Blog Assignment #7

Video games gain more popularity every year. In schools you can take for granted that most of the kids play video games. The ones who don't play them or don't own a video game console might even are bullied. I think the video games impact has been a huge deal because average American households own at least one video game console.

I've played video games since I was like 5 years old. I do think it's good for kids to play them because they force kids to find solutions, look for alternatives and overcome challenges. These thinking out of the box skills can be developed and kids will be able to apply them in the real world.

I am 20 years old now and I still play video games. Maybe not as much as before because I don't have as much free time as I used to, but I still try to play often. I've had every single Nintendo console since the NES and something tells me the Wii console it's not the last one I'm going to have either. I also have an Xbox, but I don't use it as much as the Nintendo consoles because most of the Xbox games are violent and targeted to men. Sony consoles have never caught my attention. I think Nintendo consoles are way better.

I believe that playing video games make people more tech savvy, which is why kids are more tech savvy than old people. The old population didn't have as many opportunities of playing video games as young kids do.

Obviously, it has its cons if you become addicted and abuse of the video games usage. Some kids have been so addicted to video games that they don't engage in social activities anymore. They miss the chance of meeting new people and hanging out with them.

The Social Learning theory comes into play in video games when players try to imitate what they see in the video game. There are studies that show that kids that don't play violent video games versus kids that do play violent video games are less violent in real life than kids that do play them. Violent learning happens, whether the behavior is imitated or not. 


Here's the link for a funny video that illustrates my point: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URIWJlSDh68