Just like the radio and television, video games are widely regarded with scepticism. Some people, typically teenagers and children, have eagerly embraced the idea, whereas others shun this form of entertainment, for various reasons. This month, I'll be interviewing the people of Redbridge and reporting their thoughts on video games.

Video games on the whole have some traits which cast themselves in a negative light. Being virtual entertainment, they raise issues about the amount of "screen time" people have, which may well lead to unhealthy lifestyles. Also, a large proportion of video games carry messages which we may want to protect our children from: game series such as Activision's Call Of Duty heavily feature violence, and games such as Volition's Saints Row and Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto advocate sex, drugs and generally violent crime. The Pokemon franchise by Nintendo, based on the games in 1996, also came under fire by PETA for appearing to promote animal abuse - the various creatures found in the world can be "caught", "trained" and used to "battle" other such creatures.

"Some younger kids play these kind of violent games, it inspires more violence and crime. If video games don't exist, I think the percentage of violence and crime will decrease. Young kids learn crime from video games so they use it in real life," states Kelly Lo, 16. Despite the fact that there is little concrete evidence of this correlation, the notion is definitely plausible.

Vasil Markov, 15, would disagree. "Violence is a natural instinct that has existed since conscious life began. People were fighting and having wars way before video games came about. Can you blame video games for that? It doesn't help that some games promote violence, but games shouldn't be seen as the sole reason either."

Akash Goswami, also 15, draws attention to the ESRB rating on game boxes, which works similarly to the BBFC ratings found on DVD boxes. "The whole point of games being rated 18+ is because they are for people aged 18+. If society want to blame anyone [for rising violence from impressionable young people], then I think it would be right to blame the parents for buying such games for their children."

Paul Hayes, 32, sees video games as a good source of entertainment as long as they are used wisely. "In terms of my attitude towards computer games I expected my opinions to be of the critical kind, i.e. they actively make people stupider and decrease concentration considerably.

"However on reflection this seems a little reactionary; I admit to not really ever having played a computer game but I don't believe that they can cause any real harm. They provide escapism and entertainment, if you like that sort of thing."

"Violence" and "video games" are terms that tend to go hand-in-hand, particularly in the media. Goswami feels that violent mainstream games tend to overshadow other games which focus on creative thinking and problem solving. "Not all video games are about violence; games like Portal (VALVe) and Minecraft (Mojang AB) allow players to express their creative sides."

But whether inspiring violence or creativity, the majority of video games absolutely can lead to unhealthy lifestyles. Games console "giants" Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft want to dispel this idea with their respective "party" devices Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Move and XBox Kinect, the latter in particular requiring physical effort to play games on, despite not coming close to some lengths in the pool or a cross-country run in terms of exercise value. These seem to succeed in bringing families together to play rather than separating them.

Ipek Cinik, also 32, expresses the same concern that many sceptical parents are likely to feel. "I think people can get addicted... it's fine playing in moderation, like with anything, but things can get out of hand." This concern is true - a shocking report by the Huffington Post told of a Taiwanese man who died in an internet cafe after playing Riot Games' League Of Legends for 23 hours in one session. Possibly even more shocking was that other players in the internet cafe were "disinterested" and wanted to continue playing during the investigation.

To end on a positive note, the charity Child's Play seeks to provide age-appropriate video games, as well as books and other toys, to entertain young hospital patients who would otherwise be bored to tears laying in a hospital bed. For all their negative aspects, video games can be a force for good too.

Thank you to the people who gave their time to be interviewed, even if your opinions weren't in this article.

--Referenced Sites--

Huffington Post article: http://tinyurl.com/86h2agh

Child's Play website: http://childsplaycharity.org/