I just read all of your comments, I think some of them are wrong some of them are right some of them are in the middle. I like how Steve Burke told things, and Aaron, plus Eric’s. I don’t like Stephine’s point of view at all, she should be more open minded…… Sorry…. For I as a pre teen, and used to be addicted to videogames, I play them sometimes but I spend my time on the internet more. I read your comments, for most of you all say that videogames are just all bad just because you feel that they ignore you and don’t do anything healthy about it and everyone agrees on not letting your children playing videogames as much.

First of all, I have a problem with going outdoors, especially recess which I hate because you are exposed to other people dropping in your conversation and passing by and teasing you. And there is nothing to do outside, I mean there isn’t anything to do, you can just expect them to think of something but what if there isn’t really anything? So I spend my time on the my DSI and my wii. It actually cheers me up more if I am playing videogames especially a easy part. My hand eye coordination is pretty good, I don’t really know how that got there but my mom’s friend said it’s because I play videogames a lot. I pretty much stopped playing videogames because nothing new is out, so I write fantasy and fanfiction instead. I am not person who likes to go outdoors at all, as said above, I am also scared of parasites so I am pretty careful about what comes into my mouth. I feel that videogames are good for you, it has it’s goods and bads, it’s entertaining, but itches my eyes as for the DSI.

A few weeks ago, some friends called me up, and invited me to hit Ocean Beach with them. It was, in a word, incredible.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to countries all over the world, and seen breathtaking sights to rival the best of them, but there was something different about discovering that it was a five minute bus ride away. If kids would actually get out of the house, they could find places that make their video game worlds (however engrossing) seem downright barren.

Ultimately, however, no one plays a game for the landscape; you play them for story and action – something which isn’t necessarily sitting out your front door, in quite the same way.

Kids have a “growth gap” now which didn’t quite exist so starkly before; by the time kids used to get their first job, they were still using their imagination to play “cowboy and indians” with their friends. Now, kids have, for the most part, a gap from when they stop using imagination for recreation, and when they begin doing something productive.

That gap is, for the most part, called “High School”.

I don’t think anyone here would contest my saying that modern US high schools aren’t the kind of “social interaction” that fosters well-balanced, socially “healthy” kids. There’s too much drama, clique culture, and inappropriate innuendos to be somewhere a kid “grows”, in anything but height. There are, of course, plenty of alternatives to public schooling, but many aren’t feasible for the majority of parents.

I don’t think video games are necessarily any different from a Murakami or Tolkien novel, provided they’re the right games, but I certainly know that the majority of games kids are playing are better compared to Goosebumps or Animorphs.

Just as you wouldn’t want your kid spending all his time reading Goosebumps, don’t let him waste his time on games like Grand Theft Auto or some shooting game.

It’s harder for parents to police video games for content and quality, because they’re unfamiliar with them, but a Google Images search should tell you if the game your kid is playing is something you wouldn’t want him reading.

Lastly….

In my opinion as a “gamer”, kids shouldn’t be playing them in any real amount until high school at least, and even then only as much as they do healthy outdoor activity.

The real danger is having video games becoming a de facto source of entertainment. If you look back at your own childhood, you’ll probably realize that some of the coolest stuff you did came out of being bored out of your skull.

As for the study, I would certainly believe that “strategic thinking” and cooperation (in the case of multiplayer games) are improved by some video game playing. It’s important to realize that video games merely present a challenge to be overcome. The fact that they are so good at providing feedback consistent with effort is what makes them so entertaining. There’s loads of positive and negative reinforcement. Depending on how this is used, the effects can be both good and bad.

Again, I think it’s healthy to view media as simply a ‘distribution channel’ to empower kids in new ways to get kids outdoors and do good things rather than take a polarized ‘either/or’ approach. As you know, I’ve written about this extensively in our EcoKids category on Shaping Youth…about ‘gaming for good, gaming for health, etc.’ Even our NCLI partnership consortium’s ‘Get ‘em outside’ video and online media campaign took place leveraging the internet…so we mustn’t shut off to new outreach methods with the same end goal. It’s all about balance and using the power of media for positive change, imho. (that’s our tagline at Shaping Youth, so I’m biased)

Whether it’s the ‘teens turning green’ crew I’m about to write about here on ECP or any other innovation for education pedagogy, I say “any way we can get there” ya know? –Amy Jussel