I was just watching CNN and they were talking about how obesity is on the rise and how people are worried about those children that are spending all their time in front of the TV or computer and playing video games. What was interesting though is that they said that surgeons who play an average of at least 3 hours a day of video games are 41% (the percent was close to that, but I can't remember exactly)more likely not to make errors and have better hand coordination. There obviously is some good that can come out of playing video games. I just wanted to see what others' opinions were on the children who spend a large amount of time playing video games/watching TV/playing on the computer.

i personally used to play video games a lot in high school and can say that it does improve your hand eye coordination. it also seems as though it would increase the dexterity and reaction time of your fingers and hands.

as far as children getting fat, to me they need to just get outside for a bit. they dont have to exercise by name but just go out and have fun, which kinda turns into exercise.

I think I was actually smarter when I was younger and played video games

Video games are very addictive and less good comes from then than bad. They could be used for good learning tools but more often than not they are abused. I know several people that are consumed by video games. If they are not used in moderation a persons health can easily suffer.

i agree to the addictivity of them but if used properly by the teacher they can be benifitial...as far as home kids just shouldnt play them all the time and should just go out and smell the roses

I definitely agree that video games can be harmful if abused. Personally I think it is at least a better activity than watching TV (well, depending on the show you are watching) because video games actually require a person to think rather than just stare and listen. In addition to hand-eye coordination, the right kind of games can also increase problem-solving skills and quick thinking.

Of course they are very addicting (I know a LOT of people who have almost ruined their lives because of them), but I think it is more the fault of the person themselves and their parents.

Overall, I think video games themselves are not a bad thing. Used correctly they can be a good learning tool, but when overused they can cause some serious problems in students.

Kids have been learning and getting along just fine for thousands of years without video games, I think today's age is no different. Parents should definitely limit children's video games, because their isn't much creative development going on when a child plays the games. It's not like playing outside, or creating a fantasy world at a tea party. The kid just responds to whatever stimulus presents itself on the TV screen. Granted, they are fun, I'm sure, but should maybe be used as a reward rather than an outlet.

I was never able to play video games as a child, mainly because we could not afford one. But I do not think that this affect my grades. However, I was able to get outside more often and play because I didn't have those luxuries. Video games have positives and negatives but in my opinion I don't think that they are bad.
Most of the children who end up playing video games so much they become over-weight, I blame on the parents. I think that parents do not give their child the attention and motivation that they need to be more active. Then PE is cut back so much, many children don't know how to play games.
I do think that the world has realized the problems with video games and is doing a lot to help it. For example, the Wii is an amazing new video gaming system that gives the controller the ablitiy to feel like they are actually playing the game. You can get up and move and burn calories. Trust me it works!

I totally agree with Allison, when I was little I would play an occasional video game...probably a total of about 10 times. Instead of sitting inside and watching tv or playing video games I would go outside and play, most of the time my brother, sister, and I would entertain ourselves for hours playing outside. This provided exercise, and growth of our imagination and creativity; you have to use your imagination when all you have are the basics! I don't think a little tv, videos, and video games are gonna kill us, but for most it's to the excess which in my opinon is detrimental to their physical and intellectual health.

when I was a kid I did not want to play video games, which looking back that is a little odd. To this day I dont like to play them and I see them as a waste of time. Yes they can be alright for rainy days and having a little down time but my neighbor last year started playing world of warcraft and had to drop out of school because of it, he never went to class and slept all day because he was up all night playing. For those of you who dont know what world of warcraft is i cant really help i just know it involves characters and getting points or something, see how interesting I find it. My ex played all the time and it bugged the hell out of me. Anyways I dont think that video games should take the place of social interaction and outside play.

I agree with Suzanne and Allison. I actually had video games when I was younger but rarely played them unless it was just too cold to go outside. We spent so much time outside playing that it wasn't "forced" excercise, it was just fun! Many children have lost that today due to their parents lack of restriction on video games. I feel like the world would most certainly not suffer if video games became obsolete....but yeah right!

Yea im kinda on the fence about video games and the effects they have had on our society. I worked at a camp this past summer and the campers acted as if not having video games for a WHOLE week was certain doom. It was a bit ridiculous to tell you the truth. I think it definitely is a problem that not enough parents are addressing these days. I really can’t blame them outright, it would be a hell of a lot easier to stick a kid in front of a screen, pop in a game and relax for the next 4 hours. However, I don’t think this is a very good activity because both parties abuse video games. I think, like anything, video games are a great activity in moderation. Oh man and World of war craft, psch…don’t even get me started on that game! I have residents on my hall that literally play that damn game for 12-13 hours a day. It has affected their school work, health and social life. Anywho, back to the original posting, I think its pretty interesting that if surgeons play more than 3 hours of video games they will be that less likely to make a mistake. I didn’t realize video games could make that much of a difference.

