting in front of a computer and designing and running a whole city... tough call

At this point, I don't personally have the patience.

But people do incredible stuff with it.

http://westeroscraft.com/

But he loved videogames. I was in college at the time. I visited and he asked me to help him with a game he was stuck on. I looked up the solution on the internet for him. He didn't know you could find game answers online.

When i came back to visit a couple months later he was fluently reading and finding his own solutions online. He began reading novels at a very young age and is a true booklover now. He began volunteering at the library at 12 and worked there all through highschool. He graduated top of his class and earned scholarships. He's now on pace to graduate early from college (he works at the college library, BTW).

Videogames contain puzzles, reading, hand eye coordination, math...it's absurd to think that they don't provide benefits beyond what you get with non-interactive media.

Wonder what the weight differences are for those that actively play and/or exercise compared to those that sit at a computer for 3 hours a day.....

Kids that actively play outside and play sports still often play videogames 3 hours a day. They aren't mutually exclusive.

nt

I wouldn't necessarily say Call of Duty is healthy, but there's certainly a case to be made for real time strategy, adventure, and games like Portal.

As opposed to watching TV.

FPS's certainly have their merits.