1. You say that you add 20 minutes on to Super Mario Galaxy so you obviously let your kids play on the Wii when at the same time you are verbally attacking the console and its creators. This sounds hypocritical to me.
2. You say that playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators' brains but when watching television, you watch the same thing as everyone else whereas you play a videogame in the way that you choose so the experience is different for each person.
3. If you dont know anything about a subject then you cannot have an opion about it that is not biased, which seems to be the case here.
4. If your kids spend too much time indoors then that is not because videogames are addictive, it is because as a parent one role is to stop them from wasting their lives and no offense but you dont seem to be doing that.

Jack Armstrong, Nottinghamshire,

5. Games like Final Fantasy and Lost Odyssey are renowned for having intricate plots which are far more interesting or sometimes even educational to a degree than most television shows.
6. This is getting tedious so im just going to ask:
Don't you have anything better to do than blame videogames for any problems you have with your kids hobbies?
Oh, and 7. Im 15 and i just pointed out 5 major flaws in your work in the space of 5 minutes without thoroughly checking it for the rest - a piece of advice: know what your talking about when its your job to do so.
and also, don't knock it until you've tried it.

Jack Armstrong, Nottinghamshire,

"beepety-beep"?

I believe that Nobuo Uematsu, the man who composed the music for the Final Fantasy series and has had the aforementioned work performed by various symphony orchestras would have something to say about that. The music is complex, epic and a delight to listen too.

And look..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn71hIsm0U8

I can back up my points with evidence instead of hyperbole!

William Sumners, London,

wow that is a realy ignorant and old fashioned view
try be a bit more modern love
dont ridicule
what u dont understand

thomas saunders, telford,

"mentally imprison" Why would you say that? games aren't about killing, its about story and drama like final fantasy or Halo. They don't make people brain dead or into killers. Video games were just meant to be fun. Also they were a stepping stone for greater technology for the future.

Ed Clifton, Livonia, Michigan

Ever played a game like Final Fantasy? These games have better stories than most films and books. Not all games are for idiots, in the same way that there are some idiotic films, and some brilliant ones. Video games are a form of art, they are just completely unappreciated by those who don't understand them, and therefore fear them, like yourself.

John, Liverpool, England

well, i read your article through, and have to say how dissappointed I am in your rants. They're your opinion, and that's fine, but you belittle people and concepts that you don't understand, which is not. I have been a long time gamer, 11 or 12 years now i've been playing games, and somehow, I've turned out just fine. I've just finished university and am now an electrical engineer making more money in a year than you will make in 5.

Games, and modern entertainment in general can be a very useful learning tool. Allowing children of all ages to play and learn in ways that TV shows, movies and board games can never offer. I'm not saying video games are a replacement for everyday activity, but you should find a healthy balance. Get involved in what your children enjoy doing, don't be afraid to play some games and see what they're like. The best thing you can do is get informed, learn about games (the good and the bad), and choose what's appropriate for your kids.

Carson, London, Canada

It's a shame that you think that, because for the most part they do the exact opposite. I am 15 years old and have the IQ of roughly 130, have straight A*s in all the English Coursework etc. and I'd attribute roughly 80% of my literary skills to me playing games like Pokemon when I was 4. As well as this, a plethora of other games teach you things (I won't mention them as most have been listed above already).

Also, "Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators' brains"? Games are probably the only Media outlet which allows you to do things that WEREN'T intended by the creator. Not that the others have "evil" creators, but with TV, Movies and Books, your experience is generally limited to the one the creator had in mind.

Craig Collins, Brighton, England

She talks of policing her children so they don't get "addicted" to this supposed electronic crack, but to a kid, what mommy prohibits becomes that much cooler! Why do you think kids listen to the music they listen to in their teens? Not really because it's particularly great (at least not as great as they claimed it was) but because their parents hate it. Taking away something that could be entertaining if you ENCOURAGED proper usage of it only makes things worse by giving it that forbidden allure.
Mrs. Turner,
I am an American Male (17yrs) who plays video games and spends many hours on the internet a day. HOWEVER,
-I'm not obese (I'm actually about 20 lbs underweight)
-I'm in advanced classes at school
-I don't NEED the electronic stimulation, I simply enjoy spending time with it. I was raised in a house where my parents encouraged developments away from videogames, but never limited me from playing them (imagine!).

Mark Abrahamson, Longmont, Colorado

I wonder if she could be more out of touch with reality. Unfortunately, she began with an idea and got caught up in the 'brilliance' of her own hyperbole. I pity her children and the way they are being restricted by her own lack of understanding.

Here is someone who has read a few articles on game related crime, thinks everyone aged 11-19 is a yob and wears a hood and worst of all, thinks she has the world sussed.

Daniel Stack, Harlow, Essex

This is another example of someone blaming "video games" for their own bad parenting.
The Writer of this article has done little to no research and has probably not even played a game.

This reminds me somewhat of the recent story that Fox New ran on Mass Effect (an Xbox360 RPG)
Link here:

http://kotaku.com/347350/keighley-sets-mass-effect-record-straight-or-tries-to
The panel reminds me more of a group of uneducated town folk with pitch forks and torches on a witch hunt. They all make wide, sweeping and incorrect statements about the game in question.

Laughably while they all run down the path of video games are dangerous, they all ignore the many primetime shows that contain far more graphic sex and violence.

The fox news presenter in the above link says a classic line: "you have to pick up the box and look at the rating; I mean you have to be involved in what your kids are looking at". No really, I am shocked. Ignorant people should never be left to make decisions for others.

M Mack, Midlands, UK

This is not right, the last bit about games, apparently, mentally imprisoning kids, is not right, games like TV teach's stories, and can help you learn alot more than a TV can, for example there is no way a TV can help you puzzle solving, tacics and strategy. If anything, the TV is more restricting, you can learn stories on games,to be honest that "crack cocaine of the brain is an insult to families who, have children with drug problems. maybe a cartoon and soap can teach character, plot, drama, humour and life, but what say gaming can't, once more have you even played a game Mrs. Janice, I really dont think so, I am a 12-year old child, I play six hours a day, im not obese, i do not have any disorders, back pain or anything. The Nintendo Wii isn't as bad as you say it is, it counts as exercise, schools are starting to use it for P.E and it is very affective, it's a good way of improving hand-eye co-ordination, to be honest Janice I think you are completly wrong about games, I'd go on.

Adam Dunas, Bury, England

here is an article contrasting video games and board games, giving the edge to board games even though many hours of xbox 360 have been played:

http://georgiaboardgames.com/2008/01/23/video-games-or-board-games/

j, Marietta, USA/GA

You obviously haven't researched your article. There are many games that are renowed for their story and characters, just like many books, films and TV programmes are. In actual fact, some developers even hire hollywood writers to write and develop the story for their game - so if that isn't proof enough that games can have a fantastic story, then I don't know what is.

Personally, I think the films, TV, games etc. that children watch or play shouldn't be policed as I don't feel children should be shielded from reality and so shouldn't be shielded from virtuality.

Another point is that there are many groups and clubs specifically formed for young people e.g. local sports clubs, drama clubs, theatre groups, community groups etc. that your children can join if you are so against them watching TV or playing harmless games.

Craig McLuckie, Tullibody, Scotland

I'm afraid 1000 characters aren't enough to express my full view.
Mrs Turner, more than nine tenths of the people here all have the same thought on their mind: you are using video games to hide your own (I will use your word) 'crappy' parenting methods.
In fact, despite having the title 'Xbox is crack for kids,' your article is mainly about television and 80's arcade. Video games do not go 'beepety beep' anymore. I recommend a doctor for a reality checkup.
Furthermore, the title is 'Xbox is crack for kids.' I noticed you had left out Playstation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, Gamecube and Wii. What would you say they were, hm? Marijuana? Ice?
About your comment on stop-start animation with Plasticine men. It is nowadays called 'stop motion,' another reason to consult your doctor. And it's not just plasticine anymore. I shoot stop motion films with LEGO bricks (brickfilming).
Even if you think Bill Gates is a criminal, it doesn't mean he can combine anatomy with computer parts.

