We did a test playdate with one of his friends last week and scripted what my son would say if the boy suggested they play Minecraft. "Nah, it's boring. Let's kick the soccer ball around outside." He pulled it off with success, but what would have happened if the kid insisted? He would have called me and I would have come gotten him. It's no fun being the only sober guy at a party of drunks.
What's most interesting to me is that my son actually seems to appreciate our intervention. He had a hard first few days going screen-less but now is pretty proud of himself. He has lost interest in some of his Minecraft-obsessed pals and moved closer to some soccer friends who spend endless hours bouncing a soccer ball off their feet and knees with the goal of getting 50 touches before losing ball control. He's up to at least 30... by Ann Brenoff...
Comment from JosephLavoieJr "I saw this happen in college when World of Warcraft came out... everyone on my floor Beta Tested the game, and I decided not to buy the full version when it came out. I went on to get a job in a research lab, join a fraternity, have various girlfriends throughout college, etc... Sadly, I cannot say the same for most of the guys that I had lived with!
Video games are a lot of fun, and can be incredibly addicting! I wish that my mother had regulated my usage while growing up! I never amounted to anything athletically, but never got fat... and always kept my grades A's and B's, so my parents never got on my case... but I must have played thousands and thousands of hours of games in middle and high school! Ugh... time wasted..."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/breaking-up-with-minecraf_b_1940252.html
Comment from JosephLavoieJr "I saw this happen in college when World of Warcraft came out... everyone on my floor Beta Tested the game, and I decided not to buy the full version when it came out. I went on to get a job in a research lab, join a fraternity, have various girlfriends throughout college, etc... Sadly, I cannot say the same for most of the guys that I had lived with!
Video games are a lot of fun, and can be incredibly addicting! I wish that my mother had regulated my usage while growing up! I never amounted to anything athletically, but never got fat... and always kept my grades A's and B's, so my parents never got on my case... but I must have played thousands and thousands of hours of games in middle and high school! Ugh... time wasted..."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-brenoff/breaking-up-with-minecraf_b_1940252.html
... Video game addiction or video game overuse is seen most commonly in players of the persistent multiplayer gaming universe, or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game -- MMORPG games for short, who make up 9.1% of gamers, and may overlap with other types of internet addiction or computer addiction. These games hold many attractions for gamers -- they are interactive, social, competitive, and happen in real time...by Elizabeth Hartney http://addictions.about.com/od/lesserknownaddictions/a/videogameadd.htm
Here are also some opinion parents shared (http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/440109-minecraft-thumbs-up-or-down/) :
...It does involve some use of logic and building/thinking/ spatial skills.
But it's mostly a huge colossal waste of time...
But it's mostly a huge colossal waste of time...
...Thumbs Down! Minecraft became such a source of tension in our household that we finally forbade it, even though we paid for it.
The kids became so focused on it that, even with time restrictions and limitations they waited all day until their time to play came, talked about it incessantly, and tried myriad ways to wiggle in more time. Finally we restricted it only to weekends. Then they would skype with a friend and they would play online together in their free time, and this felt very intrusive to me. We finally found that whenever minecraft was on the family was in a bad mood for some reason or another, so we ditched it. The kids have survived. They understood our reasoning, and actually seemed somewhat relieved to be rid of it, in spite of their always being focused on it. It was amazing how nice things became when we finally got rid of it.
And yes, it is a colossal waste of time. I could see no benefit in it whatsoever. People try to make lame justifications for it, but I couldn't see the value. at. all...
By the way, those behind Minecraft literally flood the web with as many post as possible, as a result, if you do a research about it it is difficult to find opinion against it. It seems that the creator of the game had also cover all topics related to the game in order to convince users and their parents about the good and positive of it, They even managed to convince teachers!
The kids became so focused on it that, even with time restrictions and limitations they waited all day until their time to play came, talked about it incessantly, and tried myriad ways to wiggle in more time. Finally we restricted it only to weekends. Then they would skype with a friend and they would play online together in their free time, and this felt very intrusive to me. We finally found that whenever minecraft was on the family was in a bad mood for some reason or another, so we ditched it. The kids have survived. They understood our reasoning, and actually seemed somewhat relieved to be rid of it, in spite of their always being focused on it. It was amazing how nice things became when we finally got rid of it.
And yes, it is a colossal waste of time. I could see no benefit in it whatsoever. People try to make lame justifications for it, but I couldn't see the value. at. all...
By the way, those behind Minecraft literally flood the web with as many post as possible, as a result, if you do a research about it it is difficult to find opinion against it. It seems that the creator of the game had also cover all topics related to the game in order to convince users and their parents about the good and positive of it, They even managed to convince teachers!
Anyway, you can also read on the last link the opinion of parents who do love minecraft. I do not know much about it and I do not believe I will anytime soon as we are a videogames free house :-)
But I can say that it does annoy my son to hear some of his friends speaking constantly and only about minecraft at each recess. He want to play, to move around but his favorite friends just sit and talk... Happily for him there is still some kids to play with, even if they are not his favorite friends... oh well, may be they will be sooner than later.
I wonder if your kid is a minecraft lover? and if he is, are you aware of his potential obsession with it? and if he is not, does he feel a little left out?
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