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A salesgirl in a typical CD shop in Male says they sell on average about 30 video game CDs per day. There could be about 100 such shops in Male. Just start multiplying and the results would be mindboggling: 3000 games sold per day, 90,000 in a month and 1,080,000 in a year.
Video games are popular in Male because of several reasons. One, there is no space in the island for outdoor games for all. Two, parents are scared of sending children to outdoor activities because of the drug menace. Three, some forms of entertainment like music and dance are frowned upon by conservatives. Four, many parents think video games are harmless entertainment for kids.
But are video games really harmless?
A new study employing state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology says that the answer may be no. Researchers say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention.
This brings us to the question: is there a link between the violence we see today on Male streets and video games like, "Call of Duty," and "Medal of Honor: Frontline?" While researchers have seen negative effects in the brains of kids who play these games, such results cannot be extrapolated to the Male situation without doing specific research here.
What about non violent games? Could there be a link between non-violent but high-octane games like "Need for Speed: Underground" and "Gran Turismo?" and the increasing spate of accidents on Male streets and Addu Link Road? Again country specific research is needed to establish such a link.
For now, based on available scientific evidence, parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.