Get a life.

L, Sydney, Australia

...going to do it, at least do it constructively so that we don't have to suffer the indignation of ignorance.

Thank you.

Ben Campbell, Belfast, Northern Ireland

I think you need to do a lot more research and base your theory on facts rather than simply your own misguided opinion.

I appreciate that concern for your children is paramount and the content of what they see and experience needs to be policed but a lot of development time goes into games nowadays and story is a huge part of that.

Well designed games not only improve hand/eye co-ordination but also encourage children to think outside the box in order to progress. Training their minds to look at a problem from all angles and assess the best possible solution. In addition to this there are many games based on real historical events - in some cases pieced together with film or documentary footage to drag the story along.

Re-asses your views. Play a few games yourself and make up your mind properly like an intelligent and educated adult instead of an opinionated fool.

Mark Hayhurst, Halfiax,

At least in games you have an interactive aspect to the experience. How much work is your brain doing, exactly, when it watches a cartoon or soap opera? I would argue that the puzzles in games such as the Zelda series provide a real work out in logic. When you play Civilization or Sim City, you take on the planning of an entire world, exploring aspects such as diplomacy, balancing budgets, and the cultural and sociological variables that define our world. If your kids are zombies, it is a result of parents not being involved in their kids lives, not taking an interest in what they are playing. Taking an active role and providing your kids with interesting and thought provoking substance does not have to be limited to one medium. Teach your kids to appreciate depth of character and value of experience in all aspects, not just those that are historically "acceptable". Games can be one of the most powerful learning tools.

Amanda, Yarmouth, Maine, USA

The habits change from time to time. This is called evolution. Like or not, good or bad, it is necessary to adapt them at the new times with the common sense, naturally, but without hysteria or we will be raising ETs instead of sociable children.


Best regards

Rodrigo N. Savassi, Belo Horizonte, Brasil

Oh, I'm not done yet, I'm just out of characters.

If you bother to read the article I wrote and uploaded to a site that requires you to test your brain, you'll see I make the point of creating game maps. Now how much work goes into writing your wonderful column? Now double that, or in fact triple it in the case of Counter Strike. There you go, that's how much work will have gone into that kid's map. He has to first create the buildings and give each one the right texture, set player spawnpoints, add dynamic lighting, and then discover one misplaced comma has broken the whole thing, so you have to start again. Welcome to the world of game modding.

I'd love to carry on being cynical however, I have things to do, mainly practice of my instruments and then I think I'll go play Team Fortress for a while and have a laugh with the other gamers. I'd offer an invitation to you, but I think I might take it personnelly and spend the whole game making sure that you can't score a single point

Patrick Rose, Manchester, Lancaster

I thought people writing columns were supposed to research their content? Its clear that this lady has no idea what she is talking about, similar to parents years ago saying the Rock and Roll was evil. Technology advances at hyper speed. If you don’t understand it, research it, don’t make flippant comments of what you think it might be.

I am fed up of games getting a bum rap, though people that have no clue about games. I have played Video games, sports for the last 25 year. I watch limited Tv and also go to the cinema, they are all forms of entertainment. Video games are becoming the new cinema. The internet has potentially more worrying content that is harder to restrict for Parents.

If you want to understand your children, then you should learn to understand what’s happening in the real world and not make up what you think it might be.

David, Barcelona,

"“I'm really awful,” one mother told me with a smile that suggested she thought herself rather wonderful."

"Once, such kids would be the playground outcasts, but no longer. Mine are. Because, unlike the TV-hating parents, I refuse to buy them portable gaming consoles."

What is the difference between these quotes? It rather seems that you find yourself rather wonderful when you really don't have a clue what you are talking about. You list a whole heap of old hardware as examples. You haven't given one real valid point against videogames other than possibly they go "beepety-beep", which a lot don't these days as a lot of money is invested into scores and soundtracks on video games.

The fact that children crave stimulation only shows their intelligence in my opinion. And no, I don't think that their time could be better spent reading or making you feel better by doing your childhood activities.

Time moves on, people learn more. Technology is part of our future & is a gateway to work.

Alex Manning, Redhill,

Hmm... Fair point about children needing to excercise more, use their imagination and spend time with their family. But this seems to be an example of the writer simply attacking something because she is "afraid of the unknown". If you have some kind of irrational dislike of video games, may I suggest that you try to learn more about them?
Everything in moderation, games are no worse than a cartoon or other television show.
On the subject of violence in video games, think of games like a movie: it has an age rating on it which must be obeyed.

Sean, Edinburgh,

Quote from your own article on the 1st Dec, 2007 (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/janice_turner/article2980262.ece)
'......and Gordon Ramsay says the F-word 57 times in one prime-time hour of Kitchen Nightmares. (My baffled nine-year-old counted.).....'

Ramsay has a foul mouth, every one knows that, why the hell are you letting your 9yo watch it. Kinda goes for games too. If its an 18/M rated game, there is a reason for it being so and its the parents responsibility to ensure they don't play them. The game stores responsibility is not so sell them to kids.

Paul, City,

Setting me off was probably your worst move.

If games are evil, therefore I'm evil right? For spending time on a server talking and messing around. You are actually making me sick. Have you any idea what us gamers put up with? You said it yourself, you let kids play Mario. Have you tried it? Have you seen a storyline? No, I'll bet you saw it as a child's toy. So, I'm a child. A 16 year old who can easily hold his own in an ethical debate. A child who has a tested IQ of 159.

I'm fairly certain at some point in the past year, there was a problem with a child who created a CS (Sorry, just realised you won't understand the acronym, that's Counter Strike to you) map based on his school. He was arrested because of this. I even had a response to that as well. I'll even bet you'd like to see it: http://www.osix.net:80/modules/folder/index.php?tid=20202&action=vf.

Insulting Gamers is probably one of the biggest mistakes you'll ever make.

Patrick Rose, Manchester, Lancaster

I got half way down before i stopped reading comments. Something i noticed though was that few people mentionned that in video games you interact with the plot. Its far less passive than T.V. Also there are new fangled multiplayer games! So it's not passive like sitting infront of a T.V.

Eoin Gough, Dublin, Ireland

People of limited vision said the same of Rock and Roll, Television (which this author was no doubt never allowed as a child), Comic Books. After reading this article, I pity the authors children.

Steven Gund, London, England

I didn't realise it was that time again to blame your failures as a parent on something. Rock music before, gaming now. Well guess what? Parenting is supposed to be your job, not stripping your children of their childhood.

Congratulations on your induction to the "group of misinformed adults hell-bent on destroying things they don't understand."

Games are no different than films and music. If you feel it's your duty to ban your children from games then why not ban them from the other two forms of entertainment while you're at it. "No you can't go to the cinema son, it's an evil addiction! Take that Eminem album back to the shop! I won't have you joining the happy slapping culture."

Whether you like it or not, gaming is an art-form, that teaches more about life to children than apparently you're doing.

Liam, Manchester, England

Just something I noted from reading through these comments....the amount of intelligent, clearly literate gamers who have constructively torn your argument to shreds. Surely their minds should have been destroyed years ago by the evil of video games?

Nicholas Lewis, London, UK

What I enjoyed about this article is how the author really persuades us of how games are worse than other forms of media, rather than just tacking that assertion on in the second to last paragraph and then not bothering to back it up with even the slightest shred of evidence.

Oh, wait a minute.

Bailey, New York, NY

Janice Turner, you are just another of a misinformed, uneducated adult group who scapegoats an intelligent part of the entertainment industry, instead of placing the blame for so called dullardism with parents. I have played video games for some time, but I have also sought my escapism in physical socialising with others, in books, film and other media. This is about escapism, away from, and outside the real world, but this needs to be managed.

