Some people claim that children gain more benefits from reading books than from spending time enjoying TV programs and playing digital games. In my point of view, the latter probably generates some advantages for youngsters while I hold a conviction that the former is better for their development.
On the one hand, in terms of entertainment, along with the advancement of technology, various game titles, shows, movies, and many more have been created, which easily attract youngsters to immerse themselves. These types of amusement are effective tools to help children release stress after having been studying for hours. In addition, TV programs not only satisfy their recreational demand but also have positive impacts on improving their knowledge through Quiz shows, for example, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or Road to Olympia. However, these entertaining activities may somehow bring on threats to children who are not mature enough to sort out suitable content to absorb, in other words, they are easily attracted by unpleasant information, images, and videos that are relevant to violence, sexuality, or religions, thereby leading to children’s addiction to these toxic content and this may form their negative personal traits.
On the other hand, the explanation for my belief that reading printed materials is safer for youngsters is the majority of them have to undergo a strict content moderation process done by publishers, so parents can be more secure when letting their kids gain knowledge provided by these sources. Moreover, this activity also stimulates children’s creativity on account of requiring them to imagine what characters and backgrounds appearing in stories they read look like themselves. By contrast, films and games include interactive images and sound effects so that youngsters do not have many opportunities to train their brains while enjoying them. In other words, scenes and sounds of such recreations are often illustrated with a particular purpose, hence limiting viewers’ imagination. A case in this point is horror movies. If a child sees a film and reads a book with the same frightening plot, he or she tends to remember the appearances of the characters and scenes in the movie more clearly than in the book, therefore, the child is hardly able to replace those scary features by the others that are less terrifying, which can give he or she nightmares after watching.
In conclusion, it cannot be denied that films and computer games are amazing tools providing kids with amusement and general knowledge, but they also bring on unexpected troubles, hence I still hold the conviction that reading books is better for children’s creativity and knowledge enhancement.