Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games Shifting Paradigm of Play

 

One of the ideas that the twenty-first century has brought to us is a new form of play and how often we as individuals associate it with technology. But why do we associate it with technology and what is that reason? Our perception and the whole spectrum of play has been changed which is due to technology itself and that is just one of the aspects that the author plans on focusing. But what is more important is the fact that whether digitalization of games has contributed in the degradation of society or benefited it and what are the certain arguments revolving around this issue. Although, video games have rendered old traditions of play such as the existing playgrounds useless the author tends to shed a more informative light on the idea of play and its meaning in this world that we live in that revolves around a massive database of information known as the internet.

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In, this fast paced world most of the time for people goes into their work, and the tight schedules of making their life more meaningful but if we stop and think about it for a second there won’t be a satisfactory answer that anyone could come up with. Because of this working individuals like office people, students, and even teenagers end up sitting at home watching television or play video games on their mobile phones and other digital devices. There is no time for people, or they cannot make time to go and play outdoor games like they used to anymore.In the article ‘Technology As Play’, Nicolla Yelland (1999: 217) mentions that play is of utmost importance in the four cognitive stages of a child’s development and learning. The child when in infant stage, learns to interact and engage with objects and certain elements present in the environment and later on as the child grows up parents play a vital role in connecting and creating a bond between each other through playfulness.

The psychological and socio – cultural norms of existing works done by Issacs, Montessori, Froebel, and Steiner reinforces the idea that these four cognitive learning stages in a person’s life that are mandatory and cannot be neglected (ibid.: 217).These stages are not something considered as extraordinary, but the fact that it’s normal for every person to go through these stages. But since digital media and devices have entered the realm of humanity the bond that was supposed to be there between parents and children had now been broken. Toddlers end up with such sophisticated devices such as smartphones which they are inexperienced with. But since time has been considered as an important attribute for elders, they leave the child neglected and the only companion they are left with are with devices that are almost alien or too far off for them to comprehend.

This causes a major problem in both the development, and the learning for the child since the young individual completely skips one of these important stages of cognitive and social development. This does not only affect the child but even the adults of those particular children. Depriving a child parental attention causes a loss for parents in terms of behavior. Stress and anxiety levels are lowered when interacting with your child and the feeling of depression can be cured through this. Also feeling the sense of no control over one’s child later on is attributed on personal inadequacy by that particular parent which could be shattering and emotionally traumatizing (Hembree-Kigin and McNeil 1995: 2).

Playing with a child involves patience and hard work since there is a constant demand of observation, listening, supporting and understanding. All this is impossible if a parent can’t create time and thus, the child looks for alternative methods such as television and video games since they provide instant gratification and at the same time a constant habit. Teenagers then grow up to be hooked onto social media, and the internet detaching themselves from friends, relatives, and even their own family. The child tends to socialize with three main important factors such as peers, family and out-of-home context such as playground, classroom or any other particular space which structures the mind of the individual on the basis of the experiences that he/she would gain. These are certain life lessons that are integral in the part of a human but shunning out almost all the above interactions robs the child of such opportunities and end up having a rigid perception due to lack of experiences.

Although, there are various kinds of video games such as shooter, adventure, action

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