Yesterday the New York Times launched a story focusing on how children spend too much time playing video games and using their phones during the covid-19 pandemic. Today, the story was on the front page of the newspaper. It seems strange considering how the world is falling apart and democracy is dying before our eyes, but yes, sure, let’s think that children may be playing too much Roblox.
The article, presented on January 16, quoted a few experts and presented many “narrow” numbers over the course of time. But it turns out that video games and the internet have helped many people, children and adults, stay connected and healthy during this awful time.
The whole report is also oddly discussed by a casual little family currently struggling during the pandemic. Their son plays a lot of video games as a way to connect with his friends. His father and mother are worried about how much time he spends in front of the screen, but also know that this is one of the few ways he can hang out safely while covid-19s run wild around the world. This is a difficult situation. I think a lot of parents around the world are currently going through this. But just highlighting children and how much time they spend ignoring that all of us, not just children and teens, are dealing with an increase in time and a lack of real human interaction. Instead, the article goes on and on about how potentially unhealthy and dangerous all these screens can be for children. How children should disconnect more. How children play too much Roblox.
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‘What are you going to do if you are married and stressed? Tell your wife you need to play Xbox? ‘This is a quote included in the story, from the mother, as the boy explains that after their dog died on New Year’s Eve, he used games to take the thoughts off the sadness. It is presented as negative. Yet I can name numerous times when I and others have used video games to relieve stress or escape from a terrible day. I’m not trying to throw this mom under the bus. I understand the frustration she and so many others are experiencing.
The real question is why the frustration on the cover of the New York Times, presented in an article that surrounds video games and the internet as dangerous, addictive things that destroy and imprison our children. The article literally begins with a quote from the father about how he feels he “failed” his son because he plays video games and uses his phone. It’s like something I would have seen on a local newscast in the ’90s, with clips of kids playing NES in the background.
This is not the first time we’re seeing it bigger and older stores focus on kids only playing games and try to use scary and scary numbers to build a story that completely ignores reality.
Are there reasons to worry about how much time we all spend online? Probably. If I spend twelve hours nailed on Twitter and traversing the latest tragedy, it probably hurts me in ways I don’t quite understand. But right now, things are different. The world is fighting a global pandemic that is killing thousands every day. Many of us are trapped inside and deal with all the stress and boredom that comes with it. Through all of this we continue to work, go to school, raise children and deal with hundreds of other problems. I do not need to tell you how difficult life has become for so many of us over the past year (check calendar)? (Holy shit …)
So if you or your children need to escape and want to play Minecraft and maybe you end up playing a few hours more than usual, do not worry about it. We all rely on digital programs and services to stay connected and happy. Binge a little Netflix. Have a Zoom-out session with family and friends. Or play some Call of Duty Warzone with your long-distance siblings.
Life is hard enough right now. Do not defeat yourself for taking care of yourself or letting your children have fun with their friends.
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