tell us what you think of gaming is it good or bad for you you can even check out this website... www.kids-sos.net (just got to time out and then click on game reviews you should find ... pros and cons of gaming)

Good, Because you learn to think!
Okay fighting games are not so good for young people, but I'm 14 years old and I have fighting games, and for me It's very relaxing If I'm angry so...

gd point i don't think there's much harm in kick butt games and i've been playin em since i was 7 or woz it 8? besides they've helped me in my imagination and partly my vocabulary.

by the way did u look at the website?

http://www.kids-sos.net/prosandcons.html

I provided a direct link to the section you were talking about because it requires some searching and many people probably wouldn't bother to look otherwise.

Now, here is my prospective as a teacher and a former "gamer". I have been playing video games since I was 7 and I am 21 now. Depending upon the game they do help you to think and reason while others can be a stress release. However, parents really need to monitor the types of games their children play and how long their children play games for. One little fact that most kids are shocked when they hear (even though it really is to be expected) is that, in general, grades in school actually tend to be directly proportional to the number of hours spent playing video games in regards to children in the age range anywhere from 7 till college. This isn�t to say that there are other factors involved, but it seems that the more time spent on video games means the lower that given student�s performance will be when it comes to school work. The reason is that the video games eat away at the student's time and the kid really doesn't care about doing homework. Then the next day at school all the kid can really think about is the game he or she was playing, making it that much harder to learn the new material that the teacher is presenting to the class.

This is not to say that video games are bad. I'm rather drawing upon the age-old phrase, "everything is good in moderation". Video games are a great way for kids to bond. Just the other day I saw two boys that are complete opposites talking about a new game they had both just gotten, which never would have happened otherwise. Video games are also a great source of entertainment, as well. However, they shouldn't be the child's ONLY source of entertainment (and no, television doesn't count as a second). Kids need to spend time reading or going outside. If the child's life starts to revolve around video games it will only cause problems in the future. Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, video games cannot take time away from schoolwork. Video games are great as a pass time but should not become the focus of the child's life.

Keep in mind I am not some teacher ranting about the atrocities video games cause every day. The fact of the matter is that, for a number of reasons, I was a D-F student in school from the ages of 10-15 and a large part was due to the fact that I spent all my time playing video games. So, the bottom line is that yes, there can be benefits to video games, but there are also many adverse side effects that both parents and children have to be aware of and try to prevent.

EDIT: This should probably be moved to General Gaming as well.

ok thanks for that and yeah kids should have different forms of entertainment and yes i do like 2 read alot. plus i no waht you're talking about when it comes to kids not concentrating i got so into this game i just couldn't wait to get home and when i did i probably played for sumthing like 3 or 3 and a half hours straight before doing my homework...

I think its good and bad.
Its bad if you play for like 6 hours straight, the TV can mess with your eyes and give you headaches, but on the game side of things i think its a good thing.
They make you think and use mathematics and learn history in some cases, like in real time strategies or RPG's.

it's both

yeh mayb but i never play 3 let alone 2 hours straight anymore i play mainly up 2 six hours a week on ff sumtimes which en't alot

but sumtimes more

Personally, I find gaming to be an excellent way to consider things you might not have even considered before - to get out there and 'experience' things and excitement that you would not otherwise have the change to do.

I'm also sick of people blaming games for violence - it's been literally done to death. A current affairs program did a 'medical study' on a bunch of 10 year old kids where they sat them down in front of Grand Theft Auto III, Mortal Kombat: Deception and Halo, and investigated the psychological effects.

ALL of these games are rated MA15+ in Australia. When the kids got excited playing Halo, the reporter had the nerve to say "How can you get enjoyment out of killing things?".

I laughed when the kid gave the reporter a 'are you stupid look' and said "It's only a game."

video games enhance your coordination and your imagination--its just like reading a book or watching a movie except you are involved. gaming has even helped me out before. one instance i recall is a math problem that no one could figure out, not even our valedictorian. i figured it out thanks to tomb raider. so i think gaming is good. in moderation, of course. too much and you become all anti-social and strange.

I learned 1/4th of everything I know from video games.

1/4? really that impressive i guess and it kinda funny that last thing u said Raidenex:

the reporter had the nerve to say "How can you get enjoyment out of killing things?".

I laughed when the kid gave the reporter a 'are you stupid look' and said "It's only a game."

i agree with you all gaming helps us!

