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[CityHunter1981]

I am a 41 old father of 2 young children and honestly I don’t get why some other parents I speak to, consider a tv okay but not video games for their children.

Thinking about it logically it should be the opposite. When watching tv (unless you are watching educational content), you mostly turn your brain off and do nothing. When playing video games, you usually have to think a lot (what to do next, how do I overcome this obstacle, how do I solve this puzzle…). Not only that your brain is constantly exchanging information with your hands, which is also good for your coordination and training your reflexes.

I understand that many parents grew up without games and therefore think it’s not needed, but I just don’t understand how logically thinking video games should be worse than watching tv.

 

[AJUMP23]

Ignorant fools.

 

[Mistake]

Especially some rpgs. Just as good as reading a book sometimes.

I’m sure video games have helped my reflexes for dodging animals when driving at night

 

[feynoob]

Games=kids
TV=Adults

Same as how comics are percieved as kids hobby, due to cartoonish draw.

 

[CityHunter1981]

Same as how comics are percieved as kids hobby, due to cartoonish draw.

That’s true. At least I am living in Japan, where it’s quite normal to even see old people reading manga on the train. I would even argue that some manga writers are superior to book authors, just because they have to create so much more, instead of just leaving a lot of stuff to the readers imagination.

 

[FunkMiller]

They old.

 

[Doom85]

Don’t really know many people who are anti-gaming, but I’m 36 and don’t really talk to too many people that much older than me. I feel my generation and younger are pretty aware video games are enjoyable for all ages.

 

[CityHunter1981]

Don’t really know many people who are anti-gaming, but I’m 36 and don’t really talk to too many people that much older than me. I feel my generation and younger are pretty aware video games are enjoyable for all ages.

That might be true for men, but many women at that age are still ignorant, because at that time many girls didn’t play games.

 

[K' Dash]

I’m going to take advantage of this thread and say that I completely despise the BEEP on the PS5, learn a fucking thing from MS, Sony and let me mute that shit.

My wife can be scrolling infinitely through Insta, but as soon as the PS5 BEEPs she comes around to judge.

When I play my Series X she doesn’t realize until I’ve done a good hour+ of gaming.

 

[Doom85]

That might be true for men, but many women at that age are still ignorant, because at that time many girls didn’t play games.

Guess it depends on where you live. I don’t know many women my age who have an issue with it. Also, gaming doesn’t have to be part of one’s childhood to eventually learn to appreciate it.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I have never understood the logic of people... Getting drunk, using tobacco, taking drugs or speaking ill of people is considered normal in a conversation. But be careful when talking about videogames... Because it's worse than taboo.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Games=kids
TV=Adults

Same as how comics are percieved as kids hobby, due to cartoonish draw.

This is the correct answer.

But I'll go a step further. Interaction.

IMO, people see games are more childish because a gamer is playing the game, getting amped up and trying to live the content. A guy watching TV is just sitting there. So even if the content is similar (gamer playing WWII hex sim on PC vs. guy watching the History Channel black and white WWII footage), the TV watcher will be seen as more chill and cerebral, while the gamer will be perceived as mindless clicking pixel on a screen like a nerd. No different than colourful family games and pixar movies. Both content can be geared to kids. Play a Lego game and people at your house will think you're a 10 year old. Watch a Disney/Pixar movie and people accept it as "fun for all ages".

It's really no different than white collar vs blue collar jobs. Two guys can make $100,000 each and do something important.

99% chance the white collar guy will be perceived as a manager who calls the shots while just sitting at a desk pushing paper. The blue collar guy will be seen as a slob who does what his boss tells him to do while slaving away in dusty clothes.

 

[Lasha]

Both TV and games are seen as equally pointless in my circles. I heavily restrict my kids access to TV and games. Every parent with kids in the upper streams of my kid's cohort does the same. I notice the most restrictive parents are my gaming friends.

 

[Bragr]

Because nobody wants their kids to be addicted to games. TV is just an hour here or there.

 

[gaming_again]

My kid will watch TV for 30 mins then get bored. The programming, if you choose well, is also educational. My son has learned loads from ‘Blaze and the Monster Machines’.

If he gets up and night and sees me playing games he’s transfixed and throws a fit when I march him out of the room. Games are way too stimulating for him to deal with at this age.

You better believe we playing on my SNES Mini when he’s older though.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Especially some rpgs. Just as good as reading a book sometimes.

Not even close, but I agree video games are a better past time than TV.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Prejudice from an era when TV had sensibly higher quality programs and would still be used as a medium to educate people to a degree.
Of course there was always trash and propaganda on TV, but as a whole the content was unquestionably more stimulating and educational. TV used to see the whole family, even the whole local community, gathered around it. TV time used to be a moment of unity, silence, even solemnity with certain public broadcasts.

Video games in their infancy somewhat usurped the sacrality of the TV set. The gaming kids in the house would occupy the TV set (most households only had one TV, remember?), alone and seemingly hypnotized, or in a screaming company when playing against each other. It was chaos against the order of the passive TV broadcast. It looked like it alienated the kids, and of course it would compete with other activities perceived as healthier (and with homework/study time, too). It seemed anti-educational in an era when TV still wasn’t mostly trash. Plus most parents of the era were boomers, raised by people who only knew work in their lives, who of course saw distractions like video games as bad.

