Video Game Phobia Rears Its Head in India
Is it fear of the unknown, or are video games really responsible for a broad range of societal ills?
It's not just a question being asked in the United States. With games now an established international form of entertainment, such concerns are raised with increasing frequency around the globe. An article in a recent issue of News Today, an English-language newspaper published in Chennai (southern India) asks, "How 'deadly' are video games?"
The author, Vivek Narayanan, complains that game-playing Indian children are obese, experience sleep disorders and are prone to posture problems from hunching over computers in cyber-cafes.
Narayanan also worries about the psychological impact of video games on younger players, citing Dr. Sunil Shankar, a behavioral psychologist, who argues that children develop "a kind of 'no guilt' feeling" and that "the intention to hurt a person in real life arises as the gaming totally desensitises the mind and leaves a person depraved." Dr. Shankar claims that games cause Indian children to "try to stay away from society and remain in an unrealistic world of their own." The psychologist is also concerned that gamers have their own slang and may steal money to support their gaming habit.
Narayanan points to boredom, peer pressure and a lack of parental intention as motivations for Indian kids to frequent game parlors.
So, GP readers, do games affect a child's moral judgment, behavior, and even their posture? Whatever your opinion, it's clear that the culture war over video games transcends national borders.
MV: It's difficult to evaluate Narayanan's opinions from a distance, since we know little about the author or Sunil Shankar, the behavioral psychologist quoted in the piece. On the other hand, there is no empirical data cited to support Narayanan's damning conclusions.
-reporting from Wisconsin, GP correspondent Monica Valentinelli
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