Wait just a second.. We were wrong! Gaming is bad for kids! (Well in my experience)

interspark

New member
Dec 20, 2009
3,272
0
0
RetiarySword said:
I don't think I'm going to let my future kids touch games. Well not until they're at least in their early teens, or have a sport or hobby to draw them away from the digital wasteland.
i know ive got no right to tell you how to raise your kids but DONT DO THAT! my mum did exactly what you just described and i HATED her for it, admittadly i considered the fact that maybe id forgive her when i grew up but im 18 now and im still dead set against making the same mistake with my kids. Ive always loved video games and spend a LOT of time playing them even now, and i turned out alright, im bright, i went to college and i read a book from time to time. the point is you cant just assume that video games are the source of all evil just because some people are too weak to turn them off and go outside
 
Jun 26, 2009
7,508
0
0
RetiarySword said:
kordan11 said:
Sorry for the bluntness mate, but if you let gaming get in the way of all the things you wanted to do... it's not the games' fault.
Yep, I realise that now. Still, young kids don't know any better. Hind sight is a wonderful thing.
I did. I've been playing video games since I was 4 and there has been no adverse side effects on me. My mum plays video games, she works and gets payed well. I am smarter then most people in my school and I don't care much for not being good at sports but I have another hobby and that is acting. I am a obsessive gamer but that has never interfered with my acting hobby. Also at one point I took up karate but it was too easy do I quit. Point is it's a hobby if you put it in front of other things of course it will get in the way.
 

Weaver

Overcaffeinated
Apr 28, 2008
8,977
0
0
IMO, I've taken gaming breaks in the guise of productivity, but I just invent new ways to waste time.
 

Conner42

Senior Member
Jul 29, 2009
262
0
21
Well, I've been gamin for a long time. I'm 16, but I don't want to say when I started. People will think there's something wrong with me. But in all seriousness, I've done a lot. I mean, video games isn't my whole life, though I do spend a lot of time with it. Mostly because there really isn't much else to do. But, I feel like I've accomplished a lot though. I mean, I have my own band put together now. I play guitar and sing in the band, and it's a whole lot of fun. I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's really nothing wrong with gaming, as long as you find a balance between things. I mean, I play guitar, I play video games, and I've made it in the Nation Honor Roll at school. But then again, making on the National Honor Roll at school isn't really saying much, since I tend to blow off school a lot, so either the system for school is dumb, or I'm just that smart. But I doubt it's the latter.

Well, really, I can't really change your mind about anything, but I wouldn't say it's hard to find a balance between everything. I mean, it's not the games' fault that you didn't want to finish all the things that were presented to you.
 

tautologico

e^(i * pi) + 1 = 0
Apr 5, 2010
725
0
0
Instead of responding with angry projection/denial issues like most gamers here, I'd say that gaming is kinda addicting depending on your personality.

The issue is time management, and it's probably one of the more complicated things of life in our days. How to balance work, hobbies/fun and family/friends, it's quite complicated, as you seem to be learning.

Yes, maybe you should have played less, maybe your parents should have oriented you to spend less time playing and do something else, but now this is all in the past. You can't fix it. So go do what you want to do now and try to keep it balanced.

(I say this as someone who has, on occasion, let real-life stuff slip by because I was playing too much. When this starts to happen I take notice and try to correct it. I don't want to stop playing, it's too good to let it go, but I also want to do lots of other stuff in my life, some of them have very nifty returns in terms of personal or monetary gain. So, yeah, balance.)
 

Russel1

New member
Jun 13, 2008
52
0
0
On the contrary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM&playnext=1&videos=8j0PirPevcI
 

Beryl77

New member
Mar 26, 2010
1,599
0
0
Like many have already stated, this can apply to nearly everything you do often in your live. It's all about not doing it "too" often. I've been playing guitar for 8 years now, I play soccer since I'm able to walk. You should just restrict the time when you play. The same goes for your future children, Just tell them at which time they can play games.
 

