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In Defense of Video Games
I’ve grown up with video games, starting with the Atari 2600 and now going strong with the Xbox and Nintendo Switch… And I couldn’t be happier. Downtime is playtime.
Some of my fondest memories of being a child include sitting in front of an old CRT (cathode ray tube) television and playing video games. My uncle owned an Atari 2600, and he let me borrow it from time to time. Later on, in the 80s, mom and dad agreed to buy me a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) after I did well in my first year of school in the United States.
One thing my parents did right was set rules and limits on my gaming. All my homework had to be done. All my chores had to be done. If it was a weeknight, the game was turned off by 8 PM. The time was moved to 10 PM on weekends. During the holidays, if my cousins were over and we promised to be quiet, we could game as late as we wanted and sleep in the next day. And, if the weather was nice, outdoor activities were prioritized over gaming.
Dad and I had a deal. If I finished a game, I had to sell it to one of my friends — even if it was at a discount — and he would buy me a new game. And games were not cheap. He once bought me a Super Mario Bros. 3 game cartridge at the flea market in El Paso, Texas. It was the…
