Kids and Video Games
According to a national survey conducted by the National Institude on Family and the Media, 92% of children aged 2-17 play video games. A third of those have a video game in their room.These same children spend between 22-33 minutes per day playing video games. 89% of video games contain violence.
With these statistics in mind one might ask is this a good use of technology for children? Recently at a restaurant meeting with co-workers and their families I noticed a young family. They had twins aged about 3 years old. The female child was outgoing the boy was reclusive. Soon the boy became bored and did not want to interact with others at the table. The mother took out an Iphone and fired up a game application and handed to the boy. He immediately became immersed in the game. The child never interacted with another human that evening other than his mother when prodded to eat some French fries. His sister continued to charm the other adults at the table gaining strokes for being cute and curious.
Should handheld devices become a substitute for human interaction? Should they become a surrogate babysitter?
All too often, I see children playing video games instead of going outside to play with friends, which is a shame. I have friends who have small children, and instead of them encouraging their children to play with other kids, they just sit them infront of the TV and let them play video games instead,which is an easy way to entertain their children, but at the same time can lead to the children not wanting to go to preschool or school when they get older because the will not know how to or not want to interact with other children. Children need to play video games and use handheld devices in moderation so they do not loose human interaction with children and adults.
ReplyDeleteFor children who are introverts, playing video games can be like heaven to them, but human interaction is so crucial to their development. I most certainly do not think handheld devices or video games should replace human interaction, and they should not become the new and improved babysitter for children.
In response to the questions posed: No, handheld devices should not be used as a babysitter or in place of human interaction. The story in this blog is the case in point. It is still necessary to be able to interact with other humans. Eventually, this may not be the truth, but for this point in time, it is the case.
ReplyDeleteKellie, I totally agree with your post. Sometimes, parents do use video games like candy--they give it to them just to keep them quiet. In addition, they sometimes prefer that kids play with these devices rather than going outside to play with other kids.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to put things in a different perspective, though. Now, I'm not a parent, but in this crazy world, can you really blame parents for being too cautious of letting their kids go outside? On the news, you constantly hear about cases of missing children, sexually exploited children, etc.; therefore, keeping them in the house can serve as a way for parents to protect them. Rather than letting their kids go outside to have fun, they choose to bring the fun inside to them. Although this notion may sound a bit extreme, it is something to consider.
The question at hand asks whether handheld devices should become a substitute for human interaction, and my answer is "Of course not." As Kellie also mentioned, social interactions is vital for personal development.
Of course hand held devices should not be used as a babysitter. I remember plenty of times growing up I wanted to be by myself but was sitting out to dinner with my parents and friends instead. It was something you just had to do! I think parents providing games for their children while out is a way for them to compromise almost. Does your child really want to sit and listen to adult conversation? No… but they are going anyway! So why not let them have some fun too? I do think all too often these types of games are used to quiet the child. Parents lead very busy lives, when they need alone or quiet time it is easy to let the child go play a game. I do see this side as I work with 5 year olds all day and they leave me at the end of the days o I have a break! Being a parent is full time sometimes they may just need a break! As for the violence issue of the questions, it is a shame that games actually have so much violence in them! I overheard a parent in the store over Christmas telling the man selling her the video game, “I would rather they see this at home, then learn it somewhere else.” I am not sure how I feel about this… why do the children need to experience this at all? There are so many educational games out there that children can be playing. If you need that break buy a Leapster and let your child learn and play quietly!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren's comment. There are times when children have to go out with their parents and sit and be still for a period of time. Not many children would enjoy or be able to handle certain situations. For these types of circumstances, why not let children play with handheld games. However, just with online learning, video games, and anything else there needs to be a balance. Children do need to go outside and play, just like they need to sit and work on something (such as homework or a game) quietly. Everyone needs balance in their life - adults and children.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the games children play, this is up to the parents. Growing up I had parents who were open to letting me experience different things. However, with things like violence students don't need to be sheltered but there is a definite cut off point!
No...and yes. I agree totally that video games have their place and time in a child's rearing, but not as a baby sitter. What is the difference between that and plunking a child down in front of a tv for hours on end? It drove me nuts to watch my nephews grow up that way. As a child myself, I had to learn to amuse myself and not always rely on others - this meant coloring, drawing, building (Lincoln Logs? Erector Sets?) and I still believe in that theory. As my nephews grew, the tv was replaced by Nintendo games and it was an addiction. They would come home from school, drop their bags and run to the TV.Selective listening took place - they were so entranced in the game, their parents voices were never heard. Now we can debate about parents controlling the access to video "toys", but that's another post! So it's not just young children. As others have said - everyone needs human interaction.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand...IF a child is placed in a situation such as an adult conversation, drs appointment, then I can understand the use of a portable video game to help keep the child's mind occupied. No one said it has to be a game game they play - I have seen many learning "games" for hand helds, so if it is an unavoidable situation, at least make it a a learning.
