Video Games: The Solution to World Hunger

I hate video games. I know this is a strong statement, but it's true, I hate them. I think they are 100% time waster activity, and cannot find any redeeming qualities in spending time playing them. Even more than I hate video games, I hate most computer games- Star Craft, Warcraft, World of Warcraft included. I hate them. Just thinking about these games makes me want to scream. That isn’t to say there wasn’t a time in my life where I didn’t play computer or video games- there were many summer days spent with my siblings playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, Chex Quest (truly one of the best games ever found in a cereal box), Carmen San Diego (okay I do actually approve of this one, it is a learning game), and yes on occasion even Warcraft, but at some point that faded away. I should say that I hate participating in activities that don’t result in a finished product (hence the delay in posting on this blog). I like doing something with an end in site- for example, cooking- there is an end, all the effort goes towards producing something- I love that feeling of being productive. Some would argue there is a productive side to playing video games, I would not be listening, so I cant even provide a snippet of that counter argument. I know I am being close minded, but that is just too bad. Why the tirade against the time waster activities? This morning as I was driving to the airport (around 5:30am) I heard a story on NPR that made me laugh out loud (literally). The story started by listing the number of hours spent/wasted every year playing video games (and yes it is in the billions), and then went on the include a statement from someone in the video game industry about how that number (and the obesity rate- not said but a natural consequence) needed to rise. This wasn’t a discussion about the new video games that include physical activity- no wii, or whatever the x box version is- this was a discussion about the brain rotting other games. The video game person/consultant went on the explain that if people learn things in video games they are more likely to apply the principles to their real lives, and that many of the world's problems could be solved. Okay.. I am just going to venture to guess that world hunger probably isn’t going to be solved by battling an alien race… but then again I don’t know much about video games. She (yes it was a she) also went on to discuss how participating in video games fosters communication and builds communities… yeah about that, I am going to go with a big fat no on that one. I don’t think video games should be banned, people have their agency. There are activities that I participate in that video game enthusiasts would shudder to think about, and I think a little bit of time spent relaxing and engaging in frivolous activities is okay, but really, video games as a way to solve the world's problems? You have absolutely got to be kidding me.