Gaming: Playing Safe and Playing Smart (Digital and Information Literacy)

With sophisticated graphics that rival the latest 3D Hollywood release and a complexity of narrative that equals the most elaborately imagined worlds found in fantasy novels, gaming has become big business, mass entertainment, and high art. Indeed, the gaming experience is so involving and enticing that it can pose some dangers. Repetitive motion disorders, sedentary lifestyles, computer/gaming addiction, loss of perspective, exposure to graphic violence, and even cyberbullying can all result from too much time spent sitting in front of a computer. This book celebrates the truly awe-inspiring experiences, environments, and simulations modern gaming offers as well as the cognitive and developmental benefits they convey, while also highlighting the very real dangers that arise from excessive or inappropriate play.