I am glad there were no video games when I was a child

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

I am at about 5 books a year now I think.

5 people like this

@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

29 Dec 15

I am glad I read more than 5 books a year but I also like TV and my computer. @BelleStarr

4 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (341752)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Jan 16

The internet has changed my reading habits too.

2 people like this

Jabo

@jaboUK (64354)

• United Kingdom

28 Dec 15

We older people tend to decry the young ones for their addiction to their computers and video games, but who's to say we wouldn't have been as bad if they had been available when we were young?

5 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

Judging by my behaviour on the internet; I would have been just as bad.

4 people like this

MARILYN

@Marilynda1225 (83074)

• United States

28 Dec 15

@jabouk I probably would have been since I did enjoy playing video games when my kids lived at home

6 people like this

@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

29 Dec 15

What you have said is very true and I am sure we were just as bad only in other ways. @jaboUK

4 people like this

@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

29 Dec 15

I did read also as a child but I also went outside and played, I still read. I could care less about video games.

3 people like this

@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

31 Dec 15

@paigea I went out and played because of the friends I had made and it was fun to be with other kids around my own age.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

@Marcyaz It's a good thing my parents sent me outside; I made good friends. One is still my friend to this day.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

I did go out and play but mainly because my parents made me.

1 person likes this

The Horse

@TheHorse (220106)

• Walnut Creek, California

31 Dec 15

I was never THAT avid a reader, especially as a child. I'd like to think that video games wouldn't have trumped my love of being outside playing and exploring. But I can't say for sure.

3 people like this

The Horse

@TheHorse (220106)

• Walnut Creek, California

31 Dec 15

@paigea I'll sometimes write a bit here, then do a progress note, then write a bit more, then practice some mandolin, then...

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

Going by how this site has taken over my time I think I would have.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

@TheHorse Every day I tell myself I am going to do that also. Well, no mandolin.

2 people like this

Canadian Archer

@HebrewGreekStudies (1646)

• Canada

30 Dec 15

While we did have video games when I was a child, I didn't have many. In some sense I feel the same, because I wonder the influence of books on my life-I feel that they were important, and that it was good that I had more exposure to them. It is still good to get "lost" in them.

4 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

It does seem better to get lost in a book that a video game.

2 people like this

Saurabh

@saurabhrmp (2283)

• Hyderabad, India

29 Dec 15

In my childhood, Video games were there. But, I am not so much fond of video games.

4 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

I am glad it's not everyone playing video games too much.

2 people like this

Saurabh

@saurabhrmp (2283)

• Hyderabad, India

29 Dec 15

@paigea ;I am one of them. My friends like to play a lot.

3 people like this

Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

31 Dec 15

Pong was the only computer game tech of my childhood - the tennis game we played on the TV set - it felt very futuristic and state of the art then

3 people like this

Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

31 Dec 15

@paigea still a fun game for grown ups

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

I played it a couple of times at someone else's house. I never bought one. I was already an adult when it came along.

2 people like this

Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

30 Dec 15

I was always a reader when I was young too. I can still read all day if I allowed myself to but I wouldn't get anything done that way.

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

That is exactly why I quit reading so much and turned my attention to TV.

2 people like this

Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

5 Jan 16

@paigea If it is a really good book, I just can't make myself stop reading it. So I have to be prepared to read it all day and work around everything else for that day.

1 person likes this

Catherine

@bluesa (15022)

• Johannesburg, South Africa

31 Dec 15

@paigea , I am like that with books too, I get lost in them, or a good show on tv, or being here, I say I just really focus on what I happen to be doing. :-)

3 people like this

Catherine

@bluesa (15022)

• Johannesburg, South Africa

31 Dec 15

@paigea , I miss not being able to be here as much as I would like, but, life is so busy right now. I hope you can find a balance, I hope I can be here more.

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

I am too lost in myLot these days. Everything else is suffering!

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

@bluesa I am going to find that balance. Starting later today after I reach $10

3 people like this

Marsha

@MarshaMusselman (38865)

• Midland, Michigan

31 Dec 15

That's probably true. I spent enough time on them when they first came out even though we didn't own the next best thing. We did have one of the first Nitendo types to play on the PC, and I have to say that my two year old daughter at the time learned how to swear hearing me playing the games. (She's now twenty-four). I still play PC games mostly, and now that I have a tablet, I play one that's only available on a device, not a pc at all. I do that too much. But, when young, my mom got us started reading and me and a sister near me in age did most of the reading, which upset my mom many a time when we were supposed to be doing the dishes instead.

3 people like this

Marsha

@MarshaMusselman (38865)

• Midland, Michigan

31 Dec 15

@paigea I didn't disappear, for I could be seen plain as day sitting on the rocker in the living room, but no amount of cajoling or concern would get me moving any faster to get my chores done.

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

31 Dec 15

I certainly disappeared with a book a time or two when it was time to do dishes.

2 people like this

Loretta

@noni1959 (10104)

• United States

30 Dec 15

I'm an avid reader and glad I don't do the video games either. For the first time in eight years there is a TV and cable yet I rarely have it on. When I do it's mostly crime stuff and I have a book open.

3 people like this

Loretta

@noni1959 (10104)

• United States

30 Dec 15

@paigea I was doing that off and on as well but now back to carrying a real book with me. I also was given a Kindle a few years ago for travel but I love holding a book in my hands. I just read, "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed and glad it was not on an electronic device.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

30 Dec 15

@noni1959 I just finished an audio book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. . That was a good book to get me back to reading. It was easy to listen to and I really got caught up in the story. It made me want to get the book from the library and read it now.