I definitely agree with Kellie. Human interaction is decreasing due to the increase in technology (hand-held) devices. Being that social interaction is an important part of human growth, it is really up to the parents to choose what their children can do or not at such a young age. To often are children coaxed by the availability of the tv or some type of gaming technology. Do not get me wrong, we are growing in a technological generation and need to be able to use it. However we are loosing he principles of what are detrimental to human growth.
ReplyDeleteHandheld devices should not take the place of human interaction nor should it be a babysitter.
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ReplyDeleteWell I can say it is a great way to get children to be quiet and sit still for a few moments, but of course it shouldn't take the place of an actual babysitter. It especially should not be used in and during a social setting where there can be potential interaction with others. I personally think that you can learn so much from interactions with individuals others than yourself, and it is far more than you can receive with a game.The educational games can only take you so far too. I don't see any problem with video games or hand held devices if used in moderation, especially when you are dealing with a developing child, because it can be so easy just to get lost in that world.
ReplyDeleteNot a substitute for human interaction - but how about creating games worthy of such devote and uninterrupted attention?? Could education benefit from being on the cutting edge of such development?
ReplyDeleteI found this blog post to be very interesting. I think that a major factor in this is the fact that the girl was more extraverted than the boy. I have heard that girls are coddled and nurtured more by parents whereas boys are given toys and expected to play on their own. This may be a factor as to why this has happened. Because of the greater interaction, the girl has better social skills. As for the mother giving the boy the iPhone, I think that happens to be due to the rapid change in technology and what was conveniently found in her purse. I'm sure if she had had a matchbox car or an action figure the boy would have been just as amused.
ReplyDeleteIt worries me to my core that parents are using technology as a way to entertain their children when they don’t want to. I see parents everyday that just hand their child some sort of device or post them in front of television. This allows the child to be completely entertained and the parent to keep doing whatever it is they were doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to children running and playing outside? Children’s physical activity and parenting seem to be on the decline. Parents don’t want the responsibility of entertaining or supervising, so therefore their children’s health is put at risk. I feel that video games and television are a major cause in the rise of obesity among young children today. I just hope that parents start to realize the emotional and physical harm they are doing to their children before it is too late.
Not only do video games partly contribute to a child's personality and lack of willingness to play with other children, but I am sure that there are health problems associated with video game use. The more a child plays video games the less likely they are outside playing and getting exercise.
ReplyDeleteVideo games should absolutely not take the place of human interaction. If video games take the place of human interaction in any child, that child will more than likely become socially awkward and have a really hard time making friends.
I don't think there is anything wrong with children playing video games, but there should be a limit on how long and how often children play them.
As the saying goes, there is a time and a place for everything. I would not allow my child to play a video game during dinner let alone at a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThere are many valuable benefits to children learning to interact through video game entertainment. When we were children, we played board games like Monopoly and Scrabble. It is an excellent way to teach your children how to handle competitive situations.
Unfortunately, there are many parents out there who do use video game and television as form of a babysitter because it keeps the child occupied.
I believe Parental Control as censorship of all media for your children is key, along with limiting the amount of time spent on them each day.
Yes, these games are very addicting and I sometimes find myself getting obsessed with the challenges they provide. As an adult, I am able to catch myself doing this and can take the appropriate steps to walk away. Children do not have that ability.
It seems like a loaded question to ask if technology or games should become a surrogate babysitter or replace human interaction. As people are clearly stating above – nobody agrees with that idea. I like where Dr. Kellison was trying to take the conversation. Can educators be on the cutting edge with this technology to make it more meaningful?
ReplyDeleteAnybody remember Socrates (http://ultimateconsoledatabase.com/educational/socrates.htm)? I remember when I was younger, I would play Socrates with my best friends during a sleep over. We would play in the living room and had walkie-talkies so that we could communicate with my mother who was in the kitchen. We would talk with her if had any questions about the game or needed something. We use to have so much fun!
While this self-disclosure is giving up the fact that I’m a super geek, I think it’s a good example of where my friends and I were still having human interaction – working together to solve the problems; and my mom was still there for us as a “babysitter” – not the game. So, the use of technology – educational technology at that – helped to enhance our experience.