Who don it?

I know...I know...my bad

You know, I’m tired of video games getting the Terrence and Phillip treatment by so called experts. For years, researchers have argued that “the brains of violent video game players become less responsive to violence, and this diminished brain response predicts an increase in aggression.” This sort of short-sided research has been harped upon for years and years

At their worst video games serve as a form of entertainment and an escape from reality.  At their best, video games can elicit a variety of emotions, spark intrigue, and even teach.

Teach???  You’re probably thinking, “Dude, I don’t play video games to learn!” but every time you pick up the sticks you’re building on foundation that came from somewhere.  Now I’m not saying that after playing Portal 2 that you’ll be able to build warp guns and/or break down Newton’s Laws of Motion, but one will get a good grasp at thinking outside the box to solve problems.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have two young boys (6 & 3) who love to game as well, much to the chagrin of my wife, and as they play I can see the benefits.  Now of course, they’re not playing (or watching me play) Call of Duty because…well hell it’s pretty irresponsible; however I love watching them play Trials HD, Hexic HD, and Aegis Wing.  Each game pushes them in different way: with Trials embedding them with patience, Hexic teaches them problem-solving, and Aegis Wing is all about cooperation and trust or you won’t make it through the first level.

Now how often do you see these sentiments mirrored in the myriad of research articles?  How does slim to none sounds?  In a recent article on CNN, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, I mean Dr. Philip Zimbardo argues that video games and online porn are causing the “demise of guys.”  Now I don’t know what sort of research was done for this study (because none is provided), but most of my friends are big time gamers and more importantly they’re upstanding citizens, responsible parents, and loving spouses.  This kind of drivel frustrates me to know end because most of the “research” is done blindly and published unjustly.   The most glaring detail I’ve noticed is that one can find articles defending and attacking video games; however when you look deeper those that are attacking are featured on major news sites.  Take a guess where you find the defense? 

Go ahead I’ll wait…