Counter Strike Today, Surgery Tomorrow?

Posted on 02 21, 2009 under Current Events, Gaming by schneidermike | View Comments

warcraft3Get off that computer and go outside! You are limited to 30 minutes of video games per day. Those games are too violent. As a kid, I heard all of this and many of you are saying the same things to your kids. You are concerned by the amount of time they are spending with a controller in their hand or sitting at a computer terminal questing for XP, blowing away aliens, building, deploying and destroying armies and socializing with their friends.

Would you change your mind if you thought that this could prepare them for a career that made a difference? Video game tester? Hardly. Pro gamer? Nope. Surgeon. Maybe! A study showed a strong correlation between the ability to play video games and the abilty to succeed in surgery drills.

While I still do not advocate putting your kid in front of a console or PC (or a Mac for Noodad) before they are 7 years old (social skills article link), maybe there is some value to all those hours of Warcraft 3 I played. I think I’ll go practice operating on Noodad right now!

How do you deal with video game usage in your household?

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  • Marcus
    I know the wife thinks other wise, but I wouldn't be the guy she loves today with out some major video game time. Video games got me in to electronics and computers. Which I make a good living at fixing the former. In the early days of the PC you had to be good with a computer to get the game to even run. The games kept me out of trouble and helped blow off teenage aggression.

    While I agree there should be some reasonable limits on game time 30 minutes is just when the game starts getting good. I figure if they can watch a 2hr movie the can play for 2hrs. (No difference in my mind.) I do believe some game are off limits but you have to be careful of the forbidden fruit because some other kids going to have it and get them to play it. (Think about what you did as a kid. They are going to play it simply because they where told not to.)

    As far as family time, play with them/against them just like you would with a board game. You may find out they have a greater appreciation of Dad and what he has to say about games as a whole. *It's also not a bad way to get some game time in yourself.
  • some guy
    i am certain that my hand-eye coordination, ability to think on an abstract level, and appreciation of music all developed at a young age and were positively influenced by playing video games. thank you.
  • BigDaddy
    Just like everything else, if you abuse it, you lose it. Putting a time limit on it will force them to adhere to the rules but it doesn\'t teach them to act responsibly, imo. I\'m a videogamer, there are computers, consoles and games all over my house. Well my wife keeps them out of sight for the most part, but trust me , they\'re there. I have been at it quite awhile and know the pitfalls. However, we could be talking about any number of activities that kids engage in that can become a distraction or worse. I do believe that there are some games that should not be played by children. Grand theft auto for one.

    What we do is draw the lines and hold them to it. Teach them as best we can to use common sense and prioritize.
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