“You’ve been sitting there for 3 hours now… doing nothing! Don’t you have anything else to do? GET UP, It’s bad for you!” “NO! WHY SHOULD I?” Computer games are children’s (and even adults’) modern way of having fun. Children can now sit for hours in front of their PCs. Contrary to what people say, computer games are in fact harmless… and even useful. This article discusses the benefits of computer games. The benefits of computer games range from education to creativity to entertainment to reflex speed and many other things. Let’s take a closer look.
Nowadays, children are staying indoors playing with their computers instead of going outdoors to play. Can you blame them? Computer games are ten times more fun! It’s as if they are a medicine designed by bored people for bored people, with a little addition of imagination and fantasy to make it taste better. Why would a child go out and play with a stupid ball when he can control a whole soccer team in a PC game! And how would a bored kid with nothing to do spend a rainy day? TV? “No way! Computer games are more fun!”
Although they may seem to be a useless waste of time to some people, computer games indirectly widen children’s spectrum of thinking, and enrich them with creativity and imagination. While playing PC games, children come across many different “worlds”, creatures, and problems to solve… And by playing these games, children are actually playing with the creativity and imagination that the game designers used, or put in, in order to design these games. Children are also using their own imagination when playing games (since they imagine that they’re controlling a soccer team for example…), just like role playing.
Some games are even indirectly educational; they teach valuable things and leave children with all-rounded knowledge since they introduce them to many aspects of the world. For example, playing a game called “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” indirectly teaches children all the geography they need to know before they even learn it in school! And it’s actually fun! And playing a PC soccer game can teach children the names of countries, teams, and players from all over the world…. whereas simulation games such as Sim Tower or Railroad Tycoon or Theme Park and others of those series indirectly teach kids all about running a certain type of business.
Furthermore, when children are playing PC games, they aren’t just sitting there doing nothing, but they’re actually thinking, analyzing, and solving problems, and this improves their mental power and thinking skills. When children come across a problem to solve in a PC game, they have to use their creativity and brains to proceed… And when playing PC games of any type, they will face many puzzles, problems, strategies, and tricks that need analyzing and even critical thinking to be solved. Children will eventually learn the tricks and strategies and solve the problems… and by practicing their thinking skills they are actually improving them because “practice makes perfect”. Some fast paced arcade games even enhance the children’s reaction speeds and attention levels.
Another aspect of PC games that some people fail to see is that PC games are a way to relieve stress! It’s better if children and teenagers dish out their anger and stress in PC games rather than out on their parents or family – right? So an angry kid might come back from school and play a shooting game where he blasts everything that moves… Or a tired kid might come back from school and play a game where he just relaxes and builds his dream house. In other words, PC games keep children from smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or even joining gangs for it keeps them busy and satisfied.
“But what about the violence in games?” you might ask… Sports also contain violence. In the last basketball game I saw, the spectators started a huge fight and started throwing objects and destroying the stadium. TV also contains much more violence than PC games… and besides… the violence doesn’t really affect the children. “Doom” is a popular game where the player runs around with a chainsaw killing people… but I haven’t really seen that happening in real life… Children can judge what’s right and what’s wrong.
“Well computer is bad for the eyes, it’s harmful!” The sun is also bad for the eyes! TV too! It all depends on the time that a person spends looking at the PC or TV or playing out in the sun. Besides, PC isn’t really that bad for the eyes, it has not been really proven… An injury while playing sports could be worse than the damage (if any) caused by the PC.
And don’t you say that PC games are addictive because they’re harmless and can be controlled. Everything in life can be addictive… but as long as it’s harmless, it’s ok. Smoking causes lung cancer, drugs are fatal, but PC games are beneficial. It might be hard to quit smoking or restrict from it, but it’s very easy to end a PC game addiction: simply delete the game!
Sports are good for the body and health, while computer games are good for the mind, so they’re also good for the health. Let the children play computer games, let them live, let them have fun! There’s time for everything in life, and as long as children are moderate, there are no problems.
Now that you know the benefits of computer games, there’s no need to worry about your children’s gaming habits. In fact, why don’t you try playing some online games yourself, you can find some one http://www.newgrounds.com/
You may also be interested in reading about TV addiction… which is a total different story.
Check it out here: https://www.reviewsuniverse.com/tv-addiction/
