Playing Smarter in a Digital World by Randy Kulman

Author:Randy Kulman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Specialty Press/A.D.D. Warehouse
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Never, there are no video games in this house

Never can be an extreme proposition, especially when it comes to technology use and screen time. It may also be counterproductive to learning and acquiring job skills. But some parents have decided that video games and other technologies are simply bad for their kids and have chosen to ban them from their households. Most often, parents who choose this approach have either seen their children become obsessed with video games or the Internet, are extremely concerned about the cultural influences that are accessed via digital media, or are worried that their children will spend far too much time playing video games. This strategy is becoming increasingly more difficult to enforce for many parents and at times may have the unintended consequence of isolating their children from their peers.

While I strongly agree with the idea that children should be doing much more than just spending their day in front of a screen, I disagree with this approach. After all, we are living in a digital world. Denying your children access to digital media is a little like denying books and formal schooling to children in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because doing so would take them away from farm work. Just as books have taken human beings to places they have never been before, video games and other technologies offer the same types of opportunities.

Understanding the dangers and possible abuses of video games and digital technologies is important, but realizing the benefits is even greater. Many powerful medicines and prevention tools such as vaccines can pose some danger to children. However, their role in eliminating disease is unquestioned. In the same fashion, restricting children who are growing up in the digital world from technology keeps them from some of the tools they will need in school and in their future vocations. I believe there are many effective ways parents can encourage a healthy play diet (that focuses on activities such as physical exercise, face-to-face social interactions, and the pursuit of artistic and creative hobbies) while allowing children to have fun and learn from the incredible technologies that are available in today’s world.

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