“Video games are bad for you? That’s what they said about rock and roll.” -Shigeru Miyamoto, inventor of Mario and Zelda.
Far from being bad, video games are good for you!
First off, video games do not cause or increase violent or sexual activity. There has been no proof to support this claim, despite many studies on the subject. If you have a moral issue with gaming, that’s a completely different story. Believe what you will.
But gaming has it benefits. Video games are proven to improve reflexes and observational skills. A recent study at the University of Rochester showed that gamers average a 30 percent higher visual response rate than non-gamers.
And just because you play video games doesn’t mean you have to be an anti-social loser.
Games such as “World of Warcraft” and “Everquest” are all about social interaction. Think of them as chat rooms with pretty graphics and a plot. Because games such as these incorporate aspects of teamwork, if you don’t work together, you lose.
For most people, the stereotypical video gamer is a young adult male wasting away in front of a TV screen.
But according to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, 43 percent of all gamers are female, and only 30 percent are between the ages 18 and 35 (40 percent are under 18 and 30 percent are over 35).
According to the same study, “Video gamers devote more than triple the amount of time spent playing games each week to exercising or playing sports, volunteering in the community, religious activities, creative endeavors, cultural activities, and reading.”
It’s not like video gamers are hopeless recluses–we’re normal people with ordinary lives.
If you think I’m a voice in the wilderness, you might be surprised who shares my opinion.
Ronald Reagan once said this: “I recently learned something quite interesting about video games. Many young people have developed incredible hand, eye and brain coordination in playing these games. The Air Force believes these kids will be our outstanding pilots should they fly our jets.”
Come to your own conclusions, but I’ll be playing Halo 2 with my friends tonight. And who knows, if I practice enough maybe I’ll be the next super-soldier saving the earth.