As a gamer myself, I worry now about how to manage my future children's access to TV, film and games, as I want to be sure that they lead an active lifestyle without seeing such media as the be all and end all, but as one choice of many for fun.

Clueless parents see games as toys for kids, this is not the case, and as many video games are rated like films for 15 and 18 years olds, parents must take responsibility for allowing kids to play them, as they are the ones buying the games for their children. The answer is parents must be educated.

Gareth Green, Cardiff,

Video games don't do harm. Have you seen the Nintendo Wii which require you to move your body rather than press controller buttons or those Nintendo DS like Brain Training which are meant to get your brain working. I have a question, have you ever played a video game in your life? If not, you can't just say there "evil".

"Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators' brains. And they play them - beepety-beep - on journeys, over family meals, any minute in which they find themselves unamused."

Are they really?

You can't police technology, if you think you can then you really need to a reality check. And your poor, imprisoned, kids who should be allowed want they want (Without you over-controlling them), I hope they get a games console when they move out, they deserve it if you don't let them play them.

Stephen, Manchester,

Not that i disagree with most of the article, it is a shame that children seem less inclined to read now but the stuff about videogames, please at least do some research. There is more about morals and society in bioshock then in something like Eastenders or to refer to child television Grange Hill. Obviously there is little story in a mario game, save the princess save the world (hmm sounds familiar) but there are other games out there. Simcity and Civilization teach all sorts of admin and timekeeping skills..diplomacy even. I don't watch tv anymore because its just horrendous but i still play my 360 and make time to read while doing a postgrad law degree..odd that isn't it?

Jaspar Grinling, bournemouth,

you cliam that games have no story? well let me list all the games with funny imaginatve storys.
1.half-life series
2.bioshock
3.system shock 2
4.duex ex
5.call of duty 4
6.mass effect
7. 5 days a stranger
8. 7 days a sceptic
9.monkey island
10.grim fantango

p.s i noted that you own a wii, so do you think that mario galaxy is child friendly? a game that is based around possibly the worst stereotype in gaming. you also seem to feel that games are some how the devils toys that will eat your soul and then mug your gran? maybe you would be happier living with some amish people? if you do move in with the amish then we wouldent have to put up with your closed mindednes.

fergus, oban, scotland

The only thing wrong with video gaming is when parents let their 8 year olds play games like GTA or Saints Row. It's 18 rated for a reason.
Lets see, do video games create thugs? Murderers? Thiefs? Or has there always been thugs, murderers and thiefs since we can remember as a society?
Would it be ok to subject our Children to things like X-Factor and High School Musical? To be honest, the "me" generation scares the hell out of me more so than some kids wanting to play games too much because their parents have no control.
If kids must play games, let them play suitable ones.

Matt Taylor, Cramlington, Northumberland

You obviously have a very dim view of what the video game culture is really about. My kids play video games and are two sport star athletes. Go figure.

Antonne Burgess, Columbus , georgia

Unlike Janice Turner, as a 47 year old, several years ago I decided to go with technology rather than allow myself to stagnate with the majority of my 'older generation', I have embraced technology and own gadgets by the bucketful. There is nothing to be frightened of Janice, get rid of that washboard - washing machines are not the work of the devil!
It is so easy to blame videogames as the reason our kids rule the streets with the morals of latter-day gangsters, the real reasons are swept under the Governments carpets - no discipline at school, no discipline in the home, no responsibility for their children from parents and the knowledge within children that they cannot be punished has created a generation of kids who know they are 'untouchable' and are able to do anything they like without reprimand.

Andy Parnham, Morecambe, England

You cannot blame gaming, which is now a mainstream form of entertainment, for your kids being outcasts. Narrow minded parenting will do more damage to a child than a game ever will!

Don, Croydon, England

Your article has the merit to make people like me react. I grew up with video games. Although I'm not fun of new generation games (fps mostly), my parents gave me a certain passion for all kind of sports, they were strict in how we were doing at school...
I must agree on the fact that having TV in a kid's bedroom is nonsense but blaming video games for parents weaknesses is wrong.
In fact, I'm glad I live during the 80's/90's to see the video games evolution. As they got better technically, TV was getting poorer and poorer.
The gaming industry is far bigger than you think. But comparing video games to a drug cocaine is really far fetched, if anyone had to choose between an overdose of one of the two, the answer would be obvious.
Please talk by experience:
Besides your partial point of view is "past it". Obviously you forgot how it's like to be a child, sadly you will never be able to experience video games as one.
But you don't care, that's are narrow minded an adult can become.

Dominique, GALWAY, IRELAND

Have you ever played a videogame? A good one?

No story? Try

Final Fantasy(I-XII)
Bioshock
All Halo Games
All Zelda Games
All (blank) of Mana Games
All Tales of (blank) Games
All Ace Attorney Games
Assassin's Creed

I can keep going. Honestly, video games are better than the crap movies we've been getting lately. Though if all you ever do is play Kane and Lynch, or take the idiots that can't shut up on Xbox live seriously, I guess you wouldn't see that.

The article was great until the last two paragraphs.

Nathan Searcy, Logan, Utah

Another article someone uses as an scapegoat of bad parenting.

UGh.. it disguts me

Guido JOsé Angulo , San José, Costa Rica

Grim Fandango
Bioshock
Deus Ex
The Longest Journey
Portal
Thief

No character, plot, drama, humour, life, you say? Methinks you need to do a bit of research before you make sweeping generalisations about subjects you don't understand.

Jim, Preston,

I grew up in London, when I was 6 years old, I used to walk around with an imitation machine-gun that went 'bang' when I pulled the trigger, that was considered 'perfectly normal' then, nowadays I would probably have been arrested by Police in riot gear.

Apparently the big 'evil' of the modern age is 'Video Games', much like Elvis' 'gyrations' or the violence in Tom and Jerry were the dangers when I was young.

It's odd how we look back on the all the things that our elders told us were 'harmful' now and laugh... and then go straight out and repeat their mistakes.

I play computer games, I can only assume the author is limited to web-based flash games or the like, because if I have any complaint about modern games, it's that they tend to get lost in their own plot and actually try to be TOO meaningful.

Peter, London, England

Well, thank you for your two cents. Next.

Erik, Chicago, USA

Janice, you are serioulsy misguided in your comments.

I am 29 and a successful physician and I played video games all my life and still do. I do believe video games as well as all activities in general that children partake in should have some supervision. That is part of raising children, being involved as a parent.

Its funny how you pick on the Xbox, even though the Xbox 360 has implemented a Family Timer option where parents can decide exactly how long their kids can play before the machine shuts off which empowers the parent to limit the activity as they see fit.

Video games develop hand-eye coordination skils, they teach team work, excite the imagination and are fun. Pick up a controller once and play with your kids and you might surprised. Games are no longer two dimensional. Look at games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Revolution, Wii Fit and you will be surprised.

The journalistic war on video games needs to stop and Janice, you need to open your mind!!

Arman, Seattle, WA

This article spoke very little of video games, with the exception of the final paragraph in which the author compares video games to dangerous addictive drugs.

Most of this article speaks of television, and not games. When computers are brought up, all that is really said about them is that the author does not really know how to use one, but her kids do. Good to know, but still far from relevant to the whole "Video games are crack" argument.

I'm not saying video games don't have that aspect to them (World of Warcraft is an easy example of an addictive Crack-esque game). However, the opinions expressed about video games in this article seem to come from conclusions the author made before really becoming experienced with games, and the variety of experiences they have to offer.

Moderation is key, whether you're watching the tube, playing warcraft, or doing drugs.