These prejudices have endured to this day. Today TV is almost all trash, but people are too engrossed with it to notice. Most people are used to zoning out on social media or TV in their free time, so the activity around video games is still seen by many as bad somehow. Also gaming is seen as anti-social, unlike “social” media which is really mostly just isolated people regurgitating their own thoughts in their own little bubble.

 

[GymWolf]

Videogames make you stupid, tv is full of smart people.

 

[DKehoe]

I'd guess it comes from people growing up with TV and not games. Like how the prior generations would think that reading a book was a worthwhile use of your time but TV isn't. Parents now will have grown up around games but it's probably just a holdover from the views of their own parents.

 

[gaming_again]

I'd guess it comes from people growing up with TV and not games. Like how the prior generations would think that reading a book was a worthwhile use of your time but TV isn't. Parents now will have grown up around games but it's probably just a holdover from the views of their own parents.

This is correct though whereas generally games > TV.

I consider TV to be the most guttural form of mass entertainment.

 

[DKehoe]

This is correct though whereas generally games > TV.

I consider TV to be the most guttural form of mass entertainment.

Eh, there's plenty of good TV out there. Stuff like The Wire and The Sopranos can go up against the best of any medium. I don't think one medium is inherently "better" than another. It's just a different method of presentation.

 

[Tams]

I’m going to take advantage of this thread and say that I completely despise the BEEP on the PS5, learn a fucking thing from MS, Sony and let me mute that shit.

My wife can be scrolling infinitely through Insta, but as soon as the PS5 BEEPs she comes around to judge.

When I play my Series X she doesn’t realize until I’ve done a good hour+ of gaming.

Get a better wife.

Your problem; not Sony's.

 

[jufonuk]

My opinion is because TV shows have a beginning and end point a 23 min show will last that duration on streaming or TV might bump it to 30 mins. once done you can continue to the next or just partition it out or wait for the next episode. I find 23 mins on certain games you get nowhere. Before you know it three hours pass that’s probably why. Not saying you can’t play a game in chunks. It’s just the way the two mediums are consumed. TV needs less self control and video games take up more of your attention

 

[Vicetrailia]

I'd guess it comes from people growing up with TV and not games. Like how the prior generations would think that reading a book was a worthwhile use of your time but TV isn't. Parents now will have grown up around games but it's probably just a holdover from the views of their own parents.

This for sure.

I also think that because videogames are so interactive, stimulating, entertaining and etc, the consequences of spending time on games are more concerning to parents. Yes you develop skills from games, but you actually have to apply it to the real world to sell it as useful.

Your parents who sit around and watch TV all day already developed their life skills already. You as a kid who sits around and plays games all day will not develop like their parents did.

Games are so engrossing that many boys have problems with being available for activities outside of games, like doing chores, or remembering to eat something, which is a common gaming trait compared to TV.

In a worse case scenario with TV addiction you can still multitask and cook, clean, be on your phone and do shit. With gaming yeah, good luck, it demands your attention on a whole different level that makes things get neglected by comparison.

But yeah, games are more useful than TV, but to me there are more parental concerns.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Sheep vs wolves I say.

 

[Spaceman292]

I’m going to take advantage of this thread and say that I completely despise the BEEP on the PS5, learn a fucking thing from MS, Sony and let me mute that shit.

My wife can be scrolling infinitely through Insta, but as soon as the PS5 BEEPs she comes around to judge.

When I play my Series X she doesn’t realize until I’ve done a good hour+ of gaming.

*whip sound effect*

 

[OZ9000]

I don't even watch TV shows anymore unless they're really good.

Most video games are far too long for their own good. Who has time to play anything more than a 15 hour experience?

 

[Vicetrailia]

I don't even watch TV shows anymore unless they're really good.

Most video games are far too long for their own good. Who has time to play anything more than a 15 hour experience?

For me I just can’t afford to have 5 hours go by but it felt like i was only playing for 1 hour. Games def do that for me, so I resist it and end up not getting into the game.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

TV offers far more benefit if you look at the best of the genre and with less potential for the negatives to be as extreme as those that can come with games imo.

Kids do get completely absorbed with games, but I don't think it's making them problem solving geniuses so much as dopamine addicts.

 

[OZ9000]

For me I just can’t afford to have 5 hours go by but it felt like i was only playing for 1 hour. Games def do that for me, so I resist it and end up not getting into the game.

90% of modern day games in a nutshell. And why I despise open world games. You spend the overwhelming majority of the game doing fuck all.

 

[gaming_again]

Eh, there's plenty of good TV out there. Stuff like The Wire and The Sopranos can go up against the best of any medium. I don't think one medium is inherently "better" than another. It's just a different method of presentation.

I disagree completely. The passivity of TV lowers even the best of it, imo.

 

[MikeM]

I’m going to take advantage of this thread and say that I completely despise the BEEP on the PS5, learn a fucking thing from MS, Sony and let me mute that shit.

