Video games and children

Video games were always present in my house growing up with many siblings. Perhaps because I was the youngest and most definitely did not get seniority over the remote I grew to despise video games in general. I would see how they would suck the life out of my siblings and I found myself preferring to run around outside and play with friends. My sister had always somehow managed to sneak a remote, whether it was after all of the boys had passed out or through her stubborn negotiation skills. Reflecting back on our personalities I am aware that my sister and I have had and always will have vastly different personalities. I have always been more social and active, she has always been more quiet and reserved. She would stay up all night playing games and reading and I would wake up super early and go out and play until I passed out at night. I wonder, though, if the fact that she grew up with video games had an influence on what her reality was as a child. Had she not gotten the chance to play would she have spent more time out making friends and being active? I remember at one point my Dad started to play some sort of video game. He was curious what all the hype was and decided to give it a shot. It was not long before he became addicted! My dad, who has always been a self motivated and disciplined person was addicted to these life suckers! It was a few weeks where he would come home from work and play these games. My mom and I were baffled and disgusted over his desire to play so often. Thankfully, it was not long before my dad came to the realization how much time he had dedicated to this false reality and he was able to pull himself out. However, he was a grown man with a lot of experience. He did not grow up playing these games. He had stepped in at mature point in his life where he was able to be self-reflective. I do not think children that grow up playing these games have an opportunity to do so...they do not know what it is like without them. That to me is a very scary picture.