Michael STewart, Los Angeles, Ca

Are you suggesting that Video Games do not have "character, plot, drama, humour, life." as apposed to childrens television? You are up in the clouds if that is the case. I can already think of at least ten video games I've played in the past year that have more story, emotion and life in them than eny television program or hollywood movie. I suggest you sit down and watch your kids play some video games all the way through. You'll be surprised. And that is the problem, I think. Most journalists simply do not have the time to investigate video games fully so they simply crank out these hack jobs like you just have (I'm sorry to cause offense but that is what this article is; it is a poorly researched hack job.)
Most video games, admittedly, have average plots, but they do have story and drama and they do engage you on a cognitive level. But if you play games like Mass Effect or Bioshock on the Xbox 360 you will be very surprised at the depth of story in these games. Very surpriesed.

Kevin, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

It's a good view, but for a person who doesn't play. Playing is like money-only people whitout it complain. And also there may be sick games teaching nothing, but the games are like movies-there are sick ones, and teachful ones, and it only depends on yourself what to chose.

Duobix, K-K, Poland

This article reads like laundry list of the author's personal and family problems. We've learned that without parental guidance her children taught themselves to create on the computer and their efforts are dismissed as "stupid". This should do more to disqualify this rant for any effective parent than anything else. It's clear that the author is the warden to the prison she describes. I hope her children make it out intact.

Separately from the issue of video games, this writer qualifies her ignorance with hysteria. "... what if Microsoft used its power for evil and patented spyware that could suck our brains out through our noses?" It's the only place she can go with this I suppose. I find it interesting that the writers who vilify video games tend to do it by taking the opportunity to flex their own rather repressed imaginations through creative writing, quite often more objectionable than the topic at hand. Whether it's this writer conjuring up images like the aforementioned nasal violation, or others ranting recently on Mass Effect by inventing sexual scenarios that don't even exist in the game... it all points to a lack of familiarity on the topic, lack of curiosity when it really should be there for any real parent, and of course, fear.

Morgan S., Austin, TX

How sweet, you’re trying to cope with the inertia inherent in adapting to parenting in this age of ubiquitous technology. In essence you're gripe isn't desperately different to any generations, relatively speaking anyway- you just have the benefit of a better documented hindsight.

I think exacting your children to personal, somewhat archaic, rather sacrosanct principals will obviously lead to them being ostracised. As for “children [being] mentally imprisoned”, I must admit I entered this state just the other day reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s ‘Everything is illuminated’. I say we move to ban fiction of all derivations.

The fact of the matter is that computers, even to the microcosm of gaming encompass such a broad spectrum of content that it would be rather audacious to try to implicate the medium as wholly bad or good. My advice? Get involved you old sort; vivisect the medium for yourself and quell those technological phobias by engaging in a spot of Wii Sports with the family.

Andrew, Okehampton,

Yes, obviously it's much easier to dispel the influence of thousands of hours of mind-warping commercials and the endless loop of soap powder jingles in your head than it is to put Resistance: Fall of Man down and NOT bludgeon someone to death with the controller. Then again, this article made me want to do just that – to myself. Thank you, Janice Turner. May your conservatism provoke generations of ignorance and traditionalism whenever a new medium surfaces. Because that's the way it's always been.

Cal, Isle of Wight,

Technology is here to stay... you cannot police everything forever and you seem rather an uptight sort of person. I don't think I would want a mother who worries so much about every little thing... Worry is learned and inherited.... better to look on the sunny side and flow through life... life is how you look at it

Sherri, athens, alabama

I work for an online gaming league, i deal with games every day of my life. We watch these types of articles very closely and comment on how we feel. We, the gamers, dislike being made the scapegoat for what is essentially, a problem caused by the few and uneducated. If you dont want your child to be playing violent videogames, DONT BUY THEM. Dont blame the games as they are clearly labelled with age ratings, you wouldnt let your 10 year old watch an extremely violent movie, wo why do some parents buy them violent videogames? The answer can be quite simple, ignorance, because if something goes wrong you know that you can blame the game and not yourself for playing the game.
What is rarely mentioned is what good the videogame industry has done to the world and people within. In america, a man save a persons life after applying knowledge he gainded from the game Americas Army. NASA are going to use the MMO platform "with a view to advancing education in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). "

For my final words, just wait for the video game generation to run the country. Which wont be long now.

Daniel, Kettering, Northamptonshire

25 year old gamer here. Spent my life growing up with games. Almost every system since the Atari 2600.

Now? I have my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering. Got a great job with an aerospace company. Getting married soon.

It's not that video games are evil, and getting worse. It's that parents are getting more lax, and lazier.

Keith, Lexington,

Improved hand eye coordination, critical thinking, problem solving skills, eye sight, and reflexes are all good things no? These are all benefits of playing video games (look it up, it's a fact). Surgeons play Guitar Hero to warm up before preforming an operation. Video games are not bad.
This game is not marketed to 15 year olds. It is an M rated game (that's 17+). If any 15 year old is playing this game it is not the games fault nor the fault of Microsoft, the console, or the creators Mass Effect. The fault is on the parents because a) Where is a 15 year old going to get $60 to buy the game, and b) The XBOX parental controls let those parents disallow M rated games (or any other rating for that matter).
If any harm comes to a child because of a video game no one is to blame but that child's parents.

Alex, Silverdale,

Right. I grew up with A NES, a commadore 64 PC, ETC and have not stopped collecting video game machines ever since. I had a gameboy and a gamegear around 1989 both handheld machines.

Cartoons? I was a child of the 1980 to 1990's i had it all VCR TV in my room ETC all 80's/90's tech.

I am now 24 an adult in collage now to gain a degree in multimedia programming. (A job that pays extemely well today) and I still play I have a wii xbox, ps3 ETC and A large HDTV. If anything these have taught me something new and useful in life almost every day since I used them. That messing with a Photo/videos and making labels on a PC? Guess what in today's world that is a good Job, if they are interested in it let them practice it. it will be done on a computer.

Crack addicts never make it to collage they are stoned on the floor and when they do make it they never finish or are at a party getting stoned. I never sat around either When we was not on NES we went outside and played by choice.

Terry, Utah,

I hate to jump on the bandwagon, especially after so many comments, but I can't help but agree that the writer is at the very least uninformed, if not totally ignorant. It's amusing that she refers to a computer as an "AppleMac" or as a "typewriter that can order groceries" as if she's proud of the very ignorance that inspires this article. She is about as well-qualified to criticize video games as she is to write an article about plasma physics.

It's probably petty of me, but I also note a distinct lack of good grammar and structure in this article, as well as a certain undercurrent of late-20th century neo-Luddism in her attitude. It's plain that she simply does not even try to understand gaming, seeing it only as a menace to her own "sallow, supine" children and subject matter for an inane article that criticizes and attacks but provides nothing in the way of constructive commentary. There's no real point in even arguing with the closed-minded. Leave them alone and game on.

Anthony, Portland, OR

>Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life.

And even the crappiest video game teaches a child about interactivity, logic, systems, problem solving, and more.

Do yourself and your kids a favor and read "A Theory of Fun" by Raph Koster, and also watch Will Wright's TED lecture.

Kim Pallister, Bellevue, wa

TV teaches children about character? Sorry, but not the stuff kids watch voulentarily. There's no character lessons to be learned from TV, period. And this is coming from a dedicated TV fan. They key is to get back to PARENTING. Teaching your children the life lessons yourself. Having a child needs to go back to being a responsibility, rather than an inalianable right. Although I applaud Ms. Turner for limiting the video game usage of her children, as extreme as her view is on them, turning to TV for life lessons is no better, unless you want your children to turn out like the characters on 'Footballer's Wives' or (God help you) any MTV show of your choice.

David, San Francisco, CA, US

So Xbox, gamecube & ps2 are out, but the Wii is okay?

C'mon lady show some consistency!