My wife can be scrolling infinitely through Insta, but as soon as the PS5 BEEPs she comes around to judge.

When I play my Series X she doesn’t realize until I’ve done a good hour+ of gaming.

She don’t hear the clack clack of the Series controller??

She’s a green rat.

 

[DKehoe]

I disagree completely. The passivity of TV lowers even the best of it, imo.

Do you feel the same way about film?

 

[gaming_again]

Do you feel the same way about film?

Pretty much, although I think the way decent film is more driven by an artistic vision than TV is makes the best films better than the best TV. I’m just not that into either mediums.

The order:
Books
Games
Film
TV

 

[DKehoe]

Pretty much, although I think the way decent film is more driven by an artistic vision than TV is makes the best films better than the best TV. I’m just not that into either mediums.

The order:
Books
Games
Film
TV

So you would consider books to be less passive because it requires you to engage your imagination more directly? And that them being the product of a single person (the author) makes it more interesting to you than something produced by a team?

 

[gaming_again]

So you would consider books to be less passive because it requires you to engage your imagination more directly? And that them being the product of a single person (the author) makes it more interesting to you than something produced by a team?

Precisely for those reasons. Novels and poetry are the peak of creative endeavour for me because of the skill required in activating the imagination in the reader and how that makes something a million people read turn into a million different things. Somebody like the woefully underrated Glen Cook can conjure the life story of somebody or a physical space in a dozen words.

And yes, I'm extremely interested in singular artistic visions. The first game that felt as though it approached this for me was Ico but I don't play games for this reason and I don't expect it of them - I rate them above film and TV because they can tell a story in a very different way from novels, whereas TV and film feel like watered-down, committee designed versions of this effort.

 

[GoldenRetreating]

Well, if one gamer grew up in a poor lower middle class family. they probably got angry at the game and got chewed out by their parents and family for doing so, that's a reason why videogames can't be taken seriously

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Yep, thats my wife.

Games are for children but Twilght was a great film. Grey's anatomy? Well that is height of greatness!

Anything computer? You're a manchild

Do you know what she said when I said 'I wonder what will happen to everything i've collected over 40 years?'

It'll go to a charity shop..

I need to write a will

 

[GoldenRetreating]

Twilght

Yes, even in a practical sense, any adult or atleast 15-17 year old can take that film seriously than Adults playing and talking about videogames in a serious matter

 

[Bragr]

I disagree completely. The passivity of TV lowers even the best of it, imo.

The passivity of it? you think games are better because you interact with them?

 

[ReBurn]

That might be true for men, but many women at that age are still ignorant, because at that time many girls didn’t play games.

What did girls do instead?

 

[gaming_again]

The passivity of it? you think games are better because you interact with them?

Yup.

Obv I’m talking as broadly as possible. I don’t think candy crush is better than Seinfeld.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

I’d prefer my kids are playing a game or toys rather than watching whatever nonsense cartoon is on Disney+. My 4 year old is getting to where NSMB U is a fun co op bonding time for us, or Luigi’s Mansion, etc. To me that’s far more fun and engaging, and better for them than sitting a kid down with an iPad and letting them zone out for hours

 

[Bragr]

Yup.

Why? it's all about telling stories and creating experiences. Interactivity activates a person differently, but that does not mean the experience automatically is better.

 

[ReBurn]

Because people don't see their vices as bad but freely criticize those of others.

 

[Fbh]

One thing I've noticed is that people who don't play games tend to put all games in the same bag. But when it comes to TV shows and movies they can easily see them as individual products.

Game of Thrones isn't a good show to watch with small children, but that doesn't make them go "all TV shows are bad for kids" because they know there's stuff like Paw Patrol or Peppa Pig which is appropriate for them.
But with games they don't make a differentiation, they look at gaming as a whole and decide that gaming in general is bad for kids.
My sister was telling me there's this school drama in my 6 years old nephew's class because some kids are obssessed with playing at "war and shooting and killing each other", and it's all being blamed on "them playing videogames". And I was telling her it's not because they are playing video games but because they are playing games which aren't appropriate for them, but she has already made up her mind that games are bad.

Now to play devil's advocate, from my experience videogames do need stricter parental oversight as it's way easier for kids to get hooked on age-inappropriate games than movies or tv shows. Young kids will naturally gravitate towards child friendly animated TV shows an movies, I don't need to convince my nephew that we should watch Luca instead of All is quiet on the western front. But give them free unrestricted access to COD and they'll probably still have fun.

 

[light2x]

Just a boomer mentality.

 

[ironmang]

They might be holding onto super outdated stereotypes that only nerds play video games and they don't want their kids to have trouble socializing.

 

[Drew1440]

People used to look down on TV not too far back, radio and books were sen as much more socially acceptable, I suppose its a generational thing. Funnily enough the people I encounter who look down on video games are pretty much addicted to smartphone games instead, as if they're considered more socially acceptable.

 

[SJRB]

I love people who say playing videogames is a waste of time and then unironically proceed to tell they sat on the couch watching a football match or some dumb tv show for 2 hours.