There is no doubt that everyone, including kids, should play video games at Least 8 hours a day. That would cure the environmental problems, restore the economy, and elect me as President of the US. Kurt are you available to run with me and become VP.?

If you refuse, I may have to ask D. Walker, MD, and pediatrician to be my running mate.

The problem isn’t inherent to video games, it is the time spent. We have lost our sense of moderation when it comes to video games (or TV or websurfing).

I plan to eventually get a Masters in Educational Technology. The strides made in that area in regards to repurposing games to support learning and cognitive skills is spectacular.

There is also a bit of socialization that can be learned through gaming. Not only sharing toys, but–in some Second Life arenas–negotiation, communication, etc.

That said, I fail to see any benefit from Grand Theft Auto and the like.

Everything in moderation. There is nothing wrong with video games as long as your kids also get enough exercise and interaction with real people. Lots of adults play video games too. They can be a great source of entertainment.

games have come a long way since the days of pac-man and super mario brothers.today they can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, and can work the body as well as the mind and offer up small adventures without any of the hazards.but like tim said, everything is okay in moderation.

Studies indicate that violent games increase aggression and evoke emotional arousal among kids, with less control and concentration, than with kids playing non-violent games. Violent games tend to cause kids to go into fight-or-flight mode, and this exposure can be linked to adverse real-world reactions and adverse long-term changes–but not necessarily.

Parents need to take control. They should LIMIT exposure to video games–violent and non-violent. But it’s probably not wise to remove all the violent games from the box! Let’s remember that boys, especially, need to slay dragons and play games with action figures of cowboys, monsters and space characters. They need to be in a fantasy where they become conquering heroes. Suppressing this may have long term adverse effects.

Broken homes, limited exposure to violence, video games and television TYPICALLY do not create violent children. Disfunctional parenting, children with little guilt, accessibility to firearms with little parental supervision can create violent children.

We have to recognize that our children are growing up in a more sophisticated world, for better or for worse. How we help them to recognize and understand this world and then guide through it (vs shield them from the realities of the world) remain among the challenges.

1. I think its more like 99% play video games
2. I recently read where the top games were something about stealing cars and violence.
3. Kids need to go out and be with their friends to stay in touch.
4. They can walk out their front door to get involved in their community
5. I doubt it.

Sounds like a bunch of stuff promoted by the video industry. Don’t ever forget that anything you read is an opinion of the writers. If you know the right people to ask, you can get any results you want about any subject. I personally think the world would be fine without video games. You can have a world of fun with a broomstick and some bottle caps and get exercise while your at it.

Sure, it will prepare them to be low paid war meat for future occupations. McCain was honest for the first time in his life when he talked about not wanting to give troops enough pay and bennies to encourage them to find a more honorable occupation than mass condoned murder. Abuse of women is only a plus. Will help other countries get a leg up on running the world for a change while america’s kids’ brains rot. Japan, Ireland, China and some others have a great start while america has grown men fighting and grabbing their little Wiis for dear life before someone else gets one. I see someone is trying to suck up to Kurt today! How cute…
Butt seriously folks, the ones that get kids off of their fat arses and get them moving is a good idea, and some ARE educational, but I don’t see many kids playing those except the ones that tend to get beat up regularly. Hey, it’s a harsh world in america outside the ivory towers. Ryan, have they ever figured out why those same dragon-slaying boys turn so wussy when they grow up and overlook some very bad activities that are harmful to all to keep their own little nut safe??? Lots of lenders and politicians I’d like to pose that question to right about now.

I am an 18 year old male in college, and I really have no interest in video games. My younger brothers did have some type of video game system, but rarely played it. Don’t get me wrong, I have played a video game before, but I would rather study and go out with friends during the week and then drink beer and chase girls all weekend.

Video games can be a fine pastime for people (young and old). I’ve been playing since I was a child, and they’ve taught me plenty of things.

Thanks to Sim City 2000, I will never look at city planning the same. The effect of zoning, infrastructure (roads, highway, utilities, etc), tax policy and more, all could be seen while playing with that game. As for the social aspects, my friends and I even had a competition to see who could build the most populous city given a certain set of ground rules.

I took up programing because of my exposure to video gaming. Although it didn’t become my career, knowing the fundamentals of software has helped me more times than I can count. On the hardware side, upgrading (and later building) my computers to meet the requirements of games taught me tremendous amounts about PCs.

But not everything was educational or career building, lots of gaming is just entertainment. I have played games set in the far future where I marauded across planets in 80 ton mechs trying to prevent the collapse of empires. I have played “star wars” games with epic plots that put the movies to shame. On a simpler scale, I have whiled away time hitting home runs in Wii Sports (while getting exercise), and I’ve met friends online that have become the electronic equivalent of pen pals.

