The TRUTH about the mental effects of video gaming.

Ealier this evening I was at my cousin's house making D&D characters for an upcoming game.We all use to play the game alot , but haven't in many years.Since we are having to learn an entire new edition of the game,the character creation process was a little more time consuming than it used to be.So in the midst of making the new characters,we talked about lots of things.One of the conversations that came up was the the effects that video games have on kids.

The general consensus of my cousins was that video games are bad for kids and make them dumb,fat and lazy.At the time the conversation took place I really didn't put alot of thought into what was being said because I was more focused on having a good time hanging out with my family and making D&D characters,but a little while ago I was sitting in my chair playing Ghost Recon:Advanced Warfighter and began to think about what had been discussed earlier.

It began to bother mainly because my 5 year old son has had a video game controller of one sort or another in his hand since he was born,and I myself have been an avid gamer all my life.What bothered me though wasn't the idea that somehow I was a bad parent because I let my kid play so many games or that I was dumb because I did,what bothered me was that in this day and age people still view video games as rotting kids brains.

Now I will be the first person to say that certain games shouldn't be played by kids,which is why there is a ratings system.Games like Grand Theft Auto should never be played by kids(even though we all know they are,but that is the fault of the parent).And it is apparently obvious that if a kid does absolutely nothing more than sit on the couch playing games that he/she is bound to become fat and lazy.But the fact is that most kids do still go outside and do things outside of playing video games.I know my son spends way more time outside playing than he does playing video games.But the idea that games are actually making kids dumber is simply untrue.

Throughout the years of being into games and reading gaming magezines and whatnot,I can remember reading articles here and there in which scientist and/or college professors/students have conducted tests on the mental affects brought about by playing video games and each time they have found that playing games actually makes you smarter.This has never really surprised me though considering how many games I play and how amazingly intelligent I am.

Everyone ,I think,has always known and admitted the fact that playing video games improves hand-eye coordination,thats a given.But some of the other benefits that scientist have found are that games improve social skills,sharpness of thought ,puzzle solving skills,the ability to track multiple objects at the same time,concentration,the ablilty to use all of your senses as one cohesive instrument and so on and so forth.I've even read cases where parents have credited video games with helping their child learn to read,simply because the child wanted to know what the text in the game said.

So to answer the question: " Do video games make kids dumber?",the answer is no,quite the opposite,they make you smarter.Since video game systems came out they have been considered to be bad for one reason or another.For years people and orginazations have pointed their fingers saying games are too violent when in all actuality they pale in comparison to movies.Now heres a conundrum for ya, tv and movies are considered totally acceptable in our society,lots of parents will even allow their children to watch movies that are often too violent/sexual/vulgar for their age and freak out over a video game that isn't nowhere near as bad as the movies that they are allowed to watch.

Video games improve mental and physical reflexes,provde mental and emtional stimulation and are proven to make you smarter,whereas movies only provide emotional stimulation.Obviously not all games are created equal as far as mental benefits go,but no matter what game they are playing they are gaining a skill in some form or fashion,even if it's just hand-eye coordination.If anyone is interested in reading a few of the articles about studies showing that video games make you smarter,I've compiled a short list of links.Just click on any of the following links to read the corrosponding story.

1.)ABC NEWS
2.)petetheelder.com
3.)theglobe an mail.com
4.)kaboose.com
5.)usabilitynews.com
6.)slashdot.org
7.)news.com.com
8.)pcgamezone.com
9.)hlb.com
10.)infoproc.blogspot.com