Video games are detrimental to the modern day society.

First of all before I start, I never freaking agreed to those dumb terms that I had to follow. I will only follow the rules on this site and nothing else. I could care less about what you say and all that bs you write and I will only present my argument based on my own beliefs and nothing else. Furthermore, you say concise? How is writing all that stuff concise? Finally, I shall begin my argument. "While the leading games sold are violent games, most of today's games force kids to learn complex rule systems, master challenging new interfaces, follow dozens of shifting variables in real time and prioritize between multiple objectives." Ok, so the leading games such as Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 are fun. (I personally like them too because of their amazing graphics and wonderful gameplay) However, there is a difference between fun and getting addicted. A lot of today's kids, including immature adults a well, play games 24/7, ignoring their family, ignore their jobs, and just focus on this game the whole day like gambling or getting addicted to drugs. So you say "force" kids to learn complex rule systems? You cannot "force" someone, they must do it by their own free will as stated in the proverb, "You can lead the horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink." No matter how "educational" a game is, a child can only understand it up to a certain level. In my person experience, the only educational games I see nowadays only include leapfrog games and other such games for kids up to 9 year olds or less. Or you can add in scrabble and other mind games online which less than 5% of the population plays. So addicted people make excuses such as, "O, this game is so educational because I learn history in it". Ok, let's take call of duty 3 as an example. There is a historical background in it which is WWII. However, that's the only thing you know about it. Do you learn about kamikazes suiciding to destroy ships? Do you learn about the secret messages and how they communicate? "Consider this one fascinating trend among teenagers: They're spending less time watching professional sports and more time simulating those sports on Xbox or PlayStation. Now, which activity challenges the mind more — sitting around rooting for the Packers, or managing an entire football franchise through a season of "Madden 2005": calling plays, setting lineups, trading players and negotiating contracts?" I beg to differ with your view on this. I doubt you negotiate contracts in that video game and the only way you can do so? What, just offer money and players? Actually, when you watch a football game, you learn how the game works and different techniques that each team uses. Also, many adults usually call up their friends to watch the superbowl together. Do you think spending time with friends and actually having a taste of real life is worse than playing a football game by yourself and staring at the screen? "What you want to learn and how you want to learn, that is up to you. It is the individual's responsibility, and his or her responsibility only, to take whatever it is that one wants to take from anything. While it is true that children are easier to influence, it is up to the parents to determine what content they want their children to be exposed to." That statement is very unrealistic. You actually think that parents nowadays can 100% control what their children see and what they pick up? You think that every kid doesn't watch porn behind their parent's backs or do illegal things? The video games and tv are not 100% liable, but they are at least partly responsible for this. Ok, let's say you have a child and he goes to school. At school, his classmates showoff how much profanity they know and how "cool" they are because they smoke french fries. Where do they pick up smoking and want to fake it? From their parents or tv shows where they see people smoking and cursing. "Up to the individual" eh? And you think little kids will know this? And it is around the mere ages of 10-13 where they pick up these kinds of things are even further exposed to this in high school. Therefore, I believe that this statement is flawed in many ways. "Just because a person watches a violent crime take place on a television screen does not necessarily mean that person will in turn commit a violent crime. Nor would any of these outlets justify a person's turn from the ethical rules that bind a society, or the laws themselves. At the end of the day, video games are not to blame for any action that occurs; it is the individual." I truly disagree with this statement as well. As you said, it does not "necessarily" mean that they will do something wrong. But that means there is the slightest of a CHANCE that they WILL do it right? Video games are not to blame for this? Not even a little? I would advise you to look at something like this: http://forum.mmosite.com... now you will argue that it's for 18+ kids right? Let's see how many people below 18 play M rated games. A LOT? "I think that video games help prepare children for today's life and technology. Many of the games require strategy and decision making skills and these are always helpful. Actually, aren't these games like computers with menu's and options? This would aid children in learning basic computer language and ops. Though they may seem like a waste of time, like most playful behavior, it is grounded in abilities that children need to practice and learn to become successful in today's world." [3] This, I 100% disagree with. They help prepare children for today's life and technology? So you're saying that every kid would be able to know what games to play and their parents will know exactly everything that they see? There are many departments in the gaming field. There are strategy which makes up only a small portion of it. Even if you decide to say that it is beneficial, wouldn't playing chess with a friend actually enhance one's communication skill and the ability to converse with other people about various topics? Furthermore, there are computer classes that teach people how to use computers. When you play games, all you do is just click and follow the instructions. How might you learn basic computer language? Finally, there is my own personal view of this. Before computers were invented, people such as our parents did not have the luxury of video games. Did they die because they didn't have them? Did they suffer? NO Instead, they actually benefited from this loss. They had a wide imagination. For example, my mom was born in Hong Kong. What did she do without video games? For entertainment, she would make her own toys and her own games to play with her friends. They still had a merry life and they did not have the problems that we have today. Furthermore, some companies that publish the violent and mindless video games can be called a little cold-hearted. They do not care who plays it and the do not care about whether people die or not. They only care about themselves and getting money into their little pockets. You might argue that they do put ratings on their games? Okay, so the parent tells the children not to buy those M or A rated games. But with the technology now, the child can just go online and download those even more horrid games or just buy them via online if they are old enough. The parent will never have total control over what their kid does. LASTLY, games are very addicting nowadays. Take the popular online mmorpg, maplestory. How is it beneficial? So the parent takes a look at it and think it's fine because there are cute little avatars and the monsters are just snails? Yes and when you play this seemingly harmless, game, it is a waste of time. You just kill repeatedly with no brain and other immature players on there use profanity as well. THAT proves how kids these days can pick up bad habits. As a result,