Gaming Is Good For You

from the of-course-it-is dept

Over and over and over again the argument comes up from people who have a kneejerk reaction to violent video games and assume they must be a "bad influence" on the people who play them. They always trot out ridiculous examples of kids who shoot people and (gasp!) also played video games. It's like a playground for peole who don't understand logic... It ignores the millions of people who play video games and don't kill people, or those who don't play video games and still kill people. It's like saying "most school kids who are involved in school shootings go to school, schools must be bad...". Anyway, there have been some who have said that video games are actually good to play because they act as an outlet - letting angry kids (and they're all angry these days, aren't they?) let out their aggression in a way that doesn't harm anyone. A new study brings up even more important points about how video games can be good for you. The study looked at Counter-Strike, and found that the game developed strong community and social feelings. It teaches people about cooperation, trust, and friendship.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Mark Hammond, 12 Feb 2003 @ 3:18pm

    No Subject Given

    As video games get more photo-realistic, I can see the problem of life imitating art becoming more problematic.

    Following a recent session on The Getaway (a driver/shooter played out on a startlingly realistic map of London) I was driving through London and found myself having to constantly fight the urge to swerve out on the pavement or cross the central reservation to overtake slower cars.

    And I'm not a nutter or anything, honest.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2003 @ 7:01am

    No Subject Given

    It really doesn't matter. Kids/adults/whatever are what they are. A violent child/adult doesn't need a movie or game to get them started. They are already there. I do believe it sometimes provides them an idea of how to commit a violent act (most being unimaginative to begin with) but it does NOT push them toward commiting a violent act. In other words, a shitty kid/adult is a shitty kid/adult. Video games not required.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.