Parents of kids were asked to rate their children after playing games as “ignorant zombies” or “aloof.”
I’m sure that there are a bunch of parents out there who believe that their child’s brain is now mush from having played too many dang videogames. Hell, I think my parents thought the same thing even back in the 80s. But it’s another thing for a company to conduct a survey with such loaded adjectives as “unreasonable,” “aloof” and “angry” and try to pass it off as truth. But that’s exactly what a survey that was apparently conducted by the owners of the Warwick Castle’s attraction in the U.K. did in order to convince parents to buy tickets for their new Dragon’s Tower, which ties into the BBC series Merlin. The Dragon’s Tower launches on April 14th.
“This will be an exceptional visitor attraction, completely in keeping with our reputation as Britain’s ultimate castle and designed to wow visitors young and old,” said Tim Harrison-Jones, General Manager of Warwick Castle.
The problem is the survey, which asked 2000 parents about their children’s behaviors after playing even a half hour of videogames. The children were all aged between seven and fifteen years old.
Here are some of the findings of the survey:
- 6 out of 10 parents limit game playing because of the effect it has on their children.
- 3 out of 10 said that they witnessed a change in behavior after the children played games.
- 4 in 10 said that it was hard to get them to do “anything.”
- 1 in 4 said their children became “ignorant zombies.”
- 1 in 5 said their children became “little brats.”
- 28 percent claimed that their children became “lethargic.”
- 49 percent claimed that their children became “unreasonable.”
- 1 in 6 said that their children became “aloof.”
“A large percentage of youngsters stick themselves in front of games consoles at every opportunity and for a long period of time,” a spokesman from Warwick Castle said. “This is contributing to few kids playing outdoors, getting fresh air and it’s impacting on their school work and creativity.”
Even if all of this were true, is the answer really to go to a castle and pretend that you are a knight for a few hours? … Wait a second, this Warwick Castle place looks pretty cool. Maybe I should shut up and cooperate with them and the Daily Record to get these parents to take their kids to the Dragon Tower.
It sure beats going to a football match, amirite?
Source: Daily Record
