There are numerous benefits which video games can bring you. I honestly can't see why books, TV, and other media are seen as so much better than video games.
My mother will let me do whatever I want on the weekdays, as long as it has nothing to do with video games (I don't follow this rule fully, and I do not intend to), saying she wants me to do something productive. Meanwhile, she'd be on the couch watching TV or something. TV is definitely not more productive than a video game, I promise you that.
Books, I can see why parents would want their kids to read more of, due to an increase in vocabulary as well as some other benefits, but are video games really so much worse?
Why is there this idea that video games transform people into mindless addicts who become murderers?
Why are video games seen as this lowly, mindless form of entertainment while people do things like watching TV or reading a book? I seriously can't see much distinction, they're forms of entertainment to me.
[spoiler] Extra thought: Maybe more people would like to read if it wasn't being forced down their throats every single day. What killed reading (as a source of entertainment) for me is when I was forced to read terrible books every single day. Same thing with P.E Over the Summer, I used to love going to the gym, but after being forced to do the same crap every single day with no free will, I hate it. /rant[/spoiler]
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Because the people that claim videogames are less productive than other forms of media usually use those other forms of media.