Well, as for me, I could perfect my english by playing video games alone, without having to learn english. My teachers always believed that I was learning english, but I was playing video games the whole time. hahahahahahahahahahahaha....

Well, anyway, I'm 18 years now and I still play games, and games helped me develop my imagination a lot. I will probaby continue to play games until I die or someone kills me(whichever occurs first). Video games help us all, I think. They develop our imagination and you can learn from them. I don't know even
3 people that have an imagination such as mine, and most people think me a child because I'm 18 and still play video games. But I don't care, because they don't know how fun and exciting that can be.

im only 12 goin on 13 in april but my imagination, man i could write a novel for an english exam no problem

I think everyone needs a break from reality every now and then with lifes hectic schedules and stresses(i.e. i go to college, am still in highschool, and am a part time network admin, AND have a gf =-O ).....the cons of that is that you can get hooked on a game and put aside other responsibilities. But rather than watch a movie like normal people, i read a book or play one of my rpgs to take a break.

so do you really still go to high school/college isn't that errr difficult or were you jokin?

lol im serious, but because i crammed so much highschool work into my first 3 years, my senior year(this year) only consists of two subjects, so i am going to my local college full time, and have only been going there part time before this semester.

ok i'm still kinda confused but don't worry :S (confused) :)

im only 12 goin on 13 in april but my imagination, man i could rite a novel for an english exam no problemIf this is what gaming has done to your english, then stop playing. Stop playing right now. You don't "rite" for exams. And you certainly do not "rite a novel." Good luck in your GCSEs!

I think that to be honest, the internet is a greater danger to education than gaming. Gaming, like anything fun, can become addictive, but the internet (and text messaging, IMs, etc) itself seems to encourage a destruction of the english language that I fear may eventually take a permenant effect upon society.

Call me crazy, but people are already interweaving things such as "4 u" into advertisement. Thus they are signifiers of language that will eventually be language in themselves, as the signified becomes irrelevant. Txt spk is a great danger to the language. People such as Terra Fire seem to think that using this language on the internet is unimportant, and thus simplify how they write. However, extended periods on the internet will eventually cause a detraction from their written language too - as they associate the "right" spelling with the "rite" spelling, if you get my drift.

Anyways.

Gaming itself? Nah. If anything, games are in a constant flux between complexity and incomplexity of narrative and the game itself, and will probably improve people's reactions more than anything. My disability, Dyspraxia, is meant to seriously detract from coordinational ability, but because of my time using computers and gaming, my reaction times and coordination are a great deal better than they would be had I not. I think gaming is a good thing. I'm not sure whether it's inferior to the written word though. That's something that's gonna take me a great deal of time.

There are certain times when it's nice to just be lead by the hand through a story like a book does. Though some books keep you guessing...arg. I'm ranting. It's late and I'm tired.

Now, for this.


so do you really still go to high school/college isn't that errr difficult or were you jokin?
I got ABC in my A levels. I could've done better, with a retake in theatre (C), in which I was marked down due to pretty much artistic opinion on the part of the examiners. I played games then. Hell, the week before we broke up for exams, I was in Los Angeles (I lived in London at the time.) covering E3. I played a great deal of games, from WoW to Secret of Mana to Gitaroo Man. Hours, you might say.

I now am in University - as in, College - and continue to play games, sometimes for hours. You must be addicted to think that high school or college is made any more difficult by gaming. There are 24 hours in the day, and getting the bare minimum of 8, working, gaming, and having a career is very, very easy indeed. If you can't see how, you need to start time managing, and quickly, before you have real schoolwork to do.

In conclusion, gaming is good for you, like all entertainment mediums, if you don't get addicted to it or let it absorb you so you have no other thing to do, ever.

haha who are you talking to, me or the young guy?

haha who are you talking to, me or the young guy?Terra Fire. The guy I quoted TWICE.

i tink teh intarweb is hurting my grammer!11

Seriously.


Gaming is horrible for you, if that's all you do. <-- wow, threw that in to be on topic

good for you dont listen to those "professors" who say its bad :( atleast you are working your brain while sitting around, unlike just sitting there and zoning out watching the tube.

If you hate it, it's bad. If you like it, it's good.

Example: Church wants more youth to attend services, finds that kids play videogames in their spare time, researchs all the bad sides of gaming, and then tries to stop kids from gaming by spouting off the bad.

