Kids and video games

[99fxst99]

Is it just me or does the current kids' fascination/obsession with video and on-line gaming disturb anyone? My 11yr old is so infatuated with the Roblox site that is a constant issue. The game is built around criminal activity, rewarding stealing and violence related activities. The ringleader is a kid who has captured the minds of God knows how many kids with his outrageous screen presence. Not the influence I want on him.
I have to drag him out of the house on pretty days when he would rather sit inside and "connect with his friends".
I guess this is a direction we have headed this generation in, but it saddens and scares me to see what these kids are becoming.
I could go on, but have to get to work. Just needed to vent. Anyone else feel this way?

[LakeFever]

Theres no doubt the current addiction crisis is all bound with one underlying cause; distraction and escapism. Drugs for adults, video games for kids. Anything to escape the real world seems to be a growing interest along with laziness. Thats not to say your kid is lazy, rather the choice of chilling at home "safely" is much easier than gettin outside dressed and working your body to get somewhere and then using it to do something. While most of us know the ROI from some good hard effort activities is more than worth the price of the work involed its a hard sell when your peer group is not overly partaking in strenuous activity lifestyles. There are many small factors at play that make plugging in to electric entertainment a major draw ( as I sit ant type.... ) anyways as a parent I think its key to create incentive to work.

Trying to teach motivation is very challenging. Best you can do is lead by example and promote more physical activities however possible while focusing on safety and fun. Hope this is of some help

[99fxst99]

Agree. I guess part of my frustration is someone is making money on this with no regard for the effects on these kids. Now my son can run a boat as good as many adults, gets straight A’s and is complimented on his behavior so I have lots to be thankful for. It just pains me to see how addicted he is to this gaming every free minute. And some of his friends are much deeper into it and he admires them for what they have “acquired “ playing it. It wouldn’t be so bad if they promoted positive values.

[LakeFever]

Im perplexed by the draw of games as well it as it seems so boring to me. I enjoyed an arcade and pool hall when I was a kid but quickly grew out of it. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree and it sounds like you have a fine lad there so hopefully as life gets more involved the gaming becomes less of a focus. I have grown friends who are hooked on games, one work colleague who plays that D&D game online every day. I try not to judge but it does make my eyes roll open a few degrees wider

[XstreamVking]

People of all ages ate up with their phones and games. Went to the dentist office today and of the dozen or so people in the waiting area I was the only one not playing with their phone. The office staff that calls you in had to say some peoples names twice to get them to look up from their screens. Just mesmerized with their toys.

[FMP]

Waiting rooms, it's going on while driving. ' World is going off the deep end.

[flabum1017]

Had a girlfriend a while back, her 19y/o son still in the house going to community college for computer arts classes. He loved playing Call of Duty type games. Finished college with a buulshat degree that was worthless and could not find a real job so he enlisted in the Army. I told him before he went off to boot camp that being in the military is nothing like his video games, of course he didn't believe me. Boot camp was a shock to him, then his first tour over in Afghanistan made a believer out of him.....

[LakeFever]

I read recently that smart phones killed boredom for the first time in history. I got to thinking reallllll hard about that article because I havent been bored in so long I cant recall. When Im not hands on working, im thinking carefully about future plans and projects and digesting what I have learned. I do enjoy activities that require 100% attention hence the love for speed and building things. Seems to me people who are hooked on phones are hooked on other peoples lives, instead of figuring out how to live their own by planning and dreaming they are too busy sticking giving this time to others. Thats what I really struggle to understand is why so much attention on other people? Why so much posting of lives on the internet? Whats the goal with all that?

[CDave]

If I would have been born 20 years later I'd have been addicted to video games for sure. I use to spend hours on racing sims like the Papyrus/Serria Nascar series, MicroProse F1, TOCA, Sports Car GT, Colin McRae Rally, Dirt 1-3, Porsche Unleashed, Ferrari Challenge and it all started with SEGA Pole Position.

I have a Logitech G25 wheel and pedals. I bought a plastic gaming chair that looks like a racing seat. Even has a removable cover with thin cushion like the cheaper aluminum racing seats. I built a wood platform to mount the wheel and pedals and it is right in front of my 55" TV.
I haven't used it in many years now but I enjoyed a many hours using that setup. I even came close to buying a motorized platform like this, https://www.simxperience.com/en-us/p...ulatorkit.aspx before the pain in my knee got so bad I doubt I could use something like that without pain.

99fxst99 it sounds like you are doing a great job raising your son. If it concerns you as much as I think it does you might want to find a good child psychologist for you to go talk to for more advice. Or if you are a Christian a Christian counselor might be able to help you.

Being I don't have kids, did have step-kids for awhile, that is the only thing I can think of. I do imagine once he gets a girlfriend his attention to games will change. Then you will have a whole new situation to worry about.

IF it helps any my brother who lives near me has a son that was/is like that. He just graduated from LSU and is doing just fine. Things are different these days with computers and the internet. My other brother has two sons both have graduated college and are well adjusted adults with good jobs.

Sounds like you are doing a good job of keeping on top of it. Maybe talking with a child psychologist might help give you more ideas how to deal with it.

[99fxst99]

Cdave,
Thanks for your comments. If he was playing simulator games such as you describe I would be thrilled. My godson races late model stock cars and uses a simulator to sharpen his skills. But these games that my son and his friends play are about robbing and stealing and killing and acquiring wealth in that manner. And if they have a parent, which he does not, that will set them up an account they can buy additional points to move forward in their game. That’s my concern, is that they values being promoted or counterproductive to what you need to learn for life. Lake fever, you also hit on the boredom subject. I am so tired of hearing Kids say that I am bored when there’s a world full of things to do out there. But to a certain extent, I guess it’s the world we have created. I do limit the amount of time that he can be on these games, and ban them at times altogether, however sometimes I feel like I am just spitting against the tide.