I would like to make a few points against the article “Are Video Games Ruining Our Youth?”, which was placed on this site last week. I disagree strongly with this article on effectively every point they put forth, and I will attempt to show why in an article of my own.
In the article I write about, the author seems to think that even touching a video game will make your child a lazy, chair-bound loser. This is patently untrue. Also, the author says that anyone who grows up playing video games will become a “introverted” and “lonely” person, or if not, will have deep emotional problems from “sitting around shooting imaginary people all day.” Not only can most video games hardly be classified as “sitting around shooting imaginary people”, but playing them will certainly not turn you into some sort of introverted psychopath.
Also, the writer seems to believe that playing games will make you unable to so much as talk to other people. Not only do many gamers have healthy social lives, they can also make new friends playing games, especially if it is a MMO such as World of Warcraft, one of the games the author seems to take special issue with.
In addition, he writes that playing games will destroy your child’s future, ruin their grades, and make them into a minimum-wage worker for life. Not only do many gamers hold high-paying jobs, gaming can actually help build some of the skills needed to succeed at difficult careers, or help you improve your memory in old age.
Lastly, he believes that if a child is caught playing a game, parents should quickly throw the games out, lecture their child, and never allow a game in the house again. This is foolish and unhelpful, even for parents that actually dislike game-playing, as it will only make the child want to play games more. Of course, just letting your kids play, and hopefully learn some skills they can use in the future, is best. After all, they will have fun.
