Soapbox: The NYT Thinks We're Gaming Too Much, But It's One Of The Only Things Keeping Me Sane
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It's that time of year again: a large publication has had decided that kids play too many games, and this time it's a COVID-flavoured special, courtesy of the New York Times, designed to make parents feel guilty for letting their energy-filled children play video games after being cooped up all day doing online school.
I won't pretend that video games are actually
perfect, although it's tempting to go on the defence, here. There are a lot of predatory practices in games, like microtransactions and gambling mechanics that can easily seduce kids into getting addicted. Plus, the last two generations - the ones that grew up with technology - are so used to everything being served on a screen that we often struggle to be alone with ourselves for any stretch of time at all without one in front of us. Yes, we all take our phones to the toilet. Yes, we play Switch on the sofa while we watch movies. Can you blame us? Technology is so delicious, and life is so short.