I tend to agree; video games in general, when played almost constantly and by yourself, will make you less social and decrease how much you use your brain.
But the same goes for just about any mindless entertainment; watch TV all day everyday all by your lonesome and you're likely to get some social problems and not think as much because that's what entertainment does, takes your mind off things and puts creativity on the backburner.
But also just like other entertainment, if you play video games that aren't stupid, mindless crap and play them with a bunch of friends while having a good time, then that's probably just as good socially and mentally for your upbringing as playing outside with friends or reading all the time. I mean, some games require more thinking or strategizing. Playing a strategy game or puzzle game can take a lot of thinking and perhaps increase your intelligence or at least the use of your brain. Then some games are meant to be fun for a whole group, such as SSBM.
That's what I don't like about this "study." There's no mention of what games he let them play, whether or not they were played with friends or without, whether they were having fun or not, or any number of factors that I can't think of but could affect the results. I mean, sit someone
alone in a small room with a game like Quest 64 (:eek: ) to play for eight hours straight everyday, and who could blame them for going a little nutso?
Of course, we don't know if that's what happened; we don't know anything, and that's the point.
I pretty much agree that while growing up it's probably better for both your health and general mental health to be outside playing with friends. But a little entertainment, especially the more intelligent kind, every now and then can't hurt more than any other activity that a kid might participate in while growing up.
After all, a child could be outside playing with peers, but as happens with at least one kid in every group, the peers could mock him and outcast him and make him feel like dirt and pretty much destroy his social and mental health totally absent of video games. Would playing video games with like-minded friends have been better for his health in that case?
Anyway, my point is, I think any extra-curricular activity (read: not killing people) you participate in with friends who respect you and with whom you can have fun is just fine and healthy.
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