From the parent's perspective, video games are a cancer for their beloved children. They rot young minds as they expose violence to young children. Parents believe that they have an adverse effect on the behavior of children. Children tend to respond to the ‘so-called inspiring' characters/superheroes shown in the video games and incorporate their characteristics into their own personalities; children imitate the actions of those characters/superheroes. Moreover, some of these games show explicit content which is not appropriate for people under certain age.
Plus, video games addiction goes without saying. Children cannot avoid these evil temptations and psychological obsession to play these graphically designed games which contributes to childhood obesity. Therefore, parents look at these games as being no different than any other ‘junk food'.
However, there have been a number of studies and researches done on this very dilemma to know whether these games are good or are they bad, and the result from these studies are surprising. An article,published inPediatrics: The Official Journal Of The American Academy of Pediatrics,suggests that video games are not horrible evil demons that corrupt the mind-set of children. It analyzed the effects of different amounts of gaming on children.
Previous studies were more inclined to show to negative aspects of gaming, but given the evidence from most recent researches, video games are not entirely a bad influence on children.
The introduction of technological gadgets (for example Nintendo's Wii or Xbox's Kinect) into video games, which forces individuals to be physically active, have greatly reduced the parents fear of their children getting fat.
Moreover, role-playing video games help individuals to change the way they think, in a positive way. An individual's response time to react to something reduces and individuals are able to make an effective decision quickly. Studies have suggested that gamers can think more strategically and effectively than normal individuals.
Video games can also play a vital role in engaging students into their education by helping them learn about new technological skills that can help them throughout their academic and professional lives. Plus, a number of teachers have adopted a new approach towards the way they teach school curricula by using these graphically designed games to maintain their student's interest and teaching core lessons like math and reading through this new format.
Also, these games can provide some level of psychological ease after a long tiring day. It helps to numb the tensions in a person's life, lighten the mood and amplify positive emotions.
Parents need to reconsider their perceptions about video games. The fact that they are more concerned about their children's development, they should know about the bright side of these games and as to how critical thinking skills are developed through these digital learning tool.
