or how some things aren't as bad as they say


How is it that the most popular things among the youth get such a bad rap? First, it was Rock n' Roll, and now it's video games.

Even among our own, there is speculation about how bad games are for the developing mind, or how they can destroy an already developed mind. I even mention to my wife I might start playing Warcraft with my coworkers and she thinks I'll abandon my family. Never mind the fact that my coworkers also have wives and children, whom they raise perfectly fine. Here's the secret: THEY DON'T PLAY WHEN THE KID IS UP!

It's a perfectly simple solution (really made easier when we all work nights) that some people don't seem to be able to pick up on. I just read about a couple who let their child starve to death while they raised a child in an online game. That's sick. To make matters worse, she's not being charged with neglect since SHE'S PREGNANT WITH ANOTHER CHILD! It's times like these I almost wish a license was required to have children, but that's another topic altogether.

But it's always been like this. When Dungeons and Dragons come out, there were movies made about how it warped the mind and made the kids believe they really were out questing. I think Tom Hanks was in one, actually. Of course, if that were true, we would have half a generation of kids roaming the country side in search of goblins. And you could forget about Apple and Microsoft ever being founding, because Steve Jobs and Bill Gates would totally be among them. But in the real world, they turned out just fine, because some stereotypes just don't fit.

Just like the 11 million people that play Warcraft. Sure, some of them might spend all of their time on the game and neglect other aspects of their life, but most don't. Contrary to what you might have been told, it's not the family destroyer the media makes it out to be.

That's not to say it doesn't happen. Warcraft does have its problems.

The worst problem, in my view, is the fact that's it's all live. I could spend the whole day playing Mario, but if something happens that requires my attention, there is a nice little pause button that, when pressed, stops the game until I come back. Actually, you can't even play Galaxy 2 for more than an hour without it telling you to do so anyway. But Warcraft doesn't have that. When you hit pause in Warcraft, things keep happening, so if you're in the middle of a fight and hit pause, you're going to die. So it's hard to pull away really quickly. But that's a problem easily overcome with the knowledge of this simple fact: IT'S ONLY A GAME.

If those parents had realized that instead of being more attached to the online version of their child instead of the real thing, that baby would still be alive. If all the people you hear about who get divorced over Warcraft would stop and realize that it's just a game, but marriage is real, they might still be together (or not, you can never really tell).

But I think most people know that and have perfectly happy real lives. They maintain careers, relationships, and raise children. They're normal. They just like to play a specific game.

That doesn't make them bad people, does it?