To quote a website that I can't link to due to lack of blessings:
With all of the concern over the content of video games, it's natural to question whether your child should be allowed to play them at all. Lobbyists have linked games to numerous negative side effects in children, including violent behavior, lacking social skills, and an inability to discern between what's real and what is fantasy. They have tried to push the idea that video games have been a key motivation for incidents like the Columbine school shootings of 1999. They theorize that games that teach children how to shoot a weapon may even trigger violent, even deadly, behaviors.
Interestingly, no scholarly studies have been done to prove this, and a Washington court recently blocked a ruling that would make it illegal to sell a game depicting violence against law enforcement officials to minors. In essence, this law protects the First Amendment rights already granted to other forms of entertainment.
Many stories are done on the potential negatives of video games, even if research on that topic has been minor at best, so how about we take a look at some of the positives? Professor Henry Jenkins is an MIT instructor of Comparative Media who has done extensive research on the positive effects of video gaming. His findings indicate that children (especially males) naturally possess a great deal of pent-up energy and aggression. His studies have found that video games provide children with an outlet for their aggression, suggesting that gaming is a healthy alternative to playground fighting or contact sports.
"Gamers confronting a challenging level draw on their full intelligence, often rehearsing alternative approaches, working through complex challenges well into the night," said Professor Jenkins in a recent interview. "Games push learners forward, forcing them to stretch in order to respond to problems just on the outer limits of their current mastery."
To further validate the points presented by Professor Jenkins, a 2002 BBC report sheds light on a UK study by Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia (TEEM), which found that games "develop children's strategic thinking and planning skills." Parents and teachers whose children participated in the study also noticed that there were improvements in their children's math, spelling and reading.
There also seems to be physical benefits to video games. According to a study earlier this year, researchers at the University of Rochester found that young adults who regularly play action-packed video games have much better perception than those who have never touched a controller. Gamers showed that they kept better track of objects appearing simultaneously and processed fast-changing visual information more efficiently.
Now while these recent studies have been showing the benefits of video gaming, it takes a good parent with solid guidance to make the most out of your family's gaming experiences. The video game industry is growing faster than it ever has before, and the field is only going to get larger. By utilizing tools like the ESRB ratings and the Gamesville guide to PC & video games, and by keeping in mind the positive effects that the right games can have on your child, you as a parent are now empowered to purchase games that will both entertain and intellectually stimulate your child.
The only game I ever played that was anti-religious (or at least could be perceived as being that) is Xenogears, which sports one of the deepest (and most controversial) storylines in the video-gaming world.
