What's a good Middle Way here? Kid actually building the machine all by himself -- 100% yes, even if it's quite expensive; kid then Counter Striking, Call of Dutying etc for hours on dat 27" screen -- ugh!
What complicates things is that I myself am more of a "computational minimalist" using 15 year old machines in a cli-only environment etc. I've tried to show him That Path also ("dude, here's some Turbo Pascal for ya!"), but, well, obviously he's preferring those addictively engineered and GPU-hungry multiplayer games with his friends any day.
He's a good kid all in all, actively engaged in competitive rowing, with good grades etc. Plays chess also (but all the other folks are FPSing or Minecrafting, so there's that).
Being a gamer (and using ridiculously overpowered hardware) may well be just a stage of a teen's life, possibly even necessary to go through in order to understand that you don't really "need" all of this in you adult life. I do feel, however, that the fear of growing a computer gaming vegetable out of one's Good Kid is a little more than just overprotective dad syndrome these days. (I'm afraid the gaming industry mostly wins. And, with real-world war going on in Ukraine, I fooking can't stand watching him actually using those ultra-realistic knives or pump action guns for, well, killing "terrorists" as a recreational activity...)
Those of you facing (or having faced) a similar situation, what have you done? Thanks!
dabinat•22m ago
It’s quite a leap to assume he’ll become an addict. There are many possible scenarios, including that he’ll grow out of it in a few years. Perhaps see how it goes and step in if you feel his usage is unhealthy? It’s probably a good idea to put limits on screen time anyway, with or without video games.