I was chatting with my mom this morning when I was surprised to hear her say that she was impressed with how good my five-year-old son has gotten with video games. I wasn’t surprised because it’s not true; he’s phenomenal, and letting him play games, including MMOs (in moderation and under supervision!), has improved his reading skills, focus, coordination, and puzzle-solving. I’ve watched it happen!
What surprised me is that I wouldn’t have imagined adults saying that when I was a teenager, never mind when I was a kindergartner. Oh sure, we had a few consoles growing up, but PC gaming, especially the online sort, got side-eyes. Now I have a nephew whose tech-savvy parents send him to video game design camp. It’s a different world now!
Or is it? For today’s Leaderboard, I want to hear from you: How much did your family support or enable gaming as a hobby when you were growing up?
How much did your family support gaming as a hobby when you were a kid?
- A lot - I was actively encouraged to play video games (10%, 21 Votes)
- Somewhat - I was allowed to play with minimal restrictions (34%, 71 Votes)
- Neutral - I was allowed to play with some restrictions and minimal stigma (26%, 54 Votes)
- Not much - I was actively discouraged from playing video games or heavily restricted in play (25%, 53 Votes)
- Not at all - I was barred from playing video games as a child (2%, 4 Votes)
- I was never a kid and/or just want to see the responses (3%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 209
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