Find solution
What is the importance of computer education in school from Kindergarten level?

If video games and computer games (purely for entertainment, no education value) were prohibited, do you think the social ability and level of communication amongst the younger generation would increase leading to a more progressive era?

  • I wonder because a lot of my very intelligent, nerdy friends (some more socially apt than others) play video games almost to the degree of obsession. I found very little to no satisfaction in video or computer games after the age of 10. I do not mean to offend any hardcore gamers, but if this does strike up some heated argument between gamers and non-gamers, the more exciting it will be to read the responses. I understand that gaming could be their only source of entertainment and release from their difficult intellectual work, but I think that introverts/gamers are just too shy and insecure to attempt interactions with other people who do not enjoy gaming as much. I don't see what could be so wrong about rejection from social settings as long as the said gamer/introvert tries. If anything it would be a learning experience. And regarding those that graduated high school, the level of bullying due to being "nerdy" or "geeks" has substantially decreased so it seems that being able to socialize would be easier in a way.

  • Answer:

    As an avid gamer, here is my blunt and general take. In general, no, removing video games will not make the era more progressive. But in regards to your concerns, maybe your friends should evaluate the balance of activities in their lives. You can't separate games from education in any form, because the whole reason for the existence of games is to exercise yourself mentally and physically. Play is learning. Recreation is learning. The only difference between playing and working is that one is a simulation versus a practical application. And sometimes even that distinction is invisible (Ender's Game, anyone?). This is why video games get lumped into the same category as any media, books, movies, etc. It's the digest of information and exercise of play that makes very real alterations to our mind, which we can then apply to the rest of our lives. So you likely aren't enjoying gaming because the education to be gathered from it isn't stimulating you. This is the same for sports players, card players, sudoku solvers, crossword fanatics, quiz games. They're all experiences to grow your mind, intentionally or unintentionally, in different ways. Now here's where I piss off some gamers. Sometimes gamers trick themselves into thinking the simulation is the practical application. They think that earning the new epic loot in their MMO is the equivalent to succeeding at a life goal, and they will get ravenously defensive if you argue the spuriousness of that activity. Video games allow you to accept the environment so completely, that you can trick yourself into forgetting that it's a contained simulation. (And before anyone jumps to defense of this, go ahead, but consider that I'm a 15-year hardcore MMO vet; I've seen it all, don't bullshit with me. I've lost more max level characters to server wipes than you can count with your extremities). Being a consumer of any media means taking in information and learning from it. Some people get lost in the consumption phase and forget the purpose of learning. Others, however, take the information they've digested and apply it to the rest of their lives in quite applicable ways. It's good to have hobbies, but it's also important to have balance in your life. I think your friends might be having difficulty seeing the forest for the trees, but I wouldn't necessarily say video games are the culprit. If not that, they'd probably be playing Dungeons & Dragons, or doing a LARP out in the woods, playing chess, arguing on the internet, any number of things that engage their personality. But I don't see them as any less capable humans than sports fans or bookworms. Everyone plays their role in life, and sometimes it helps humanity, sometimes it just tickles our primal desires to play and learn. I'm sorry your friends participate in an activity so fully that you cannot be a part of it, but I don't think it's leading to the downfall of society. I'd wager money out of my pocket that your gamer friends will probably still help progress the world more than some other hobbyists out there.

Lemuel Pew at Quora Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

Video games are just like any other hobby--some people who partake do so on an extreme level, blocking out the rest of the world, but I would say the majority of people who play video games see it just as something enjoyable to do. I think there's a false assumption that video games are some kind of anti-social activity. I would argue the opposite. Besides the obvious multiplayer games which require communication and coordination to achieve some in-game goal, the main part of social interaction involving video games is just talking about the games themselves. To most people, playing games is not some way to avoid social interaction, it's something that they genuinely enjoy playing and talking about. I reiterate: it's just like any other hobby. The statement  "introverts/gamers are just too shy and insecure to attempt interactions with other people who do not enjoy gaming as much" bothered me the most. Most pressingly, I think you have the wrong idea of what an introvert is. See Andrew Stein's answer to your question. Why do you attribute the fact that some people (who coincidentally play video games) feel uncomfortable talking to people who don't have shared interests to the fact that they play video games? Again: it's just like any other hobby. Outlawing video games is not going to magically make people socially awesome. If it's not video games, it'll be reading, or watching TV, or knitting, who knows. Moreover I don't understand the connection to making society more progressive; the last time I checked, taking away a form of artistic expression wasn't particularly progressive.

Irene Yang

No. In fact, online multiplayer games have helped me improve my social skills. Without games I would have been much lonelier when I was younger. I'm bothered by the implication that introversion prevents progress. Introversion is not inherently worse than extroversion, and spending your free time with friends is not inherently better than spending your free time playing games. It's up to the individual to choose whether or not they want to try to be more socially active. Sure, they probably could be more social if they tried, but why should they? Why is it so important to you that they try to change their behaviour? Prohibiting games wouldn't change who they are, they'd just have to find another hobby. Trying to force an introvert to be extrovert isn't going to make them happier, but it will probably make them feel misunderstood by you as a friend.

Mila Voldtofte

Let me answer with another question, I have friends who drop everything between Thursday night to Sunday afternoon so they can watch sport... Almost obsessively, do you think that if all sport was taken from tv and you could only watch a game live at the stadium would their contribution to society increase and lead to a more progressive era? Some people play DnD and some people watch people play sport, it's just different preferences on how we spend our leisure time, I think you're reading too much into nothing.

Brian Greenhow

One of the differences between an extrovert and an introvert is that the former gains energy from being around people while the latter is drained.*  Introversion isn't necessarily about fear of rejection or bullying, it is about the environment one is comfortable in.  Extroverts get a rush from external world...from socializing.  Introverts tend toward the "internal world";  thoughts and ideas and observation.  It's not that we (I'm an introvert) don't enjoy being around people, it just gets very tiring after awhile.  If there weren't video games, there would  always be books, TV, stamp collecting, model building and a ton of other hobbies that don't require social interaction that we would gravitate to. *See http://www.personalitydesk.com/story/preferences-extroversion-introversion and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/extrovert-brain-introvert-process-reward_n_3438078.html

Andrew Stein

Unlikely. The effect of computer games on "the younger generation" is likely to be fairly low compared to that of social networking - plenty of teens don't play games, but they'll Facebook everything. The obsessive type of person is likely to be obsessed with something, no matter what is available. When I was at school, there were computing nerds, but the biggest class nerd was all about FISHING.

Mark Green

I wasn't always a social person. I lived far away from a lot of my friends and moved constantly (almost once a year) until grade 3. Over time, I decided to pick up video games (started with Age of Empires II) to fill the void. And then I learned about Battleon, and eventually Runescape (from one of the few friends I had back in the day). Runescape was one of my favourite games of all time and from it, I learned how to socialize (to a certain degree, it at least helped me get my foot through the door) and communicate better (not every Runescape player back then was a native English-speaker) overall. If we add the fact that a lot of video games are meant to be multiplayer or have multiplayer elements, it'll be increasingly hard to find video/computer games that won't force you to work with other people.

Dmitri Bicheng Liu

no, they'd just go back to playing "dungeons & dragons" with paper and dice or continue to walk around with our heads in books or over soldering irons.

George Sawyer

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.