When I was
twelve, a friend and I found two $20 bills in a phone booth. That was more
money than either of us had ever held in our hands. We immediately took the bus
to the arcade, and within a couple hours that seemed like a few minutes, we’d spent
all of it on video games – Pac Man, Donkey Kong, various pinball machines,
Galaga, to name but a few.
Reading
Emma Singer’s article for PureWow about how a selection of moms, a
kid, and a mental health professional feel about the modern versions of these addictive,
pervasive amusements, I am reminded of that day, and how entranced my friend
and I were, and how we could have gone to see about ten movies for that money, bought
new wardrobes, or fed ourselves – and others – for weeks. I also recall how
empty we felt afterwards.
Home video
games were just beginning then – a ping pong-like game called Pong was the most
popular. (Gratitude to my mom for not buying one.) The ensuing decades have
seen breathtaking quantum leaps in the evolution of the medium. I know parents
of kids of various ages – toddlerhood to late teens – for whom it is the number
one issue with their kids, an obsession, even an addiction. Some of my own
students will talk most passionately about their games, the way I once talked
about bands or movies.
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Singer’s
interviewees are actually agreed on the addiction aspect. The moms all employ
varying degrees of limits, from a remote “kill switch” on a smartphone, to a
visual timer, to old-fashioned trust. One remarks how her son is irritable and
impatient after playing for a long time. They also limit the type of games
their kids play, and whether or not their children play games online with
friends or strangers.
Therapist
Dr. Bethany Cook breaks down the physiology of what video games are doing to
the player’s developing brain. That is sobering. She reminds us how a gamer’s
brain will be flooded with significantly increased levels of the
neurotransmitter dopamine – also what happens with various narcotics – and the
brain will naturally crave that same level afterwards. She adds that there are
positive aspects, and skills and knowledge to be gained. But overall, parental
guidance is urged.
Finally,
the fourteen-year-old interviewee unequivocally concurs that games are
addictive. He is quick to point out how they’ve enriched his life and knowledge
of history, he says kids over fourteen should have “only” three hours of game
time. (Under fourteen, only an hour.) Noted.