by Leon K

Created on: February 19, 2009

It is a common misconception in regards to entertainment products such as video games that simply because a young person may find them exceedingly interesting, that they will disregard all factors of the outside world in terms of social skills and education. This simply is just not true. In fact, the average gamer here in Australia is 23 years old. The misconception is false for the reason that firstly, children are not drawn to video gaming as a sole activity as so stereotypically perceived, and secondly that video gaming as a sole activity is something that can only be done by someone who is in the situation to freely do so. However they will find that life cannot be lived on fun alone. If the question was, "Do video games ruin social skills?" Then even at that point you would have to rule out children who are in early high school or younger. This view on gaming is one that has derived from pre 1990's culture in which the video gaming industry was at a boom and provided yet so many wondrous advanced in the field.

The question is, "Do alternative reality games ruin children's social skills?" Video gaming in itself does not directly hinder the development of a child's social skills in any way, especially if you were to consider the prospects of a multiplayer environment. However, it is in the act of gaming itself in which I believe that argument is deriving from. To delve deeper into the accusation, you will notice that in order for that accusation to be totally plausible you would have to include rules in order for it to be true. Firstly, in order for the accusation to be correct you would have to assume that;

a. The child has no communication to other children of his age group

b. The child is permitted to disregard educative duties such as homework

c. The child does not wish to participate in social activities

d. The child is an only child

These are only a few reasons in which would be the load baring arguments which would be holding up the structure of the accusation. These are things in which I find quite perplexing, this seem like symptoms of bad parenting. However I am not in the business of suggesting alternative parenting skills but in fact I would state that children should be supervision of their parents in the activities in which they partake in and also to teach their children certain life skills rather then throw them at the mercy of the media machine. If you date back to the release of the television and also the starting point of a mass production

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