Video Games

My eight year old son was given his first introduction to the XBOX 360 by my 18 year old brother. It was HALO. At first, I had reservations, but I was never censored as a kid and so I figured that it would be a great opportunity to see what it was about and how he reacted. I was unprepared for the fact that he would love it! I on the other hand, realized an effect that I never hear anyone talk about and that's the stress I felt watching him being shot at. Yes, I said "him" because it felt like he was him even though I logically understood that it was only a game. As he walked down corridors searching for Aliens to shoot, and attempting to not be shot at himself... I found myself jumping every time one would suddenly appear. It reminded me of the moment in that Mel Gibson movie "Signs" when the media shows the picture of the Alien running across the screen and it startles you or when in scary movies the character looks into the mirror only to realize that the "bad" guy is standing right behind her.... I couldn't help but notice the lack of stress my son seemed to have from it and he was the one playing. He was so relaxed. Overall, my husband and I decided that he wasn't old enough to play the more mature games and he was devastated. I would love to see a study of the blood pressure of gamers versus non gamers any day. I wonder if I would be surprised by the results or not.