Is it just me, or is this a dumb idea?

Posts: 122
6/3/11 6:37 P

I tend to think that video games are dumb in general.

Having said that, I feel like kids going to college with game systems isn't a bad idea; many who don't have them will buy them once they get there anyway. Students need a way to unwind. Yes, they SHOULD be studying. If they don't know, they're only hurting themselves.

I know there are parents who say, "Well, if I'm going to pay for his education..." The simple way around that is to not pay for it. My parents didn't spend a dime on my college education. (I just graduated in four years with a B.S. is Physiology and am heading to medical school.) That way, if your kid does decide to blow off class to play his games, he's only hurting his own welfare.

Just a thought.

P.S. I do think you have a VERY good point: getting a game system for your kid as a reward for college may not be the best plan. I'd personally keep the XBOX. After all, I like the Kinect. :)

Edited by: DEANJR86 at: 6/3/2011 (18:38)

Posts: 371
6/2/11 6:13 P

Pan_mei, that's nothing. One of the other Navy wives missed Homecoming because she was so engrossed in EQII she forgot. The poor sailor got home to his kids in dirty diapers, the house a mess and her sitting there playing EQII stinking to high heaven. My ex failed out of school because he was addicted to the first EQ. However, I think people like that would just do something else if it wasn't video games.

Posts: 308
6/2/11 6:02 P

I'm graduating from college now.
I can't tell you how many guys I know who skipped class to play the new HALO game when it came out...then again with Assassin's Creed...then again with Black Ops...

It is a dumb idea. (even if it is a rockin' deal!)

Posts: 371
6/2/11 5:23 P

I understand the need to compress and that most kids (and adults!) can balance them. I just don't understand buying my kid something that is only for decompressing for going to school. I happen to enjoy video games myself and now own a system. I just think it's strange to buy a kid a system for the express purpose of going to college. If I hadn't bought the kid a system before that point, I certainly wouldn't for the purpose of school. If the distraction of having a system was already there, fine. However, I don't see the sense in adding any extra distractions if they weren't there to begin with.

Posts: 15,379
6/2/11 5:07 P

So you DID do things other than studying - just like anyone who likes gaming!

People need to have fun, decompress, let off steam, whatever. Gaming is no different than the things you did.


BTW - I don't like video games and do not own a system....


"The friends I had who had game systems didn't have much time to play them."
So they learned how to balance the two, just like others can!

Edited by: LUANN_IN_PA at: 6/2/2011 (17:11)

Posts: 371
6/2/11 4:51 P

Pretty much the same thing as high school. I did clubs; mock trial, debate, anime club, drama. I was a little sister to a fraternity, one that allowed members the option to go dry. I'd dance at parties. Hung out with friends and watched movies, RPG's, went on the occasional hike. Sometimes the boyfriend would take me to dinner and a movie. Honestly, I didn't have much time for fun between clubs, class and work - I had to pay for my own school and I didn't want to take out too many loans, so I worked for my books and living expenses and took out student loans only for the portion of tuition my scholarships didn't cover. Most of my friends were in the same boat as me so sometimes we'd just pop some popcorn and read each other's papers if we wanted to hang out but had too much work and homework. The friends I had who had game systems didn't have much time to play them.

Edited by: LKISINSATIABLE at: 6/2/2011 (16:52)

Posts: 15,379
6/2/11 4:41 P

So, what did YOU do for fun in college?

Posts: 371
6/2/11 4:10 P

I guess my problem isn't sending a kid to school with a game system; it's getting a game system FOR college. I feel like it's sending the wrong message.

Posts: 2,699
6/2/11 3:49 P

The kid has to grow up sometime and learn to juggle things. I don't see anything wrong with sending a gaming system to school with a ollege student. You need time to decompress. If you don't have it, you'll fall apart. I had an always stressed out roommate, it's not a pretty sight. I think fun & studying can be balanced. Not all know how to do it right away or are good at it, but they have to learn. And, if it's not gaming, it will likely be someting else anyway.

SparkPoints: (6,926)
Fitness Minutes: (769)
Posts: 368
6/2/11 3:12 P

I can tell you from personal experience that it is pretty easy to balance college and gaming.

Posts: 15,379
6/1/11 7:22 P

#1 - no one is saying you HAVE to give the XBox to the person for whom you are buying the laptop.

#2 - the majority of the incoming freshman already have gaming systems and WILL bring them to college.

#3 - some students CAN balance gaming and studying.

Posts: 371
6/1/11 7:16 P

We saw an ad on tv at the gym "Buy your grad a laptop, get a free XBox". Unless you're keeping the XBox for yourself, why would you do this? Granted, my kid is only 3, but the LAST thing I would do is get my kid an XBox for college. They should be studying. When I was in college (all of a decade ago), my roomie and I actually traded our tv for a refrigerator and coffee maker for marathon studying, so we wouldn't have to take time to get meals or tea during heavy study weeks. Am I totally nuts?