One Nation, Under God, With I Pods and I Phones For All

SURVEYS REVEAL THAT a very high percentage of American children under the age of two have used electronic devices. Precisely what the percentage is and what the electronic devices are remains unclear, but you can imagine how many ingenious electronic gadgets the high tech industry can design for use by infants and toddlers. Wherever the money is, corporate America will follow. Parents must believe that infantile video games stimulate the toddler to higher levels of intellectual achievement, and they may be right. Either that, or they feel as if their own social status within society is enhanced when strangers see their toddler with fancy, expensive electronic gadgets. Although in America even poor people usually have big screen TVs and cell phones, a disproportionate of gadgets are owned by the wealthy. There is at least one study, if not more, that strongly indicates that video games sharpen human reflexes, and improve general mental functioning, by giving practice in concentration and decision making. Watching a ten or twelve year old playing "Call of Duty", you wonder if its warping his mind, or turning him into an assault weapon wielding maniac. Or a paranoid schizophrenic alienated angry potential mass murderer. Not at all, say studies. Violent video games apparently siphon off aggression; those who play violent video games have less tendency for violent behavior in the real world than do non players, statistics indicate But the jury is still out. It might be a bit too early to start substituting Call of Duty for a breath of fresh air, and some exercise.