Fade, Crawley,

I'm offended by people who put down things like games and T.V. because they call them unwholesome or whatever such nonsense. What would you rather us do, hit a tire down a dirt road with a stick while saying our daily prayers? But seriously that article just plain pisses me off. Videogames aren't evil, you don't buy them for your small child. You should use your parental judgement to introduce your children to videogames when they are mentally mature enough to understand that they aren't real, and mature enough that they won't be addicted. Sure videogames don't often teach about politics and character, but what they do teach (sometimes) is critical thinking, strategy, thinking outside the box, and motor skills. I believe that videogame arguments are usually based on angry feelings and idiotic conjecture rather than solid fact. Don't complain about how something is bad in your life if you can do something about it quite easily.

John, Rochester Hills, United States of America

Play Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil or ICO and you will experience artistry and depth in game based storytelling that excels beyond any stupidity you see on TV. Play Wii Sports or Dance Dance Revolution and you will be burning calories while having fun.

Your age is showing. Video games are becoming a new artform and storytelling medium, capable of conveying meaning and intelligence and maturity beyond the hyped violence.

Nip Dickerson, Chicago, USA

I read somewhere (and no i dont remember where, and the way that new research goes, that might not be true anymore) that watching TV uses less brainpower than sleeping. And i know for sure that i use a lot more brainpowere to figure out how to kill those annoyingly powerful brutes in Halo 3, or to hit the right sequence in Guitar Hero 3, or figure out how to kill the other team, while keeping my team alive in World of Warcraft arena matches. So right there we have strategy, timing, teamwork. I could go on, but I don't want to bore.

I'm sick of people judging future generations using their generation's values. Welcome to the 21st century. Welcome to the age of technology. THINGS ARE DIFFERENT. Not necessarily better. Not necessarily worse. DIFFERENT. If you want to make real criticisms, you shouldn't base your arguments with comments like "in my day..." because guess what? It isn't your day.

Your kids may not run singing through meadows, but they learn and they are happy.

Jon, Madison, WI

Are video games totally good? No. Yet, are they totally evil? Same answer. No. It truly depends on how you use them.

It is a fallacy to say that all video games are bad when:
1) There are several video games that exercises a) the mind (most puzzle related games are examples) and b) the body (DDR is one example, the Wii console in general is a more recent one).

2.) As stated previously, there are some games that help educate people concerning life-saving tools as CPR. There are also several games that can educate people in areas including Mathematics, History, Language Learning, and other subjects.

3.) Video games CAN bring a family together. I, myself remember playing various games from Atari to N64 with MY FAMILY.

If anything, Video Games have the capability of providing MORE than reading or watching television in terms of exercise, education, and family unity. Does it always happen? No. But it can potentially can. It just matters how they are used.

D, disclosed,

"We feel warm inside when they play retro boardgames of wood and paper just as we did."

Do you mean all the blunt you smoked in the 80's, luv? Look, here: Do YOU remember what you did as for entertainment a child/young person? You possibly heard Elvis, or Whitesnake. maybe read some comics. Don't you remember THOSE things were evil, then? You wouldn't allow your children those? Of course you would! Because, despite what the media and your parents told you back then, you KNOW it was just stuff YOUR generation could get into. Here's a thought: Rather than REPEAT the endless bloody cycle, we acknoweledge that things you don't understand are not always crafted in Belzebub's workshop.

Batzarro, bay, pr

It's easy to pass off bad parenting as the "Evil videogames" and "Evil TV". Mothers said the same thing of the Radio when it came out. You know what? It's not the TV, or the XBOX, or the Radio. It's parents who have no time to raise their children, and instead depend on using the TV as a babysitter.

It's easy to blame everyone else for the problems people have with their children. What ever happened to people taking responsibility?

Kyle, Easton, PA

This is rather depressing. Gaming addiction? There are these nifty things like "limits". Parents used to set them, back in the day.

You seem to be pinning the shortcomings of today's society and parents on video games themselves. In fact, you do mention it at the end, and I agree, parents should tell kids when they should probably stop and maybe pick up a book, this cannot be blamed on the games or gamers.

And that bit about games not having any redeeming qualities or lessons? Brain Training for the DS would like a word with you, and the man mentioned in this article would probably like your attention as well: http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/gamer-uses-virtual-training-to-save-lives/1181064

Please try and refrain from making negative comments until you know more about the subject that you're trying to criticize. Comparing a gaming system to crack unfortunately makes you sound tragically uninformed, as it is laughably far from the truth.

Wesley L, Seattle,

http://www.childsplaycharity.org/
...just finished raising over a million dollars this past Christmas for children's hospitals all over the world, including Alder Hey Children's Hostpital in Liverpool.

If that's "mental imprisonment", I think I'll give my parole hearing a pass.

Seriously, check it out. It's a compelling story that has moved several journalists to take a more sophisticated look at the medium.

James Patton, New York,

well ya that all may be true except the last paragraph and as i might add all of you are adults and you don't live in our time. in your time you could do different things like race soap boxes down empty streets or go smoke or whatever you did back in your time but we cant do any of those things. all we can do is talk play video games and shop. seriously it gets old so we go for something addicting to free our minds of this boredom. so just step back get a different perspective and compare your child hood to ours.

sorry about the grammer my mom was calling me for dinner and she was mad

Eric mcTague, kailua kona, hawaii usa

Like everything, moderation is needed. But you are extreme.

Mike, Louisville, USA

*crazy idea*

Play some of the games... WITH your children! Not five hours a day or anything like that. They're playing Halo? Try it out yourself, play matches with them. Don't want the violent stuff around? Play Wii Sports with them, or Guitar Hero, or DDR.

It was always acceptable (and expected) that Dad would throw the pigskin around with the kids, we didn't just never play with kids ever. We stand around despairing because our kids don't want to play with us, but what if the problem is that _we're_ unwilling to engage with _them?_ Maybe in the modern day, Dad just needs to spend some time throwing particle cannon blasts around instead.

Jon, Phoenix, AZ

"Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life. Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators' brains. "

it's obvious you've never seen the storytelling, character development, plot driven, laughter and tear inspiring genius behind any and every Final Fantasy game. It's human nature to fear what we don't understand and to lash out at it as though it were the cause of all that is wrong and bad in the world. Instead of attempting to *understand* you have instead chosen to shut it out and shut down, and that is the real shame here. The generation gap is created by the mindset you cling to so dearly.

Reginald Atkins, Memphis, Tennessee

Janice have you ever played on an xbox or ps2? i bet not

will w, Sheffield, , uk

Ehem, dear Janice Turner.
Good luck stopping all video games from being released.
I see myself as a gamer, and have no problem with it.

And, I wish your kids good luck in their lives.
Hope they get themselves a PS3 when they move out:)

Kristian, Siljan, Norway

Why do you judge the unknown?
If you don't even know what you're talking about, how can you expect us to take you seriously?

Jorgen Tol, Sint Pancras, Netherlands

People are indeed afraid of what they do not understand

Kristoffer, Skara,

I pity you and the sheltered life that your children will receive by a ranting, ignorant woman such as yourself. Surely, in journalism they teach you about research, no? Then why is this article full of convoluted drivel? Or maybe you just forgot. In that case, you may need a Nintendo DS and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training...oh wait, no. You'll probably end up a corrupt and evil human being with no heart at all.

Rahul Dey, Essex, England

I find it funny that most media outlets these days are highlighting the Xbox as the prime target for currupting children these days. This article cites many examples of disruptive elements to childhood development, but the article title singles out the xbox. The author, or editors, want a catchy tag line but only the Xbox has put parenting tools into their system that will automatically monitor what the child is playing and for how long.

The problem is that most parents do not take the time to research what their kids are doing on consoles and what those consoles offer to help with this problem.

The Xbox can be placed on an internal timer, and have an age rating applied to it so that only certain games with an appropriate rating can be played.

Perhaps your next article can do more that just point at somethiing and call it Satan's tool, and instead help educate those who would like use it as the entertainment / learning tool that it could be.

