I personally believe that people who think playing video games makes you a idiot are idiots upon themselves for thinking like that and hurt their own argument by saying that. The reason being is that with video games you are meeting up and playing with people and forming relationships from people all around the world. You are also learning about new ideas and about different opinions that exist in the world other than yours. This is not to say however that playing too many video games might be harmful to people especially if it is all they do. For example I am a avid gamer/ machinima maker, and I usually spend about 1-2 hours on a week night and 3-5 hours on a weekend playing video games and making machinima pieces. But some people just play, don't communicate, and obsess over a single game that they pour thousands of hours into. I personally believe that playing online helps you feel more comfortable talking to people you have never met (in real life) and makes adapting to a team in real life a faster and smoother process. Video gaming is also something that people can relate with and can form friendships with. Also if you work in clans or in machinima companies you have to learn to work with other people and you get to know the people very well and how they react. This can all be applied to everyday life and are skills that not everyone can learn while in a class room in school. But you do have to be responsible on how much you play because if you play too much and ignore school work it comes and bites you. Sorry for my long reply I actually had a argument with a group of kids today about this exact subject.
They might be able to drain social skills slightly, but never will games cause you to become stupid. It's just another "kids these days" argument.
your wife must have never played portal. gah what a mind**** that game is... it depends on the game and the person's mind imo. there are mindless games out there that suck people in and probably lead them to forget what is really important. I've played games that effed my my perception of priorities. WoW is a game that could do this. it's like drugs, it doesnt necessarily make you stupid, but ****s up your priorities. When you miss your grandma's funeral because your in the middle of a quest, then that counts as stupid. I am against WoW btw. yes, games can cause stupid decisions. stupidity however, is something you're born with
I'm going to be blunt: Games don't make people stupid.... people are just ignorant and blame games for their own stupidity and misjudgment.
Ha thats funny. Whenever my mom sees me playing like call of duty 4, she says " That video game brainwashes you, so you will kill people." "Oh those games make you think killing is ok." "This society is terrible, the world today" typical Asian mother.
Ir thinkzorz tht videeo gamz dun cauz stupidity bcuz tey are l33tzorz!!!11! Kidding, Actually i think some games require critical thinking and problem solving, tagged on with reflexes and hand eye coordination. If you ask me I think that some games are actually beneficial to intelligence.