Have you ever walked up to someone and asked them which was the healthiest for you? Video Games, Movies, Music, Books?
Everyone responds with books. Everyone. You ask them why and you'll get a plethora of different answers.
"They aren't violent. Reading is good for you. You actually learn things."
Bullshit!
Books are as bad as anything else. We're still getting the same information, but just in a different way. I'm pretty damn sure I haven't killed anyone in a video game so I can watch the contents of their bowels spill out uncontrollably across the floor.
Even worse, people don't realize just how violent and vulgar books are. Do you know, in my middle school library, we had One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stocked? That was not a book I should've been reading before I was thirteen. We had a book that was the journal of some guys dealings with satan. Hell, books are so bad, that even in The Elder Scrolls one had to be censored by the temple!
People are stupid, moronic, biased. The moment problems arise, they're quick to blame, unable to see that the problems stem from their own ignorance.
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Honestly though, I do agree!
Interesting rant, but you based some of your arguments off of the opposing argument that "Books aren't violent." Which, really, people know that books can be violent.
Books can tell a story, but also help describe life in a certain area of the world. Video games can do that too, but content always has to be added in order for it to be fit to be a game.
But should you really care? That's like comparing Tofu to Gummy bears. I really could care less if Tofu's better for me, I want the Gummy bears. Video games may be a somewhat mindless activity, but they're fun. Do we really need to make any other arguments than that?
However, that doesn't mean games are bad for you; on the contrary, i think game have far more potential to teach kids things. I mean, imagine a sandbox game that allows you to travel great distances over sea and air, between islands and counties. You can take the easy route for a price, but you could travel yourself on your own ship or plane, forcing you to think about weather conditions, bearings, vectors, wind speeds, currents and so on before you set out on your journey, also having to deal with split second decision making should you get attacked.
It would still be a game in itself even if you didn't work out the routes yourself, but it could reward you for putting the effort in with treasures and bonuses.
But anyway. I think each medium has it's strengths and weaknesses. Films can teach your morals and give you insights into people's lives much better than books can, because written words can be ambiguous. TV can teach you a lot more and has a lot more practical application to the real world. And because it's something familiar, it's a social lube, so every medium has it's strengths and weaknesses. Just look at Satanic cults; they give you a good grasp of religion, and that obsidian dagger makes a great party piece. Demonic, yet practical.