Kevin, Kelowna, Canada

i would say as a gamer, that games do have a educational benefit, just look at . . . . the subtitles for example.
As this is one feature that i think ALL games have(who knows?), it is a factor that helps when learning english, or reading altogether and has actually a positive effect on grammar.
Furthermore, plots in games are as a rule in complextivity like a novel, with the great ones reaching bestseller levels.
There are many more aspects i could point out, but i have better things to do.

Adam Rönne, stockholm,

Play Final Fantasy X for the PS2, much better plot than any soap opera, and quite a few logic puzzles. Bit confusing at first, but if you don't play video games, you probably have a head start on learning to use the sphere grid leveling system.

Joseph Sturm, Pasadena, TX

Ah how i thought this article was getting somewhere until i read the penultimate paragraph.

"Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life."

I beg your pardon?

I would much rather my children enjoyed a round of Brain Training, developed their hand eye coordination in Call of Duty or learnt about "character, plot, drama and life" in The Sims than watched Big Brother or god forbid the Tellytubbies (tell me that teaches kids about character). The most interesting word there is humour. I have played many games in my time, i have also seen many stand up comedians in my time and the best games are comparable.

Obviously if your children play video games over family meals, you should consider the question - Why? Is it perhaps the lack of interesting conversation? The over-zealous mother? Or perhaps the cold hard logic that there isn't anything better to do in this hell of a house.

Josh, Swindon, Wiltshire

Now I really have to say:

Seriously, is this a joke or something?

Tony Nousiainen, Joensuu, Finland

Well, this is the most uninformed tosh I've seen for a little while.

Having said that, it's pretty representative of how uninformed parents are in general. I don't see how parents can use the electronic device beneath their TV to cover over their inadequacies as a parent.

James, London, UK

Crappy Television shows better than vid games? WRONG!
Janice Turner..you should play Metal Gear Solid (a stealth, movie like game created by the legendary and very EVIL Kojima) and write a comparison between TV and Vidgame.

aaron, regina, canada

go away and play some of these amazing games!!! then come back and tell me that that they are ALL bad. yeah some games i dont agree with (manhunt, bully and GTA being some of them) and im 16. but there is so much out there. play a finala fantasy game, you cna fell the characters personalities leap out to you, you feel sorry ofr them when somethibng bad happens and whne you finally beat thet boss you were stuck on you are proud of yourself.

like i have said some games are bad but not all. its like brandishing us teenages as trouble makers. not all of us are it is acually a small minoity of us.

Luke Hodgkinson, Nottingham, England

Please excuse your readers if a considerable proportion of them fail to understand how having your son smash his face into a banister is - for some reason that you didn't deign to flesh out - preferable to the multi-faceted entertainment he could experience from console or PC gaming.

I can't describe how much it depresses me to see this kind of scapegoating tosh receiving column-space in this day and age. Why not do some genuine research into gaming (you clearly haven't) instead of wearing your ignorance like a badge of pride? You would be doing your children a favour and you might even end up with a new topic to chat with them about by the end of it.

The fact that your children like to play computer games is a sign that they enjoy engaging their brains and using their imagination. A good game can be as mentally stimulating as a novel and as sensorially stimulating as the TV - okay, an art gallery, if you're still terrified of the working class overtones - at the same time.

Martin, London, UK,

Video games are a fun and interactive way to watch t.v. You can become addicted to it, but comparing it to crak cocaine is completely absurd. Crack cocaine is an illegal drug comparing an act that is contrary to U.S. law to video games is completely idiotic.

D.J., Fort Washington, Maryland

Novels
"The free access which many young people have to romances, novels, and plays has poisoned the mind and corrupted the morals of many a promising youth; and prevented others from improving their minds in useful knowledge. Parents take care to feed their children with wholesome diet; and yet how unconcerned about the provision for the mind, whether they are furnished with salutary food, or with trash, chaff, or poison?"
- Reverend Enos Hitchcock, Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family, 1790

The Waltz
"The indecent foreign dance called the Waltz was introduced ... at the English Court on Friday last ... It is quite sufficient to cast one's eyes on the voluptuous intertwining of the limbs, and close compressure of the bodies ... to see that it is far indeed removed from the modest reserve which has hitherto been considered distinctive of English females. So long as this obscene display was confined to prostitutes and adulteresses, we did not think it deserving of notice...

john, Seattle, WA

To suggest enjoying gaming is different to enjoying any other media displays an ignorance that, unfortunately, only time will expose. There are books, thousands infact, that I wouldn't want my daugher to read. The same can obviously be said for film and games alike.
What the sensible parent would do is enjoy and experience the games that are suitable for their children. Some can keep you physically fit, others will get your grey matter working. I'm convinced that my mother's new love of handheld puzzle games is keeping her mentally fit.
Here's an idea Janice. Pick up a wiimote and join your children (and rest of the us) in embracing the most diverse and exciting media of this generation. If you can't bring yourself to do that, I'm afraid you're officially out of touch for good.

Barry, Rochford,

I'd love to know which video games that you have *played* (if any at all) to conjure up the ignorant statement that games have no "character, plot, drama, humour" i suggest you do some research or maybe check out some of the role playing games on today's market, mass effect has teh plot, characters and drama close to that of your average book i think you'd find.

jonny, manchester, UK

So you would rather plop your child down in front of a "crappy cartoon" or a "lame soap opera" and let him or her drool at the screen than give them something mentally challenging that they can interact with, something that makes them think? If you don't think that video games have character development and a plot, or contain elements of problem solving, then you have not picked one up since Pong. I am embarrassed for you.

Clarke, Canada,

*snrk*

GWAAAAHAhahahaaaaa~!

eheh... heee.

...

Wait, wait, I'm sorry. Were... were you actually serious?

Santa Maria~! Look, do us all a favor. Pick up a copy of the following games, and don't write a single word about how games are evil and without redeeming virtue until you've experienced at least half of them. Heck, I'll do you a favor and make sure that most of these are bargain bin titles;

*Skies of Arcadia
*Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
*Final Fantasy - any in this series, although I highly recommend 7, 8, 9, and 12.
*Psychonauts
*Grim Fandango
*Any of the Monkey Island games

If you STILL think that all video games are a corruptive influence after that, I'll eat my hat... and that, madame, will be a trick, as I haven't one.

Seth Williams, Pensacola,

Oh dear…not another individual who thinks video games are something the devil decided to create from the seventh layer of the depths of hell, wait…wait..having I seen this somewhere before? Ah yes this was the same problem with rock based music when parents didn’t understand it.

Look if you didn’t know the so called “crack cocaine” Xbox 360 has the option to set a family setting password on it. Yes that’s right F-A-M-I-L-Y. That means your child can’t participate in certain aged games for example 18 certificates related games without you entering the password.

If you had even given the time to read the booklet with your child you wouldn’t be having such difficulty in this new type of media. That’s if you ever do buy one for your child. Personally I think your just being dare I say it E-V-I-L yourself Janice Turner, you should do more research and try to understand before you start using videogames as a scapegoat like most arrogant politics. It’s a real shame.

Jermaine, South Croydon, Surrey, UK

You ignorantly gloss over the fact that most of the accomplished scientists and engineers that drive this amazing world of ours with their intellects and creativity grew up on video games and continue to enjoy them. As a productive and well read engineer who loves video games, I suggest you try thinking outside of the very small box you live in.

AngryBrain, Dallas, TX, USA

Good day, when I read your article, a lot of things made me quite angry. Personaly I think you have a point...at one place, gaming has gone a little too far, but YOU reffer to it as plauge and a drug. Well let me tell you a little story...

One of my best friends is sitting in a wheelchair, hes got some kind of muscle disease and can not move very much.
Do you want to know what makes him happy through the day, if not stop reading now...