I know some people like to pick on video games, but I find them no more sedimentary than TV, no more violent than movies, and no more depraved than some books. Truthfully, thanks to the interactivity of video games, they can be quite mentally stimulating. Like anything else, you have to balance quantity, quality and content. If you’re careful with your choices, Video games can certainly be a positive influence.

I’m not a gamer, although I used to be pretty good at the pinball machine in the old days. I don’t see anything wrong with video games. I do think it’s a bit odd to poll 1100 kids and project those results to the entire population. I did a survey of my family and found that only one of three children particpated in playing video games. If I project those results to the entire population a third of all teenagers will move from video game player to professional musician.

Games, like anything else, are fine in moderation. Violent video games do not make a normal person violent any more than watching violence on TV. Millions of people watch horrific violence on TV every day and yet we don’t have millions of psychopaths running around in the US.

It seems “older” people that don’t understand and have no real exposure to something “younger” people are doing just seem to think it’s all bad. Look at comic books and the like from a generation or two ago. People thought those evil little books were going to be the downfall of all civilization.

Unfortunately, there will always be people with mental issues that will get HUGE amounts of press when they melt down. Just because someone with mental problems plays video games doesn’t mean the video games caused that mental illness any more than the Beatles caused Charles Manson to kill people.

I remember playing “War” and swordfighting and the like when I was a kid, and SHOCKINGLY I have managed to live 37 years without killing another human being.

Studies like this drive me up the wall. Let’s look at the results from a different point of view. Perhaps the teens who can afford video games are from families who can afford them. Families who can afford them are likely to have a two parent household, although not all. Families who can afford them are most probably economically stable and parent(s) are employed and able to buy them. Kids who play the non-violent games are most probably from families with parents who pay attention to what their kids are doing. All of this is predictive of a pretty stable environment and in itself predicts the outcome, not the video gaming.

That’s a pretty small sampling of kids and a giant leap to the conclusions such as “games may encourage teens to be more involved with their communities” or make them “more likely to vote”. Quite a stretch.

I’m going with the consensus on this one. The right content and moderation, sure I can see them having SOME positive influences on kids. On-line play often requires teamwork and communication. Many games are educational, require problem solving, etc. I’ve had video games from the Atari 2600 when I was 7 or 8, to the PS3 and Wii in my living room now. I like video games quite a bit, but I’d still rather play outside with my friends, and I still do play softball a few nights a week at the ripe old age of 35.

I’d like to take a moment to respond to Suzyjax regarding games such as Grand Theft Auto. The question posed here is “Do you believe video games can be a positive influence on KIDS”. Grand Theft Auto is rated “M” for mature for a reason. The purpose of these games is to entertain mature audiences. Kids shouldn’t be playing it. It’s uber violent, has nudity, and profanity. It is not the fault of the video game if it has an adverse affect on a child, it is the fault of the parents that purchase or rent these games for their children. Parents shouldn’t be getting their kids games like these any more than they should be renting them porn. I’m 35 years old, I’m a professional computer programmer analyst. I rented Grand Theft Auto and had loads of fun playing it. After a long stressfull day, it can be quite satisfying to come home and wreak havoc on a fictional world. That said, I like Grand Theft Auto… and porn, but I’d never let my kids have either.

Unfortunately, when many parents think of kids playing video games, they automatically think of their kids sitting in front of the TV for hours playing Grand Theft Auto games. That would never be good.

The right video games can be a good influence on kids as long as they are in moderation. I often play sports games with my 6-year old, and use them to explain how he would handle different situations in a real game, or to explain the rules of the game. We’ll then go outside and practice.

There are also great puzzle and mental challenge games that can stimulate the brain at any age. In addition to this, many games improve eye-hand coordination and reaction times.

The thought that playing a video game is parallel to living life is really scary to me. How does a video game help kids stay in touch with friends? We used to go grab a burger, take a walk around the block and round up other friends along the way and sit and talk on one of our porches. How does it help them get more involved in our community? We used to join social clubs at school and do volunteer work.
I am not opposed to kids playing a video game now and then, but there is no more life learning benefits to what they are playing today than what we got out of playing a good Parker Bros. game.

I am the mother of a 22 year old male and since he was 5 have bought him video game systems/games. From the days of Mario to the roll playing games and now Rock Band/Guitar Hero and Wii Fit. We play these games together on an almost weekly basis. It is entertainment for both of us and nothing more. It has never caused any violence and his hand/eye coordination is amazing. I’m convinced it helped him in his quest to become a helicopter pilot. It has also helped keep our minds active while learning new things.

what a silly poll, what kind of demographic did they use where 97% of the children even own video games. also the video games for socializing i believe are for adults not children. my children are mid-twenties and i have seen them or their friends with little head thingys on so they can talk on the internet to the other players in the game. why would you let your children do that, also these are adults with good paying jobs that are spending all their disposable income on these gaming features, everything is sold separately. how can children do this unless their parents are paying and then not supervising? you need a better study to even discuss this intelligently.

The Webkinz are fantastic for children.