I find it interesting between my brother's generation and ours. My brother is 6 years younger than me and is very into video games. I remember when I was younger I hardly ever played video games, except for the occasional duck hunt or something. We spend hours outside exploring, fishing, getting into trouble. I learned to play sports at a young age and that occupied much of my free time when I was younger. But my brother's generation is quite different. He spends a lot of time inside playing these games and really does not care for sports at all. Maybe this is just his own personality, but I have observed the majority of his friends doing the same thing. Back to the original post about the surgeons, I wonder if that statistic is really true. I mean, I doubt that surgeons play the board game Operation for practice, I wouldn't see why a video game would be any better.

I used to play a lot of video games when I was little, but I also played outside an equal amount of time. We never had cable growing up so I only watched tv at night. I look at my friends' little brothers' generation and it seems to me that they spend more time playing video games and watching tv, and when they are told to go play outside they complain. I think video games are fine, and so is television, as long as it is in moderation and that they don't forget how to play outside. I think young children should be made to play outside more often so when they get older they can make the decision to go outside on their own. Video games are only fun for so long.

I see video games as such a waste of time, I will get that out first. However I will agree that it can help with hand-eye coordination and such as everyone else has said so it is not all together bad. Another big problem with video games is the content that is put into the game, I mean look at Grand Theft Auto and whatever the 50cent game was (get rich or die trying??) I think that for people our age these kind of things are ok, we know that it is just a game and not reality. But when you give these types of games to younger children they many not know that. The violence in these games COULD be a cause to the violence in reality today. And another thing. There are also the video games such as Everquest and World of Warcraft (dont know much about them just that it builds on itself rather than starting and ending in once sitting) that take up an extreme amount of time. Two years ago I had a neighbor that would stay up all night playing World of Warcraft, not go to class, and failed out. He knew the reason and it is sad in my opinion (sorry to those of you who play). I guess I never really had video games around me growing up and that severly impacted my views on them.

i think some video and computer games that are educational or teach valuable lessons are not a waste of time. However, if these games control a kids life so that they are completly unactive and don't do school work they pose a major problem.

i'm with matt and sarah on the generational differences between people our age and kids today (kids today! no respect for their elders).

ohhh, the 90's...between video games and nickelodeon, it was kind of a golden age, wasn't it? we saw the death of atari, the rise of sega genesis and nintendo, and the birth of super nintendo, nintendo 64, and the original playstation. i must have played 7 different versions of Mario and at least that many of Legend of Zelda, ALL CLASSICS.

and yes, we played outside like crazy. video games were for when you came inside for a snack or when the streetlights came on in your neighborhood, or for massive sleepovers. but daylight was for playing outside, exploring the woods, making structurally unsound ramps for bikes and skateboards out of lumber you "borrowed" from that construction site down the street. the times have changed.

is there any going back? does anybody have a story of a younger sibling/friend who still maintains a healthy balance between physical activity and TV/video game/internet activity?

...do WE still have that balance in our lives? just because i'm not playing World of Warcraft all the time doesn't mean i don't spend a whole lot of time on the internet. sure, i'm reading the news or researching interesting topics when i'm on here, but i'm definitely not building as many skateboard ramps as i used to (although i still go the the woods quite often).

and facebook is kinda like World of Warcraft, if you think about it a virtual community with virtual friendships, virtual events, virtual conflicts/resolutions... sometimes i get sucked into the discussion board on the "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)" group for hours at a time. just because i'm still "doug" on facebook, rather than "TimeShifter, Level 4 Grand Wizard" on Everquest, does that make my time online somehow "less wasted" than someone else's? food for thought...

I believe just like with any thing else....moderation is key. Watching a little tv or playing a video or computer game is fine if it is in moderation. Sure, if we read books all day long....then we would become more skilled readers. We CANT do that that though. Do you see what Im getting at? Obesity leads from other issues and while tv, video/computer games may be one issue, there are still other factors. Parents need to work on using limits,portions and moderation for almost everything.

The video game controversy is a tough one for me to figure out. I work at a daycare and I've heard many of the parents talk about putting their kids in front of the tv to keep them occupied while they are busy. While I understand that parents are at work all day and they may want some downtime at night, putting kids in front of the tv and video games can become a bad habit. I have nothing against kids watching tv and video games, but there is a point where it becomes too much. Set a time limit per day on the video game usage. There are definitely some educational video games that I am all for!

I would rather see someone playing video games than watching television. I believe it is true that video games develop hand eye coordination, but so does physical practice. In the case of surgeons it is necessary because physical practice could end up very poorly for the one being practiced on. It is important for children to have both mental and physical practice.