Are videogames bad for teens?

[mariohead]

What do you think? Are teenage minds aversely affected by videogames? Do videogames "damage" developing minds and make them less smart or do they make them just as smart in a different way? I believe the latter, but I'm not 100% sure. I would like to know what others think.

 

[Mirage]

Well if it becomes a mindless addiction then videogames can be very bad for teens. If you know how to play for a while but balance your gaming time around your responsibilities then I don't see a developmental problem being of much concern.

I definitely knew people who's grades went through the floor after they became overwhelmingly obsessed with certain videogames. Counterstrike, Everquest, WoW, just to name a few. Any game that is good enough to become addicted to will do it.

Anything out of balance can be bad though, not just videogames.

 

[Kazmarov]

Videogames, like both water and pot, are dangerous in excessive amounts.

 

[dDave]

videogames are not always bad, it's an easy way to entertain yourself, some games force you to thing quite a bit, at least some that I have played. I do, however, agree that some games are completely pointless and should not be around such as games where the entire purpose it to kill other people, sure it's entertaining but it makes death seem not nearly as serious as it is.

they are also bad when they become something that the person absolutely needs, also known as an addiction.

 

[oxyMORON]

Videogames do help people develop some skills like hand eye coordination, problem solving, and reasoning, but it's better when balanced with actual activities. An addiction to anything, much less videogames, can cause grades, emotion, and/or money to go down.

Funny thing is my speech for my Communications Applications exam was on videogames' effect on people. Granted it wasn't the most well researched or well planned speech, but it was a speech dammit.

 

[Swiftstrike]

One acronym: WoW.

That game ruins people's lives...

 

[KNYTE]

Videogames, like both water and pot, are dangerous in excessive amounts.

It's all about use in moderation.

 

[Manolito_Mystiq]

From my perspective, it doesn't damage the brain at all, quite the opposite, actually. Obviously there are extreme cases where it can be damaging, but that is with everything!

During my age of 2 and about 16 (up until I became more interested in girls, you could say, heh), I was quite a gamer. Not a hardcore one, even though 4 to 5 hours a day I wouldn't say is average (maybe now it is, I'm not really in the game world anymore). I developed great reflexes. Once I sat in an F-16 Flight Simulator, and I was quite good at it, or solving those thinking puzzles, or shooting ranges, or sniping around. And working with computers in general. I 'get' the system, the virtual/imaginary system.
Games back then (80's up until beginning 90's) were often a lot more abstract than now, with a lot clearer set of rules, which made the thinking very abstract.

 

[Vincent_Valentine]

You cannot make an accurate statement regarding the question. It's too damn vague. You cannot make a definitive argument because any argument that can be made can easily be countered due to the vast scale that the question covers. There is also the factor of individual cases. Some teenage minds would be very susceptible to video game addiction or negative influence. Others, conversely, may be totally immune to those aspects. There is also the question of what types of games are being discussed. A game such as Brain Age for the DS is quite beneficial, since it "exercises the mind" with challenging thinking tasks. Games such as Grand Theft Auto, however, would seemingly have little to no "mind exercising" aspects.

In summation, it is impossible to make the statement that all video games are bad for teenagers, but one cannot totally dismiss the idea that some games, combined with some personality types, can have adverse effects.

 

[Kazmarov]

It's all about use in moderation.

What's true from shrimp cocktail, is true for all cocktails.

Always in moderation.

I'm Tony Sinclair, and that's how you Tanqueray.