Computer gaming: The other side of the coin
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Being a gamer myself, I know and recognize the big probability of being addicted to this amusement. When you’re already in the hook, it is then that you start missing priorities. Health and studies are most affected by this craving. As crazy as it sounds, there’s a sense of fulfillment every hour that you spend in front of the PC. A feeling that will pull you into more of it until it really becomes a disorder. Though, this case is real, a gamer will just defend this way, “Better games than drugs.”
Filipino Mom puts this growing phenomena among youth artistically as a new clinical disorder. At first, in her deconstruction, I can’t help but agree. It seems that there’s no way games will be helpful, unless the game is like Barnie and it was played only for 1 hour. In certain degree, because of cases that I have seen and known among friends, hooked by DOTA, she must be right.
But recently, despite of all the dark side discussed pertaining computer gaming, a vergence suddenly emerged from scientific studies. According to experts, video games help kids learn. Their studies conveyed that video games can be a powerful learning tools and it can improve scientific thinking. This is especially in game such as ‘World of Warcraft.’
Here, in the Philippines, we don’t have WOW, but similar games are present like Perfect World and Cabal. These games also involve strategy and a task to complete quest that requires understanding and logic. Funny, isn’t it, that the researcher in some considerations is true. One of my fiends, sometimes used words obscure to us and when asked where he learned those words, its from those games. As I recall my own experience, I first learned the word ‘horde’ from the game ‘Heroes of Might and Magic’ back when I was Grade V.
I did not write this blog to defend gamers. I still believe that addiction in this area is not helpful in most degree. I remember my sister in her high school days. She started to become late in her class because she is hunting some monsters and items in ‘ragnarok.’ She missed most of her quizzes but at least she memorized almost everything in the game. Hahaha. This is just one example how worst it will be but exposure in computer games is not all evil. If this is so, developing games must be illegal but this is not the case. And I have also seen some students excel especially in courses that involves deep logic because of their exposure to such games. We cannot view computer gaming as the problem. Parents has part of it and so do teachers. I am not yet a parent and I am not a teacher but I have seen these two factors affect my way of thinking as why I spend much time in front of computers before. The key I think is balance. Someday when I become a parent of a so called gamer, I hope, I know what to do.
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