When we are at the school he needs help to almost every single thing, when we are out he needs help to almost every single thing, when he is home he needs help to almost every single thing. Thought all these handicaps he is the most postive and happy of us all...and when you are together with him you dosent do it to be kind, like since he is handicaped, you do it beacause you have fun together with him, he is more the man then I`ll guess I`ll ever be...

But then again we have the so famous xbox, which you DARED call drug, when he plays xbox...

mats, åmot, norway

I'm going to make this short:

To compare video games to crack is completely nonsensical, and the Times should be ashamed for hiring sensationalistic writers who fail at any point to describe how an XBox ruins a child's life, sends them to an early grave or rehab, or causes multiple health issues. My sister, an avid video gamer, is now applying for a job to write her own games. This article is a disgrace.

Jason, Manassas, VA

You won't think video games are so bad when alien zombies start attacking the household. What will you do then -- throw books at their torsos?

Jesse, Marin County, California

"Technology boggles us with its unfathomable black magic"
Janice Turner, are you HONESTLY that naive?
Do you also jump back, hiss and skurry for the shadows every time someone turns on the lights? After all, it's the magical harnessing of the devil's evil fire.
Just because you don't understand something (or for you, a lot of things), doesn't mean it is magic or evil.
You'd probably get right along with the likes of the infamous Ted Kaczynski.

Chess is a depiction of war through a board of 64 squares and 32 pieces, but do you also expect Viswanathan Anand, Garry Kasparov or any other chess fans to be doomed to assassinate a king or topple the British Royal Family?
Honestly, you can't be that naive.

DJDole, Canton, MI

"Whereas I use my computer as little more than a typewriter that can order groceries, they have figured out how to record music, edit photos, play chess, make stupid webcam films of themselves pretending to be Ant'n'Dec, download embarrassing (to their parents) rock like Metallica, print jam-jar labels, correspond with a godmother in Australia and do stop-start animation with Plasticine men."

Sounds like your kids are actively using their brains and imagination to do a variety of things that most adults cannot do....

They sound like wildly creative young minds bursting with a million different ideas. I wouldn't staunch them.

T, Atlanta,

He is one of us, but then without his handicaps...
He can fight and race us through xbox live, and he truly enjoys it. So how would you like to take this away from him...his only chance to be normal, and be just like us...huhh??

Besides he loves cars, but when could he get his chance to design cars like he dream of, without a game named FORZA 2. Maybe you could buy about...hmmm a hundred different cars and parts wouldnt that go just fine...

well let me tell you something, it would have taken away much from his life, but apparently you dosent see this...
Games does acctually help many peoples to live out their dreams.
You have no idea what u are talking about, I am afraid...

Sorry for some writting flaws, am from Norway and dosent have a world of experience in English...

mats, åmot, norway

Maybe you should look a little harder at the games that your children are playing. Many modern games have every bit as much plot and attention to drama or comedy as a movie. As far as character goes, many games now require players to make decisions, such as whether to act altruistically or in their character's best interest. These games are possibly better than novels, because they offer the player the chance to participate in the narrative. Furthermore, with the advent of online gaming, players are now encouraged to interact and cooperate to achieve goals, building valuable social skills. I'm not advocating leaving children unattended for 7 hours per day in front of the Xbox, but I am saying that a critical examination of the content of many modern games will contradict your dismissive and wholly negative view. I thoroughly enjoy my games and I am still able to maintain good grades and an active social life, and, one day, I hope that my children will enjoy them as much as I do.

Jeff, Morgantown, West Virginia (U.S.)

It's true; video games are great fun, but it's equally true that they are essentially mindless entertainment. But as far as the danger being equated to crack cocaine-- that's a little extreme, don't you think?

As with any vice, moderation is essential; this is particularly true where children are involved. Entertainment can become addiction, and there is no one to blame but a child's PARENT(s) if this is the case.

Roger, Roanoke, VA, USA

"Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life. Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned"

Quite frankly, you couldn't be more wrong. Just because, at a glance, it seems that all that is being accomplished is a repetitive, mindless task of brutal murder doesn't mean that such is the case. Character, plot, drama and humour are traits shared by both mediums, gaming simply adds an interactive element. An interactive element that often involves rather in depth problem solving, moral questions and a deeper empathy with the protagonist than could ever be achieved by a simple television program.

And as you quite nicely point out, home console games are often a great source of social cohesion amongst kids. Addiction is certainly a problem, albeit one that wanes with age, but aside from that games can give kids the competitiveness and strategy of a sport with the depth and emotion of a novel far outside their reading age.

Andrew, London,

"I must say that i play video games myself too but i still do other things like i read a lot of fantasy and scifi books or when i go to play soccer and i have 4-5 times per week soccer trainings.
My age is 14 and i do more than well in school.
So i dont agree what you are saying.
ps.sorry for my bad spelling im only 14 and english isnt my native language

Markus, Helsinki, Finland"


This was posted by a 14 year old child. This is the "common" child of which you speak. Take some time out of your oh so busy schedule of write articles bashing one of the biggest and most enjoyed forms of media of our day, and raise your children.

Jeremiah Holland, Fremont, Ca, USA

The worse people are the people who are not objective but treat things like a dictatorship. It shouldn’t be yes or no or in her case NO! Entertainment for children has been around for along time, the way in which the child is entertained has changed but that is how we develop. Games promote hand eye co-ordination, patience, concentration, the ability to follow things through, the ability to think laterally etc etc etc! Its true you do need to watch how much your kid plays but not take Stalin’s approach and dictate your beliefs!!!!
The Wii is the best selling platform ever, why? Because the parents want it more than the kids as it is an amazing tool for bringing the family together like the good old fashioned board game, the only difference is that we have moved on and technology gives us things like the Nintendo Wii!!

Craig, Birmingham, United Kingdom

I'm a little surprised that a seemingly interesting, well thought out and well written article can be derailed so comprehensively by what would appear to be an attention grabbing, knee jerk conclusion!

Congratulation though, the attention grabbing bit seems to have worked out very well.

Michael, Oxford, UK

I'll simply say that some of the best characters and plots ever created starred in video games. At least a video game is interactive, unlike these crappy cartoons and lame soap operas you speak of.

Nauctshea, Las Vegas, USA, Nevada

"And they play them - beepety-beep - on journeys, over family meals, any minute in which they find themselves unamused."

If you are worried that your children will find you boring then why not play a game with them?

As an aside I really wish people would get off of the McCullough hate machines' coat tails. Even he admitted he was wrong.

Jared, Shrewsbury, MA

Like Amber, I am autistic, and likewise, videogames are part of what drew me out of my shell, so to speak.

they have also given me a very good set of skills, which has netted me a job at 37k straight out at 18. over here, thats a lot.

also, i do not believe you, the writer of the article, has ever actually sat down and played a good game. while some games, such as, ooh, a really awful one...Postal teach nothing, others, such as Bioshock, force you to make an ethical decision and to live with the consequences ( in that particular game, save or kill the Little Sisters. i chose save.). Half Life 2 introduced you to some brilliant, and (more importantly) believable characters, whom you are likely to actually grow attached to.(and recoil in shock at the ending of Episode 2....)

others, such as Operation Flashpoint, or the Microsoft flight sims, both of which i have, can teach skills; Flashpoint was such an accurate sim, it was used by the military! plus, the only way i am ever likely to fly birds such as the 747, or the SR71, is in the safe enviroment of MS FS.

as to the theory that games discourage communication, this is complete nonsense. look at the 360, it has built in voice communications. the DS has voice comms on certain games. the PC...well, in some games, such as EVE online, it is impossible to organize large groups (in this case, fleets) without voice comms, which, it should be noted, are built right into the game.

and again, going back to skills, look at the team making Black Mesa Source ( just google it). in the process of making that mod for Half Life 2, they have had invaluable practice in programming, modelling and soundmixing, all of which are usable and above all, valid and valuable skills to have.

and as for the accusations of consoles making us fat? I am 18, just under 6 foot tall, and weigh less than 9 stone. hardly a lardarse. and beside, Nintendo are shortly to release a game designed to make the player exercise (Wii Fit)

although, i must admit, there are some trashy games out there, such as Postal (oh, poor Source Engine....), Manhunt ( a crap game, only reason it sold was a) its a Rockstar game and b) the negative publicity) and Leisure Suit Larry ( dont ask....even us Gamers cant understand the appeal behind that abomination).

ah, and afore i forget; the theory that Games cause violent tendancies? actually, i have always found them to be a safe outlet for such aggression.

so actually PLAY before you comment, if you would be so kind.