You on the other hand, hate church with a passion and love to have sex with your Playstation 2. You find why it's good to play games to try and shutup the person who says it's bad.

ok ok ok... If you want me to speak proper english then I'll try but i just find it quicker plus I have MSN so me and my friends speak to each other in different ways sp speak is spk or what is wot anyway i was kind of joking about that essay thing and thanks for the good luck :) besides i don't think i'll quit gaming just yet it one of those few things that keep me entertained :)

i understand what you're saying mr monkey man but i only write like that on the internet and i can write normaly e.g the sentence i've just written but still at my age plenty of kids say that kind of stuff besides look at the phones for you advert.... 'phones 4 u'.....

[QUOTE=Terra Fire]i can right normaly e.g the sentence i've just writtenQUOTE]

I believe it is write, and normally, and e.g.

It is VERY good for me.

too much gaming is very bad for u cause it will effect your mind a bit too much

Very interesting. My brother plays video games a few hours a day and still gets his homework done (he gets A's). I think it depends on the type of person you are. I play video games, but not every day, and still get A's. I agree with a lot of the opinions stated in here. Everyone in my family does other things besides gaming, like reading. Most of us are avid readers.

I think playing video games is alright, as long as you don't let it consume all your spare time. You need to do other things.

Very interesting. My brother plays video games a few hours a day and still gets his homework done (he gets A's). I think it depends on the type of person you are. I play video games, but not every day, and still get A's. I agree with a lot of the opinions stated in here. Everyone in my family does other things besides gaming, like reading. Most of us are avid readers.

I think playing video games is alright, as long as you don't let it consume all your spare time. You need to do other things.
yes also video game can be educational

okay that's cool and i did spell write wrong sorry

yes also video game can be educational
How?
I'm genuinely interested :p

hey take FFX-2 for example they have sphere break basically you need quick math to solve some of these answers so maths is included plus (as many people have said) many games (including FF) have improved their vocabulary so that's educational i guess..... does that answer your question (even though you didn't ask) ????? :) i hope so :)

So take that haha........sorry

That kind of proves it doesn't it.....just a little :)

how exactly do you have sex with a playstation?

I don't know all I've ever used is the vibrating function ;.;

Well DUH! Gaming is good for you! Its true, some games boost your hand eye coordination, allowing you to drive better. But i will admitt that i have wasted over 3 months of my life just sitting in front of the TV. i really should cut down.. ;.;

You could argue (what with the upcoming DS) that games are becoming more sociable. That's only ever a good thing.

more sociable as in talking about it with your friends or something else?

hey take FFX-2 for example they have sphere break basically you need quick math to solve some of these answers so maths is included plus (as many people have said) many games (including FF) have improved their vocabulary so that's educational i guess..... does that answer your question (even though you didn't ask) ????? :) i hope so :)

So take that haha........sorry
Oh wow, quick, easy math. Unless it's teaching you rudimentary algebra, I doubt you're learning anything you already would have known by that age. Seriously, if you think that games are truly actually educational beyond hand-eye-coordination skills (Which they do actually attribute to), you're wrong. If you're truly learning a lot of vocabulary from FFX-2, you're already behind.

no....no....no, I don't learn my vocabulary from X-2 or many other FF games......I learn it from everyday life from listening to people and talking to them but thats nothing to do with gaming.....its true that X-2 only helps in quick, easy maths but it's still learning aren't i right????? There are all kind of games that help like Final Fantasy helps you ,for example, in (as you've said) hand-eye-coordination skills, vocabulary (as loads of people have said..i'm sure) plus simple maths skills...i don't know when but those simple skills can come in handy...there are tons of things games can help you in so thats how gaming is good for you mrmonkeyman................and once again HAHAHA

Tons? You've named three.
And they're pretty menial.

i know i've only named three i just couldn't think of that many at the time so heres some more........imagination, sense of strategy (making plans) heck i watched a programme last night and this kid had so many strategys to sort out things...amazing anyway, its only three more but well.......and others which i have said Hand-Eye-Coordination, vocabulary and social, apparently it gives kids on the playground or even few adults at work to talk about a game with each other..........i just had a thought you seem kinda against this thing......why????????

Imagination? No. You can't learn imagination. You can however have other people poison yours with their idea. Sense of strategy? Unless you're a general, and even then I doubt you're going to be controlling tanks from a few metres in the air. Or a soldier on foot shooting people in the face. Did that programme you watch involve the child playing lots and lots of strategy games? I severely doubt it did.

