Are Video Games Good or Bad

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Are Video Games Good or Bad?

• You may find the following Website useful
• http//www.time.com/time
• Use advanced search with these key words -video
  games

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Time Magazine Articles

• Read these two articles from the Intranet Group
  Documents.
• 1) Are video games that bad?
• 2) Learning to love Zelda
• (May 10, 1999 Volume 153 No.18)

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Discussion Topics

• Go to the Discussion Forum (http//skhtst99form6.i
  ntranets.com) to choose one of the following
  discussion topics and discuss classmates by
  uploading your ideas.

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• Discussion Topic 1
• Should we ban the sale of
• violent video games to teenagers
• under 18 years old?

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Discussion Topic 2

• Do video games influence your daily life?

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Discussion Topic 3

• Discuss the pros of video games.

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Discussion Topic 4

• Discuss the pros of video games.

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Discussion Topic 5

• If you were parents, what limits should you set
  to stop your kids from being addicted to video
  games, especially the violent ones?

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Pros of Video Games

• 1. They are relaxing, almost meditative.
• 2. They work out the gamers twitchy reflexes.

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3. Video Games Boost Economy

• a) The electronic games industry posted sales of
  5.5 billion in the US in 1998.
• b) Video games were the second-most popular home
  entertainment after TV.

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4) Playing video games can make you smarter

• a) You have to learn how to solve problems fast,
  testing hypotheses and decoding puzzles.
• b) Patricia Greenfield, a psychology professor at
  UCLA found that there was a positive correlation
  between video games and intelligence.
• c) Greenfields research attributes an increase
  in worldwide non-verbal IQ.

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Non-verbal IQ

• Spatial skills
• the use of icons for problem solving
• the ability to understand things from multiple
  viewpoints

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• 5) Moderately violent video games might even be
  beneficial, helping girls learn how to compete in
  an aggressive world.

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Parents Views

• 6) Parents would rather have their children and
  their peers playing video games than be out
  roaming the streets.

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Cons of Video Games

• 1) Violent Content
• Nearly one third of the top 100 video-console
  games for the first quarter of 1999 had at least
  some sort of violent content.
• 2) Bloody Titles Most Popular
• Among video and computer games, bloody titles
  like Quake and Golden Eye 007 rank consistently
  among the most popular.

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Most Popular Video Games
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3. Graphically violent games desensitize
children to violence
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• Help break down the natural inhibitions against
  killing

Doom
Quake
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• 4. Violent video games prepare kids to kill and
  even teach them to enjoy the experience.

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5. Video games are addictive

• Psychologists say some players of intense video
  games show symptoms similar to those induced by
  drug taking or other pleasurable activities.

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6. They gobble up time better spent on homework,
sports and other outdoor activities.
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7. Video games jeopardize our social skills.
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Limits parents should set

• Rule One
• Know what your kid is playing.

• Rule Two
• Allow generous playtime when the game is new,
  preferably during a school vacation.

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Rule Three

• Set strict time limits

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Rule Four

• If you can stand it, play the game with your
  child.

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Your Writing Task

• Whether video games are good or bad has always
  aroused controversies. They mesmerize children,
  yet they frighten parents. Write an article in
  your school magazine to discuss your own views on
  video games. Give your article a title.