Pikajedi3, a tiny village in east sussex, UK

Attention Deficit, blamed on video games? Neurology doesn't work that way, I'm afraid.

Also, being autistic, video games brought me out of my shell. I would come up with stories based on my favorite characters, and made my first real friends because they played the games too.

Final Fantasy VI was the turning point. It had a deep, involved story the likes of which I'd never seen even in my beloved books, and a wide variety of characters. You could get into their heads, and the ability to control them gave an added depth that books can't have.

Now I'm 27 and still love games. I'm a successful writer, taking inspiration from my video game loves.

Please, sit down and *experience* some games before you try to throw a blanket over all of them.

While I'll say that yes, there are some excellent cartoons out there (and you *do* know that cartoons aren't exclusively for children, right?), even the best show can't let you get inside a character like a game can.

Amber, Oregon, USA

Video games are not crack cocaine, you are simply afraid of that which you do not understand.
In excess, anything is bad for you, video games are no exception. However, video games can improve creative problem solving skills and hand-eye coordination. They can instill an appreciation for learning new skills. Video games can facilitate positive social experiences with family and friends that can increase a child's self-esteem.
Video games can be pieces of art (Bioshock), or they can be trash (Kane & Lynch), but there is no justification for calling them "crack cocaine of the brain". Letting a child play a good and appropriate game for a reasonable amount of time is going to be better for his mental development than the same amount of time spent mindlessly watching a meaningless TV show.
I would suggest that you try to get over your fear of video games and try to understand them (read some reviews, maybe?) so you can make good decisions about the games your kids play.

Leighton, Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Janice, in the world of Gaming there are positive, intellectually sound games and there are the nastiest of the bad games. Some games can be apart of sharpening our children's intellect, and some can damage it just the same. Bottom line is know what your kids are playing, play the games with them (even if it's on your last nerve) I do, and sometimes I think "how wonderful someone thought up this particular game to entertain and help kids" and some times I think " this new game has to go, it is just not right". The problem is not technology, the problem is just how much are we as parents are helping our children adjust and make right decisions with the new technology that comes out almost every day.

Douglas Goerke, Tampa, Florida

Video games are not crack cocaine, you are simply afraid of that which you do not understand.
In excess, anything is bad for you, video games are no exception. However, video games can improve creative problem solving skills and hand-eye coordination. They can instill an appreciation for learning new skills. Video games can facilitate positive social experiences with family and friends that can increase a child's self-esteem.
Video games can be pieces of art (Bioshock), or they can be trash (Kane & Lynch), but there is no justification for calling them "crack cocaine of the brain". Letting a child play a good and appropriate game for a reasonable amount of time is going to be better for his mental development than the same amount of time spent mindlessly watching a meaningless TV show.
I would suggest that you try to get over your fear of video games and try to understand them (read some reviews, maybe?) so you can make good decisions about the games your kids play.

Leighton, Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Well, I'll say this.

I, being a gamer, am out raged at the comments and accusations that this, "parent,' has made. Because of games, my family are close, all 3 generations of them. I don't see my grandfather dazed off at the screen, or running into the streets with a shotgun.

And besides that, if it wasn't for games, I would have never have gone to uni, studying software development and design.

Now to you, Janice Turner. Have you played a game? And I don't mean your horror games. I mean the games that you can play with family. The ones which you can laugh at yourself if you screw up, or feel good when you solve that ever harder puzzle. I think not. So before you act as judge jury and prosecutor, take the time to look at what is in the game that your kids want to play, and get involved. I've seen what happens to the relationships between kids and parents like you, and it ends up causing more problems later on in life.

So, read every comment, and take in what people have said.

Jim Harrison, Brisbame, Australia

Video games are not a drug for children. I will be blunt on my opinion here, and say that I have played video games all my life, and I am doing just fine in social interaction, my weight is at 168 lbs (I am 6'3") and I play video games more than the "recommended" 2-4 hours.
Also, video games these days, for the most part, are filled with puzzles and plot lines, much like a book, or a retro board game. The Nintendo Wii is a great use for minor physical activity, and family fun. Many of the games for the portable consoles are in fact puzzle games to wrap your mind around, and help improve your intellect. Granted, there are some games that have none of that, and are mostly violent, death, gore and other things. Those games are rated M for Mature for a reason, and require the same responsibility as buying a rated R movie.
Video games are not the problem, negligence from parents are, and I will kindly ask for you not to slander video games because you want your own little part in fame.

Mathias Schlienger, Napa, California

Wow
I just turned 45 and started playing video games 20 years ago, my friends and people my age was always saying that videogames are for kids why u playing them.
Now reading all these comments from all these adult gamers makes me feel like i'm not alone anymore. I love videogaming and will always play.
Lvl 70 Gnome Warlock FTW (hehe I can talk like the kids)

Robert N, las vegas, nv

Where have we heard this kind of fear-mongering before? Was it when Rated R movies were poisoning children 5 years ago? Was it when gangster rap was poisoning kids 10 years ago? Maybe it was when rock and roll was perverting our children 50 years ago? Or was it when suggestive dancing such as "the twist" corrupted the youth of 80 years ago?

The old generation is always scared of the entertainment of the next generation that they don't even try to understand. Be a parent and limit your children's use and monitor your children's purchases. Welcome to the history of humanity.

Matt, Los Angeles,

I have to agree with Jason Kwak about games being about objectively based problem solving and developing a deep rooted story and a lot of character development over the course of the story. Apparently Janice Turner isn't privvy to Metal Gear Solid or Mass Effect. Two great modern examples of games with rich stories and seriously clever puzzles to solve. What about Portal? What about thinking on the fly in a game like Halo over XBOX Live to win the match for your team? No? I suppose all these things would be better learned and appreciated if all the kids were playing Chutes and Ladders and Yhatzee all day. Exercise is also neccessary to expose children to the natural world, however to demonize the whole gaming industry (which has surpassed the film industry's annual revenue) because you don't enjoy them is ignorant and downright lame Janet. I grew up playing video games, and still continue to this day. Janet, ride the wave of change, or be buried in the surf with the other dead fossils

Josh, Philadelphia, USA

Women whose children are that obsessed about the TV or the computer are bad mothers... Because there was a time in which they should have played with their kids, but instead they left them watching TV, all too many times. And now, that they are unaware of any other forms of entertainment because they never were taught one,.

Internet and videogames are wonderful things for a child to have, when you have a good parent control software. And when you make sure that you educate themkids to have respect, and play sports, you never have problems getting them off TV.

It tires me to no end, that Ms Turner, and irresponsible parents like her, are so unwilling to spend time with their children, that they'd rather spend it writing at destructive article about them and convincing others that they're "crack for kids" than actually playing with their own children and teaching them new ways of entertainment, or disciplining them in a way that you have no more trouble getting them off TV.

Juan Carlos Torres, Mexico City, Mexico

Excuse me but... are the people ignorant, the video games are not a "crack for kids".I play video games since I have 5 years old and thanks to the video games I learn to talk english, thanks to the online games I learn to socialize (well just a litlle).
The problem are the kids that don't understand the games and think "thats real" the same happens when they see cartoons where they see how some characters shoot, arm, etc, and nothing happens. Just explain your kid "THAT'S NOT