Christmas is getting closer, and one good present that makes a child jubilant is a video game.  Especially if parents spend time playing with them. Here are some video game myths to dispel.

Video games make you violent. Video games have been blamed untold times for real violence. Recently, even Donald Trump has blamed video games for making kids more violent. In 1999 video games were condemned for contributing to the horrific massacre at Columbine High School.  This myth is not entirely baseless. According to the American Psychological Association task force, they found a “well-established” link between short-term aggression and violence in video games. Correlation does not imply causation. Many scholars dispute these findings; most studies find a correlation, not a causal relationship, which means the research could simply show that aggressive people like aggressive entertainment. Despite these reports, it has never been proven that video games actually cause people to be more physically violent.

Video games are for kids.  This is a frequent one you hear, but there are many, many more gamers who grew up playing Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog – or older games on the Atari – who are now adults and still love video games.  According to the Entertainment Software Association 2018 report, 70 per cent of gamers are older than 18. The average gamer is surprisingly mature – 36 years. ‘Casual’ games, like Flash Web browser games and Nintendo’s Wii Sports and Wii Fit, have brought older people into the gaming world. Adult women represent a greater portion of the video game-playing population (33 per cent) than boys under 18 (17 per cent).

Video games rot your brain. This is a deeply rooted myth people have believed for years. To an observer, gaming might seem mindless and trivial, but in reality is requires a lot of patience and skill. Video gaming has actually been proven to improve cognitive functions and problem-solving skills.

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