Video games: lobotomy or innocent hobby?
Who hasn’t tasted the pleasure of videogaming? Certainly only aliens from Mars. Video games are the newest way to have fun – but also the newest way to lose money and time. Most parents think that videogames make their children stupid or violent!
But isn’t it natural to be a bit suspicious about something new, something they didn’t have when they were young? Questions like this arose in the 18th centuy, when novels became a popular pastime. People thought reading stole concentration, weakened teens‘ bodies and tore families apart. No, I’m serious! So next time your parents say „Stop playing on the Xbox and go read a book“, you can quote this article.
Now imagine a boy who plays soccer for two hours each day and goes to a club each weekend. Would you say he is addicted to soccer? But a teen who plays FIFA 14 an hour per day would certainly count as „addicted“, even though the two are doing much the same thing: having fun and socializing.
An American study made by two psychologists in 2013 came to the conclusion that violent games did not raise the „aggression potential“ when played alone. And if any video game is played by multiple people, the aggression potential gets smaller! I believe that video games will be, in a generation, a hobby like books or board games, and that you will find games like Battlefield, Legend Of Zelda or Minecraft between a copy of Harry Potter and a set of chessmen.
