Mother Shares Why She Doesn't See Anything Bad About Her Son Spending All Of His Free Time Online During The Quarantine

Many parents are worried about the impact of video games on their children. But not Tiffany Pitts. The mother has been watching her teenage boy sitting in front of the computer and she couldn't be happier.

In fact, she even created a thread on Twitter to make "an argument in favor of video games" online. There, Pitts detailed a particular quarantine night when her son and his friends met a boy on Fortnite. It was the kid's birthday, but with the pandemic ravaging, he couldn't celebrate it. Pitts' son and his pals threw the boy a party online, and the mom understood just how good video games can be for bonding.

However, many would probably disagree with Tiffany. They say that kids mustn't be subjected to blood and intense violence, sexual content, and substance abuse through video games, and some organizations share this opinion as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), for example, say that exposure to violent media (including video games) can contribute to real-life violent behavior and harm children in other ways.

But there are researchers who question these claims. Two psychologists, Dr. Patrick Markey of Villanova University and Dr. Charlotte Markey of Rutgers University, for example, have presented evidence that some children may become more aggressive as a result of watching and playing violent video games, but that most of them are not affected.

Interestingly, both sides of this debate do agree that it is possible for parents to take steps that limit the possible negative effects of video games.