I have had a little chance to view a tad of the Beatles game Rock Band. Boy do I want that for my Wii. Of course folks I will be glad if you want to mail one to me. Heck I will even pick it up if you wanted to offfer me one. But kidding aside, the graphics are great and as we know the music is awesome. I will have to put this wonderful game for my Wii on hold until I pay off little things like my household bills. However, as always, this video game got me thinking. (What’s new?)

 Video games not only changed how we played games, but it changed how we live our life. Playing games meant socializing and playing with others. It meant actually inviting someone like your brother or sister, mom or dad, or gosh just some friends into your space to play fun little board games. Of course with video games you can isolate and you do not need social skills to play.

 As a kid, we did not have these games so we had to learn how to play with others and have real physical activity. We had to learn social skills and meet other people and actually move our lips and talk. We had to use our ears and listen, and we had to interact with other humans. Thank God with video games you do not have to interact with anything except for a machine.

 We also had to be physical. Gosh ADHD was barely heard of in our day and we did not have kids on mind altering drugs because they were bouncing off the wall. No we had to do things the old fashioned way and actually move and play. You know roller-skate, ride a bike, walk, run, jump and skip. All those things that our children don’t dare do now. Heaven forbid we allow our children to get out of breath. It was awful growing up without video games; we climbed trees, played baseball in the streets, rode our bikes, and actually played an occasional tag and hide and seek. It was just awful that we had to breathe fresh air and be healthy. I’m surprised us folks in our 50s survived it.

 The fact that we have video games that allow our imagination to come to life on a screen is a relief. As children we had to use our creativity and tap into our mind and imagine things. Now the computer games do that for you, and often, it does it for you in 3D. We don’t have to worry about imagination anymore and thank goodness there are just a few chosen ones who create the games that get to use their imagination and I am sure that is a hardship, and we are so grateful they have sacrificed so much for us so they can give us their imagination instead of using our own.

 Still, there is something to be said about video games. I know for me, I have had fun with them. Yes I had a pong, and an Atari, and a Nintendo, which by the way is now in spell check. Yes I have a Game Boy and an Ipod touch with games on it and I even have a Wii. I guess for me it is about balance. I play maybe a few hours a month. I use my Wii as part of a social structure. Wii bowling leagues are the best for socializing and you really have to move. As soon as someone decides to send me the Wii Beatles rock band, I will start a social group of monthly Beatles jams. 

 Oh well so stay tuned next time for the history of video games, which was what this article was supposed to be all about. It’s funny what happens once we allow ourselves to think.