One would find children across the world, hands glued to buttons tackling the most recent releases of what seems to be a buffet of video games. It was ten years ago when this trend started. They reveled on bouncing dots and shapes on their black and white televisions sets until the more colorful counterparts took center stage. Without looking like it would stop any time soon, video games have taken much of the time of the youth of the past and present generation.

Often seeing it a distraction to their children’s education, most parents go against video games. There are studies that show that video games limit the attention and memory capacity of a student right after playing a game. If it is indeed bad for them, then why do kids love video games so much?

The reasons why kids love video games start with two things: loads of curiosity and tons of imagination. They find that in video games, they can discover things that they would otherwise not be allowed to. Worlds that would be otherwise limited when set in the real world can be made using their minds. Awakened by video games, kids’ creativity comes alive. As heroes or villains, they are able to play a character in role-playing video games. “Used halo 3 odst”, “Used resident evil 5”, and “Used final fantasy 13”; are just a few of the phrases that will get kids today excited.

But for more repetitive games there is a sense of being able to get better at something over a period of time. Something that would otherwise be difficult becomes an accomplishment because of this. If the reason why kids love video games lies on mastering a skill that they cannot use in the real world, they lose on precious chances to learn actual skills like socialization.

Some video games have solved this problem. Friendships have become central to some games as their function. Another reason why kids love video games is because it helps them make friends. Who likes sports or who likes video games are not the main factions between kids nowadays. It is now a division between what game they actually play.

Kids find that their set of friends can be determined by the video games that they enjoy to play together or alone. This allows them a little understanding of how it is to belong to a group of like-minded people.

An escape is how most kids perceive video games. They are able to stretch their personality and fit into a character. Then, perhaps, they can be their true selves.

Interests and dreams also determine what kind of video game they play. It is likely that parents refuse to see what they see. But perhaps in the future, it would help them be the best they could be.