The Night Shade

New member
Oct 15, 2009
2,468
0
0
It's not games fault it's your fault because you let gaming take over your hobbies.I'm 14 years old and i play games since i was 4 and i can tell you that i play games a lot but i have another hobbies like playing the drums and learn a lot about cinema in general,if you didn't have any hobbies is your fault not games fault
 

Chogg Van Helsing

New member
May 27, 2010
673
0
0
Dude, I've been playing games non-stop for ages! I also am good in school, I'm smart enough to fluke my grades! I play guitar, and I also wrtie. Gaming has never prevented me doing anything, its been a nice, relaxing pleasure in my life. If gaming has gotten in your way, it your fault, and yous alone.
 

Red Right Hand

Squatter
Feb 23, 2009
1,093
0
0
RetiarySword said:
Yep, I think the doom sayers might of been right. Before you jump in hear me out;
I've been playing games for more than a decade now, I would say around 14 years. I've defeated the robots, shot countless holes into hordes of aliens, found the master sword and saved the brainless princess, so I've been around you might say.
I'm now giving up gaming (Well for the most part) as its become too much of a distraction from studies and a dusty social life. I've sold my xbox, selling my gaming rig for a simple laptop (which can play steam games. I'm not crazy) and trading in all of my games.

Part of the reason for this is I want to become successful, well financed, and all those things which build up power and I see gaming blockading that dream.
This train of thought led me to the question; 'What could've I achieved if I didn't get that SNES?'. I started gaming when I was seven, big thing back then as I was captivated by the stories, entertained by the halarious phrases and quirky characters. But what if I done the normal kid thing, went outside, played the sports, learned the guitar.. Where could I be now.

This is mostly down to jealousy. I'm at university now, so I've met many talented people, violin players, guitar players, piano, saxophone, etc. The sportsmen with their great level of physical fitness, the schollars with vast amounts of knowlege. What can I pass on to other people, apart from 'Watch out for the snakes on level 6!'?

I don't know, but I look back and think if I stuck with the guitar lesson, played football, continued karate lessons, I could've been well.. more.

What do you think? I don't think I'm going to let my future kids touch games. Well not until they're at least in their early teens, or have a sport or hobby to draw them away from the digital wasteland. I definitely think that seven is too young. Maybe my parents or even I should of paid attention to that +13 sticker on the box?
I don't know, just something I wanted to throw out there.

'In short for the people with the "If it's more than 6 lines, I'm going to skim it" attitude (I've been there too) here the question:
What do you think you could've accomplished if you let the princess rot in that cell?
Yeah, it's a given that we could probably accomplish more if we didn't spend all of those hours playing video games. But, if instead of that I was filled with a burning ambition to be the best and not care about anything else? Well, I would hate myself. Success isn't the most important thing in life, hell, in mine it's not a part of it. If i'm happy playing video games then i'm happy. That's enough for me and should be for everyone, to be happy.
 

omega 616

Elite Member
May 1, 2009
5,883
1
43
GTFO! (joke)

Do you think people who play guitar are succseful? I assume your at least good at games, after spending years playing them, just like he is good at strumming a tune 'cos he has slaved away at learning it.

The chances of him becoming a millionaire from it are the same as you becoming the next Johnathan Wendel.

Same goes for the jocks who play NFL/football/hockey/cage fighting etc, you can make millions off it, you just have to be good enough, even people who climb the ranks in the work place spending many hours, maybe years to be better than the next guy.

We all go through the same hoops. If you think ditching gaming will help you make more cash, I think you will find yourself jumping through different hoops.
 

Agent_Nahmen_Jayden

New member
Jun 28, 2010
388
0
0
Everything you said can be the same with anything, people get too much into sports, do poorly in school, tear up their knee, and their lives are shot. Any activity you do to much is bad for you, bird watching for 5 hours after school every day and ignoriing your studies is bad for you.

Videogames, when done at times where you have nothing important planned, are awesome, but it is the person's own fault if they flunk out of school or don't try athletic or artistic endeavors just because they are playing videogames.
 

