" Turn that crap down!" yelled my uncle at his son. "If you keep on playing your video games too much you're going to go brain dead!" Then the son responded, " No, actually, the strategic elements of the game help enhance my process of thoughts in a way that improves my problem solving skills." I, being a video game lover, agree with him. Video games don't rot your brains or make you dumber, as a matter of fact, they can make you smarter. Contrary to popular belief, video games can increase your brain activity and improve mental abilities.
Video games and children video games were first introduced in the 1970s. By the end of that decade they had become a preferred childhood leisure activity, and adults responded with concern about the possible ill effects of the games on children. Probably the main reason for such concern is because children would spend time playing their video games more than doing something "productive" such as their studies. Recent studies of television watching by children have included measures of the time children spend playing video games. In 1967, the average sixth-grader watched 2.8 hours of television per day. Data from 1983 indicated that sixth-graders watched 4.7 hours of television per day, and spent some additional time playing video games. A recent study examined video game playing among 357 seventh and eighth grade students. The study found that approximately 36% of male students played video games at home for 1 to 2 hours per week; 29% played 3 to 6 hours; and 12 percent did not play at all. Among female students who played video games at home, approximately 42% played 1 to 2 hours and 15% played 3 to 6 hours per week. Nearly 37% of females did not play any video games. The balance of subjects played more than 6 hours per week. Results also indicated that 38% of males and 16% of females played 1 to 2 hours of video games per week in arcades; and that 53% of males and 81% of females did not play video games in arcades(Funk, 86).
