Summer is upon us and - Oh how I use to look forward to that as a kid. No school and long days of baseball and fishing and just having the summer to be outside and do whatever I wanted.

Times have changed and one of the biggest changes in the activities of our youth is the creation and business of videos games. It disgusts me. I think it is the most demotivating, unproductive creation in the history of man.

I understand there can be a positive side to argue in the debate. My wife usually takes the side of she would rather have them playing video games then what we were doing at that age. I cannot deny some truth to that but the reality is it has not detoured this generation from experimenting with drugs and alcohol and sex. If anything it probably enhances it with games like Grand Theft Auto where the whole design of the game is to steal cars and kill people and do deals.  

Here is a snapshot of teenagers at my house. Its May 23, 2009. School was out yesterday- summer vacation started. My 17 year old step son and his 18 year old brother were playing video games - Rock Band - when I got home.

A pretty harmless game and one of the better ones in my opinion where you get to become the band and play a color coded guitar and some drums and sing. All attempting to keep up with the parameters of the game enough to make it through the song and gain a score at the end of the song to rate your performance.

About the only real life benefit you could come away with from countless hours of practice would be an improvement in your singing voice. Matching up a sequence of 5 color buttons on the plastic guitar to the sequence on the screen - I can't see where this is going to improve your resume or increase your SAT scores.

The singing isn't a potential voice coach or anything either. You could actually moan your way through the song. If you have some decent moan pitch you could actually make it through the song without getting cancelled for not hitting the game specifications for the song you are playing.

Of course you could make the game harder and set it to expert level - another great accomplishment. With more hours of practice you can learn to expertly push the color buttons at a more rapid sequence. I just don't see the worldly benefit here.

Anyway, back to the summer vacation. One of the 17 year olds friends came over about 7:00pm. We ate dinner and then it was video games until about 2:00 or maybe later, I don't know. They slept until 11:00 which was early for the 17 year old and now with a perfect day outside they spend the first day of summer vacation exactly where they have spent the last 4. Sitting on the couch and working the controller. Seemingly unable to perform any small task you might ask them to do.

The 2 boys have been told - yea right - that they need to get a job this summer. My prediction is - not going to happen. Extra curricular activities - don't exist. Its all video games, computers, ipods and TV. If food and sleep could somehow be manipulated through a screen there would be no time during the day they would need to be away from a screen.

Why don't you limit the time they can play the games, you might say. I don't know what its like at your house but in a step parent roll - its hard to make that happen without upsetting other aspects of the relationship.

In conclusion, I don't have any answers. I have tried to exercise some elements of balance but to no avail. Video games are obviously here to stay and step parenting is a common occurence across the land. These are my opinions but ones that I was hoping would start a discussion and perhaps some accumulation of ideas and experiences.

If you have some - please leave a comment.