Playstation Nation
Protect Your Child From Video Game Addiction
by Olivia and Kurt Bruner
While you may be relieved that your adolescent son (or daughter), staring bleary eyed for hours behind the controls
of a video game isn’t drinking alcohol, experimenting with drugs, gambling, or exploring teenage sex, authors Olivia
and Kurt Bruner warn that game systems of all kinds are potentially addictive and damaging to young minds. The Bruners,
who undertook this mission when they saw increasingly exciting video games turning their sons into zombies, direct the
VideoGameTrouble.org project to warn parents of the dangers in computer and video games.
In this book, they specifically address the addictive qualities of gaming: the desire to beat the game; thrill of
competition; feedback that allows mastery of the game; exploration and discovery of visually seductive worlds; earning
the high score; story-driven role play; and player peer pressure. They elaborate on the harmful mental and emotional
state of adolescents drawn into a world of gaming that precludes real-life adventures and relationships, and even
more alarming, they devote a chapter to the physical dangers of epileptic seizures, prolonged hypertension, violent
inclinations, and suicide sometimes associated with playing computer and video games.
Clearly the Bruners have an important message and devote little time to promoting any positive aspects of gaming.
Instead, they quote experts, parents, and gamers to help make their point that computer and video games are addictive
and potentially dangerous for our children. People without children or busy parents who use these games to placate
their children may find these charges ridiculous, but Playstation Nation uses science to back up its claims,
which are entirely believable if you’ve ever seen a child engrossed in one of these games. Parents of young children
and adolescents should arm themselves with the information in this book. |
The Book |
Hachette Book Group U.S.A. |
September 27, 2006 |
Softcover |
1931722749 |
Nonfiction Parenting |
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Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Leslie Halpern |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: Reviewer Leslie
Halpern is the author of Reel Romance. The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies
and Dreams on Film. Coming Soon: A Writer's Guide to Fearless Interviews. |
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