Sociologists on the Pros and Cons of Video Games (1983)

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I think that the games in themselves are probably not harmful. They may be helpful in some ways such as making the players of the more alert or improving their visual acuteness or even may help in the formation of groups of friends people who gather together to play an arcade or to play at home. However, I think that they're harmful in the sense that they crowd out other possibly richer uses of leisure time. That is, the time and energy and money spent in the video arcade might, in my point of view, be much better spent in a variety of other ways. For example, in quietly doing things by oneself such as reading, writing, having a fantasy life, introspecting, taking a close look at oneself, planning one's future, day dreaming.

All these are very valuable activities and very necessary for the development of a well-rounded human personality. I guess you could make a case that such an engrossing activity blocks out moments of reflection and doesn't allow the player to be aware of what else is happening. But on the other hand, we've talked about the need for immersion experiences where people really are involved in something with a tremendous sense of death and participation. And certainly video games will do that. If the person is involved in getting this kind of psychic satisfaction from participation, it would seem to me that if there are other things that he does besides just playing video games, then that moment of the peak experience, the flow experience that involvement is not necessarily a bad experience.

It may be very beneficial, very good. The problem would be if you stayed on this high for an indefinite period of time, it did not have other kinds of activity which would encourage and allow reflection, exploration, etc. You've just heard Dr. Robert Wilson, UNC Chapel Hill professor in the Department of Sociology, and Dr. Douglas Sessions, UNC Chapel Hill Dean in the Recreation Curriculum. They expressed two very different opinions on the value of video games. I'm Samuel Henderson.

Sociologists on the Pros and Cons of Video Games (1983)

In addition to concerns about truancy, juvenile delinquency, and predatory gambling practices, the rise of video games in the 1980s also spurred debates about their potential impact on cognitive development. This excerpt from Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s WUNC features two sociology professors from the University of North Carolina discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of this new technology. On the one hand, they argue, video games may help strengthen social ties as friend groups gather to play together or share a common interest in playing. On the other hand, spending too much time with video games and other machines may crowd out other activities like reading, writing, and daydreaming that are crucial for cognitive development, they claim.

New Jersey Nightly News | WUNC : Chapel Hill, N.C. | February 02, 1983 This audio clip and associated transcript appear from 00:45 - 03:22 in the full record.

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Video Games, Gambling, and Organized Crime (1991)

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