1 person likes this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

30 Dec 15

I have read very few books in recent years. I keep reading on the internet.

3 people like this

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317249)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

28 Dec 15

That's a good thing. I spent a lot of time outdoors, mostly at the pool all summer, and sledding in winter. I also loved watching television and reading.

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

I did like cycling, the pool and sledding as a child too.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (341752)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Dec 15

My life exactly - well, pretty much.

I stopped reading as a young married as I kept burning the dinner.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (341752)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Dec 15

@paigea I would completely switch off when I read. I was reading under the desk one day in school and came to to see the teacher storming up the aisle towards me. Apparently he'd been yelling at me for a while and I'd heard nothing.

1 person likes this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

30 Dec 15

@JudyEv lol. I always read at school. Hiding my book under the school book or the edge of the desk top. The library teacher wouldn't believe I read the books that I kept wanting to exchange.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

Oh, maybe that was why the dinner kept being burnt.

2 people like this

Sheila Brown

@sgbrown (1638)

• United States

29 Dec 15

I probably would not have had a problem, I never liked being inside the house. I was always outside doing something! Even now, I get bored quickly doing the same thing for very long at a time.

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

That is a good way to be. I wish I were more like that.

2 people like this

Lee Ka

@kaka135 (14931)

• Malaysia

29 Dec 15

Yes, I am glad my parents didn't allow us to play video games as well, and there was no computer and Internet for us, hence we spent more time with books. My children are not allowed to watch TV and play video games, and they have more time to play with their hands, and more time to read and draw as well. They seem to be not enough time to play even though they are playing for the whole day, so if TV and video games are added, they might not have time to play.

Though I still prefer to hold a book and read, I read more from my computer screen now.

2 people like this

Lee Ka

@kaka135 (14931)

• Malaysia

3 Jan 16

@paigea Yes, I think children can play with anything by nature. They do not necessarily need the TV or tablet, though many parents think they are good "babysitters" and the children need them.

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

Exactly, computer time takes away from other activities. My great nephew can play and play with different things all day too.

1 person likes this

rebel_woman06

@SIMPLYD (90721)

• Philippines

29 Dec 15

Yes i am thankful too . If there were videos already , i wouldn't have experienced playing those very enjoyable games on the lawn , with my cousins .

2 people like this

rebel_woman06

@SIMPLYD (90721)

• Philippines

29 Dec 15

@paigea Oh yes , it truly was .

2 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

Playing with cousins sounds more fun.

3 people like this

Carmela

@Carmelanirel2 (8084)

• United States

30 Dec 15

I loved to read too, but I also loved running around outside and playing, especially during the summer when I could go swimming. I still love to read, but I also love to write, so writing takes up some of my time as well as taking care of my 13 y/o, a retired husband, and 2 dogs.

2 people like this

Carmela

@Carmelanirel2 (8084)

• United States

30 Dec 15

Oh, and like you, I probably would have gotten addicted to video games, so I am glad they were not around when I was a kid.

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

30 Dec 15

You keep busy all right! I did love to go swimming too.

1 person likes this

AbbyGreenhill

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

28 Dec 15

I remember playing 'pong'...it was one of the first computer-ish type games..oh so long ago!

2 people like this

MARILYN

@Marilynda1225 (83074)

• United States

28 Dec 15

My kids played Mario Brothers and I probably would recognize that music even in my sleep

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

@Marilynda1225 my kids never played them much either. So I don't even know if they had that or not

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

I do remember trying that game at a friend's house. I never bought one though.

1 person likes this

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

Robin Lamb

@troyburns (1405)

• New Zealand

29 Dec 15

Video games can be good skill builders, and even relationship builders. The key is - like anything - not to become obsessed by them. Jane McGonigal has given a few TED Talks on the benefits of gaming -

www.youtube.com

http://www.ted.com Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness ...

2 people like this

Robin Lamb

@troyburns (1405)

• New Zealand

31 Dec 15

@Auntylou - One of McGonigal's talks is about how gaming can improve longevity - providing an outlet for stress is a small part of that. But once you're obsessed, I don't think there are many health benefits!

2 people like this

Janet Anderson

@Auntylou (4264)

• Oxford, England

31 Dec 15

I have also read that they can help reduce stress. But some kids do seem to get very obsessed with them

3 people like this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

29 Dec 15

I am sure they have their benefits if they don't take over your life. I am sure the same can be said for myLot!

2 people like this

PaintsOnSlate

@PainsOnSlate (21852)

• Canada

1 Jan 16

Because I paint, I need my hands and my eyes to do that so i listen to books on CD as i paint. I get them at the library, there is a never ending choice and it entertains my brain as my hands and eyes are busy.

2 people like this

PaintsOnSlate

@PainsOnSlate (21852)

• Canada

1 Jan 16

@paigea I also listen while driving, If I'm going to be over an hour behind the wheel a book comes with me again from the Library... endless choices....

1 person likes this

@paigea (36316)

• Canada

1 Jan 16

I recently listened to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I found that a great book to listen to. I used to listen to them while I drive as I spend so much time in the car. Maybe now that I listened to one, I will be able to get back into it. Libraries are wonderful. They just have so much we can use for the price of a library card.

1 person likes this