The vocabulary one is a lame, lame "gift" from gaming. Games are truly the scrotum of vocabulary growth, as they're mostly on a translated medium - especially your beloved FF. Problem solving, maybe. But that's not something you should be learning from games.

I am fully against using games as a form of education, almost as much as I am against using Television as a form of education. Children these days cannot spell and cannot read to the level that I was taught at, and trust me, I wasn't taught at a crazily expensive level until around the age of 11. Children are being told "hey harry potter is the best book ever." They've never heard of great expectations, treasure island (APART FROM THE FILM!1), remains of the day (film, maybe), the great gatsby (quelle supris�, film), or maybe even Lord of the Rings - but again, possibly because of the film.

I want children reading and thinking for themselves again. Games are for entertainment, and can be very deep and interesting. But I do not want to think that if I ever have children - lord help us if I procreate - that gaming will be considered a source of education. Hell, I'd probably keep my kids away from them until they reach the age of eleven, and stick heavily to those age ratings.

okay then you got me there, it was kinda useless having a 12 year old try and win an arguement against (over learning from computer games) a 19-20 yr old? Should of known :) And when i do say 'sense of strategy' i don't mean army general or something to be honest the kind of strategic thing i was thinking about involves more hand-eye-coordination plus i know you can't learn imagination but it can sort of help i think......o well......By the way what d'you mean 'Problem solving, maybe. But that's not something you should be learning from games.' And yes the programme i did watch did involve the child playing strategy games...

Other than improving your hand eye coordination gaming doesent really help you , its just a form of entertainment . Ok so it may be bad for you..if you spend all your time playing games then its bound to effect you.

good point alistar gaming's always bound to affect you

I think the fact that I have had to correct the usage of the spelling �u� or �ur� (along with many other types of internet slang) when grading papers written by 6th, 7th, and 8th graders allows me to feel pretty confident saying the internet is having a negative impact on societies' overall use and understanding of the English language. Anyone even trying to argue that it doesn�t should give up right now.

The educational value of video games is highly dependant upon the user and the game. If I were given a list of games I could give my opinion on their overall educational value, but it is hard to lump every single video game into one category. In regard to the Final Fantasy series, the only time it is educational in terms of reading and verbal ability is for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and possibly 4th graders who are learning to read and need to expand their vocabulary and practice reading. However, by 5th grade everything said in the FF series should be in the child�s vocabulary and the child should be able to read at a higher level than is required of the Final Fantasy series. You could argue that critical thinking skills are developed using Final Fantasy, but those skills are attached to the game. If a child can�t then take those skills and apply them in another area the skills are wasted, and the only other area those skills can be applied are other games, but often times are not.

Everyone seems to be noting that video games help aid in the development of hand-eye coordination. This is true. What also is true is that by middle school a child will have gotten just about everything he or she can from a video game as far as this area is concerned. What is even more notable is that you could achieve the same outcome as well as receiving some physical activity if you took part in an activity like archery or baseball.

I went to Gamespot.com and looked under the section �Top 100 Searches�, which is basically the 100 items (games) searched for most often on Gamespot.com currently. Apparently the most searched for game is �Mercenaries�. A first person shooter is not exactly educational. The next is Resident Evil, which is the same case as Mercenaries. The fact is that I could go through the whole list but to save all of us the trouble I�ll just say that I didn�t find a single game that I would consider being of any use beyond entertainment. Even games like Neverwinter Nights serve no purpose as far as education goes merely because a child that could use the basic math skills in the game as a supplement to what he or she is learning in school would never be able to play the game due to the more complex parts of the game, more complex parts that do not aid the child in anything beyond playing the actual game.

As I said in my first post, I do not have any problems with video games and think they are a great form of entertainment. However, to consider a game educational is laughable to say the least. Everyone can feel free to list whatever games they want with the reasons they believe the game is educational and chances are I�ll be able to discount everything said. The bottom line is that if you find video games entertaining then by all means play them, but don�t let them be your sole source of entertainment. Most importantly don�t fool yourself into thinking that what you are playing is educational in any way.

i did this post and thought i'd get hardly any views but i was wrong these posts are great (except for one or two posts one post by Ashin and Landlord of Sector 7 which is post 36/37) Rabid Monkey i think you kind of explain it the best (sorry to everyone if that sounded kind of weird) :)

RM's a teacher. He knows the actual educational side of what we're talking about.

I think it's ok sometimes