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MINECRAFT
The side-effects that you need to know about
Article from Kidspot - March 31, 2015
http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-minecraft-side-effects-you-need-to-know-about/
With more than 100 million registered users, Minecraft is much, much more than a ordinary video game. It's a digital world where kids can get lost, killed and mugged. And that's only half of the story.
Since it’s official release in 2011, Minecraft has set the digital world on fire. It’s completely changed the landscape of online gaming, and millions upon millions of kids worldwide are lapping up every single second of it.
Minecraft is different: It’s not just a game you play every so often for a few minutes here and there. It’s an all-consuming universe that gets under your skin and into your head. And it’s addictive. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not giving you the full picture. Yes, it absolutely encourages creativity, imagination and evokes plenty of passion (all of which are worthy by-products), but is this virtual world really where you want your kids to hang out?
Minecraft creates a ‘hyper-reality’
I’m not a Minecraft killjoy – I have the utmost respect for the incredible Swedish creators of this game, because it really is a piece of technological brilliance. And in fact, it’s done astonishing things for some kids. It’s had a hugely positive impact on the lives of some autistic children, who have difficulty relating to people in the real world, and much has been written on the topic.
“For some autistic children who have trouble with complex social interactions, Minecraft is clearly a good fit with its lack of intricate social cues and simple environment”, says the BBC
However, it is this lack of complexity that should make more parents sit up and take note, insists the article. When kids with regular, neurological function are opting out of the real world at every given opportunity, preferring to participate in this virtual realm, there should be a cacophony of alarm bells going off in our heads.
“Dr Richard Graham, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist who runs a technology addiction unit at the private Nightingale Hospital in London, sees children with a serious Minecraft habit. He talks about the game’s “hyper-reality” which he says makes the external world “slower, paler, less stimulating”, reports the BBC.
This is precisely where it’s all gone wrong. Because when the lustre of real life fades, and Minecraft seems a much shinier, more inviting place to exist, we should all be very, very concerned.
And there are other Minecraft side-effects that are equally as disturbing.
What about the online safety of our kids?
Essentially, our kids are running amok on public servers, playing Minecraft with people neither you nor they have ever met – and it often doesn’t end well. Some kids are having their virtual property destroyed or stolen by elusive gaming thieves. This kind of behaviour even has a name – it’s called being ‘digitally mugged’ and it’s fast becoming a new form of cyber bullying. And we all know what horrific consequences that can have on the young and vulnerable.
The bottom line is that despite it’s many educational benefits, Minecraft is not a world where you want your kids to roam around alone or for too long at a time. Keeping your kids safe, and creating a balanced approach to this cult-like game is absolutely necessary. For your own peace-of-mind, as well as theirs. Minecraft is fantastic, but at some point (and I don’t know when) it jumped the fence and ceased to become just another video game, that you can put down and walk away from.