Band 6+: Some think that it is more important for children to engage in outdoor activities instead of playing video games. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is often claimed by many people that children should be more involved in outdoor activities rather than spending a huge amount of time for playing video games. To some extent, I agree with this view, but there are other aspects that need to be taken into account.

First and foremost, one key reason for prioritizing children’s engagement in outdoor activities is that these kinds of activities could lead to personal development in children’s overall well-being. That is to say, strong physical strength or better interpersonal skills may be gained when children are involved in these activities. For example, fundamental sport elements such as running or useful career skills like communication skills can be learned and mastered through outdoor activities. As a result, children may develop a strong immune system or even can form some traits as sociability that is necessary for building successful career in the future. If it were not for outdoor activities, children may have been prone to some diseases or lack of in-person relationships due to weak physical conditions or some mental issues. Therefore, parents should encourage their children more in order to become a part of outdoor activities in their daily life.

However, another idea against this is that video games can also be beneficial for children’s self-development. In other words, while a number of clear benefits can be obtained by engaging in outdoor activities, playing video games also provides children with its unique advantages. For instance, a higher level of IQ in technological area can be achieved by them, which in turn, may be very useful for their future jobs. As a result of brain training games like Sudoku, Chess or Puzzle, they may become really well-versed in this area and the necessary human features such as decision-making or problem-solving could be acquired while playing these games. Without these computer games, they would become less tech-savvy and intelligent. Thus, it is advised children to spend time equally for both areas.

In conclusion, although there are some seemingly advantageous benefits of outdoor activities in terms of children’s improved physical strength and communication skills, the usefulness of computer games like boosting decision-making and problem-solving traits cannot be brought into comparison as they have equally important advantages for children.