Harry Potter And Temptation

[adt6247]

[quote name='kenrockthefirst' post='1392326' date='Sep 24 2007, 01:19 PM']Let me put a different spin on this: my oldest son, in particular, if allowed to play video games would be like those rats which, given the choice of pressing the button to dispense food or the button to stimulate the pleasure center in their brains, choose the latter. Apart from the horrible-ness of the content of most video games, there is the deleterious effect of the addictive nature of video games. My son likes to read a lot, including fantasy stories, of which Harry Potter is one. I don't have a problem with his reading "too much." However, I will never have a game console in our home because of the negative effects such games can have on growing children - including the health effects, and the fact that they are a waste of time - while offering little if anything positive apart from immediate gratification. In other words, and back to the original topic, I'd be far more worried about my son wasting his time, getting fat, and being poorly socialized than I would about him running off to join a coven.[/quote]
The addictive properties of video games vs. other activities have not been proven. Some kids who play get addicted, some do not. How can you say that video games stimulate the pleasure center of the brain any more directly than TV, cell phones, surfing the net, and any other dynamic visual media.

[kenrockthefirst]

[quote name='adt6247' post='1394838' date='Sep 28 2007, 12:34 PM']The addictive properties of video games vs. other activities have not been proven. Some kids who play get addicted, some do not. How can you say that video games stimulate the pleasure center of the brain any more directly than TV, cell phones, surfing the net, and any other dynamic visual media.[/quote]
Indeed, all of the things you cite are Bad Things if done to excess. In addition, both TV and the Internet in particular, not only have the compelling qualities of video games but are also, like video games, full of horrible content.

The bottom line is that all of the things you cite plus video games are far more insidious than Harry Potter, IMHO.