Games are a way to play. Life without play is = devoid of joy. You can get play from lots of different things (work/music/improv etc), but it's human nature to want to play.
Games are a part of culture, just like music is. Music serves no intrinsic utilitarian purpose. You wouldn't want to cut a person of culture any less you would want a person to never listen to music.
Of course, anything in excess tends to be bad. And some games are engineered in diabolical ways and only live to make money. But games in an of itself are a natural and important part of a normal human beings life. And in this generation, computer games are.
This comparison is a brush that is too wide. We do play games, such as board games, pokers, chess, some math related flash games. I'm saying _most_ games are too addictive(especially for kids) and are money-driving.
But kids can get addicted to anything - alcohol, cigarettes, sex, skateboarding, nail biting, abstract painting, classical music, or yes, video games. It's your role as a parent to regulate how much time they can spend on activities, and if your kids get "addicted" then it's your own fault, not the child's. Most games are rated for adults - that means only adults should play them. And those that are not - it's still the parent's responsibility that they are used in moderation. In some countries you can give your kid alcohol legally at the age of 14 - that doesn't mean that you can legally get your children black out drunk - there is moderation required in everything.
violent adult games are also cancers to the society. that's another topic.
As parents we're doing our best, I'm just saying gaming is in the most part, a bad thing, I'm not saying every game is bad, as some drugs are useful for medical reasons too.
it's a shame to compare most games to music and painting, that does not make the game industry looks artistic in any way. it's more in the ballpark of alcohol, cigars and drugs, yes they're all popular, same as games, but they do not get the positive images in the society, games should be treated the same. Games do not deserve anything more positive than drugs, again, for the most part in general.
I am fine to be down voted to zero, though I hope some of you game developers know that, there are other ways to make a living than being a game developer.
I'm interested in knowing, in general, how games help kids, teenagers, even adults to be a better person to the society, by reading more, working harder, be less voilent, and staying touch with the real world? There are indeed some good games, again for the most part, they're the opposite.
Games are a part of culture, just like music is. Music serves no intrinsic utilitarian purpose. You wouldn't want to cut a person of culture any less you would want a person to never listen to music.
Of course, anything in excess tends to be bad. And some games are engineered in diabolical ways and only live to make money. But games in an of itself are a natural and important part of a normal human beings life. And in this generation, computer games are.