Elevtext: "Films and games"

Följande text skrevs av en elev i åk 2. Uppgiften var att diskutera för- och nackdelar med spel och filmer samt ge föräldrar till barn och ungdomar något gott råd med på vägen (se här). Texten skrevs i klassrummet under mitt överinseende. Utgångspunkten var en text i vår lärobok skriven av Michael Medved.

Films and games

In the article “The Seeds of Evil” Michael Medved writes about how violent films and video games can have an impact on society in a bad way. According to Mr Medved, violent games and films are affecting young children in a bad way. He uses examples of young children’s novels, today they choose to write stories about killing and killer-robots instead of talking animals and fairy godmothers. Mr Medved argues that the kids’ exposure to violence is the main cause of these more brutal novels. One of his main arguments is when he compares the violent games and films to car advertisements where millions of people can watch a commercial but only a few people actually buy the car. However, although some people maybe can’t afford the car they still might be affected by the advertisement and embrace its value system.

Even though many people argue that games and films impact people in a bad way, I don’t think that they should be banned. They can be very educational and you can learn a lot from games and movies. Many people that don´t speak English as a first language can learn to speak better English from movies and video games. You could also learn to work in teams and become a quick thinker. Some may argue that these points are not valid because you could learn the same things from other things that movies and games. And they aren’t wrong, you can learn these things in another way, but people have different interests and just because you can learn to work in a team in other ways than games and movies, doesn’t change the fact that some people will not learn them in those ways. If you can have fun while learning, then that is the best way of learning new things.

Of course there are cons as well. Many “gamers” choose to stay up late playing games rather than to study for an exam or a test, which leads to worse test results. Many people can also play their games alone, which results in an unsocial life. This can be very harmful for the individual. There are also some people, as Mr. Medved said, that get inspired to commit crimes and other things that they see in the movies and games.

Another aspect of how screen-based entertainment can influence children and young people is their physical health. As films and games takes up very much time, many gamers and movie fanatics have a bad physical health. Most of them don’t exercise and are often just in their room and their virtual world. They sleep late at night and wake up early in the morning to go to school. This can result in obesity, insomnia and many other physical health problems.

There aren’t many benefits in terms of physical health by playing video games and watching movies. Even though some people might get inspired to begin a new sport by playing a game like “FIFA” or by watching a movie like “Goal” it rarely happens.

I believe that playing video games can be both good and bad relationally. It just depends on how and what you play. Movies can’t really affect your relational life in a good way but I believe that you could become more social if you play some video games. In games like Counter Strike and Call of Duty, you often play in teams and have a microphone to talk to your teammates. This could increase your social abilities if you’re shy and introverted as the people you talk with don’t see you. You could meet new friends from all over the world.

There are of course some cons, when being online it is very easy to be hateful and mean to others as you often are anonymous. This can result in a bully-behavior. Considering the pros and cons of video games and movies, I think that they shouldn’t be banned or that you should change anything. I just think that parents need to supervise their children and see what they’re up to. If they think that video games are affecting their children in a bad way, they should limit their access to games and films. Video games and films can be both harmful and good, it depends on how you use it.