Sacman

Don't Bend! Ascend!
May 15, 2008
22,661
0
0
your on a gaming website your just asking to get flamed...
P.S. stop trolling...
 

Stryc9

Elite Member
Nov 12, 2008
1,294
0
41
Honestly, what I see here is a person with a lack of self control. If you allow gaming to eat up that much of your time then it's you and not the games. Don't paint everyone with the same brush just because you don't have the willpower to put the controller down and do the shit you need to do to succeed.
 

Teh Magic Man

New member
Feb 4, 2010
42
0
0
honestly i have had this thought myself. but then again i have had alot of similar thoughts. what if i were good at math? what if i were a midget? what if i paid attention more in high school? what if i was born in feudal europe?

anyways point being is that i think this is a fairly common thing for people to think at some point or another about... well just about everything. so yeah, maybe you could have been amazing at guitar or maybe if you stuck with karate you could have been the next Chuck Norris but in the end you chose not to stick with these things, and maybe there is a reason for that. perhaps you just weren't interested in any of that. if not the SNES, then something else along a similar line would have likely taken your interest. in the end it clearly was not ment to be. but you can still change, and its good you want to try. but dont be too suprised if you find yourself comming back to games. people can change, but usually they don't.

i would also like to add alot of you guys are being pretty hard in your posts. yes its true, a certain amount of will power is needed to put the controller down, i agree, but i think some of you may be taking this too personally. we are all gamers here and dont like having our hobby bashed but lets try and be civil here. no need to take it personally.
 

Nuke_em_05

Senior Member
Mar 30, 2009
828
0
21
As a society, we like to blame objects for our personal shortcomings.

If you wanted to do things with your life, you should have. Games didn't make you do anything. Even if you were compelled to play them so much, that's your obsessive nature.

If games ruin lives, it is because those individuals chose to neglect their lives over the games. If those individuals are "young and impressionable", their parents failed them by not pulling them away and to other activities more often.

The same can be done with any hobby, interest, or activity. Like sports, music, model trains, swimming, smoking, drinking, car-building/racing, careers, education, family, religion, anything. If you become too focused and let it take up too much of your time, it is your fault. Some, if not most, of those things aren't "bad" for you, but if you miss too much work to "spend time with your family", eventually you don't have a means to support that family.

It is the same as the "gun" argument. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people", is a fairly accurate statement, but it misses the point as well. People commit crimes and violence for many reasons; social inequality, economic inequality, under-education, basic living needs not met, or a sense of entitlement. Instead of focusing trying to resolve these issues, the people, and therefore their governments, decide to focus rather on removing guns. Why? Because solving those problems would take considerable effort from everyone, but slapping down new regulations is something we've made an art form of.

In short, I suppose: if you have come to the conclusion that gaming is something you'd rather not do instead of all sorts of other things, good for you. Don't blame them for what you chose to miss out on, though.
 

WanderingFool

New member
Apr 9, 2009
3,991
0
0
comadorcrack said:
You know what.
Fine, go on then, Leave gaming behind. We Won't miss you.

But don't you dare Blame your lack of greatness on gaming. You should have grabbed the bull by the horn yourself, you should have had the strength to say I'll play you later, I have to do this.
Just because you're weak don't go blaming it on streams of Code on a TV screen.
Feel free to go on you bag of dick!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu

Peace x
I agree with this guy. If you didnt do other things because you wanted to play a videogame, thats your problem.

Now I was almost like that, when I played Wow for bout a year; had a C- for the first year and a half of college. But after I did quit, My college grades got much, much better. If I had not of let my friend get me addicted to Wow, I may have not of had such bad grades, but I would have also not had that epiphany.

Yeah, I still play videogames, but im not utterly consumed by them. It clled self-control. I watched a video about a guy who stated that because of videogames he lost his job abd family, and I couldnt help but laugh at his pathetic ass. You blame videogames... its YOU who is to blame.