外国语学院2001级4班　陈琛

      With the development of the national economy, computers are no longer much of a luxury for most of the Chinese families in cities, which has laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of business in computer games in recent years. Since computer game has dominated the life of many people, especially the young, parents and teachers cry out against it. However, in my humble opinion, it is meaningless to debate whether or not computer game is detrimental, since computer game itself is neither good nor bad; it is totally at our disposal.

      Being an indispensable side-product of IT industry, computer game has been burning its way into the fabric of social life. Obviously, the appliance of three dimensions and special sound effects has turned the plain gaming process into a visual and audio feast that we have never been to before. In addition, the brand new experience of playing another role in games is so vicarious and gratifying that when playing, people tend to immerse themselves thoroughly into the virtual world. These two are probably the most important reasons why computer gaming has been so obsessing, especially to younger generations. As far as adults are concerned, indeed, the possibility is small that one falls into the trap of computer games. Having developed a sense of priorities, an adult is often well aware of the limit of time and the limitlessness of work to be done. Thus, more often than not, playing computer games is merely adopted by many as a respite from work and pressure. Compared to grown-ups, children are relatively susceptible to computer games due to their burning curiosity and psychological immaturity. However, the fact is, time has witnessed intrusions of a diversity of new distractions, such as films in the 1920s, TV in the 1950s and video games in the 1980s, none of which managed to remove children from classrooms and playfields, while survey results indicate that a great majority of pupils choose to sit in front of a computer only when there is nothing else to do. 

      All in all, computer games are, in essence, nothing more than the upgrade of video games, the memorable company of my generation in childhood. Ever since, few cases have been reported that people dropped out of school as a result of video-gaming addiction. What video games have left to me is simply a nostalgic smile, while I am occasionally stricken by a wave of reminiscence about the days when I 'co-operated with friends to smash up the enemy's headquarters'. Thus, I believe that it is the same with computer gaming. It can definitely be a good entertainment and recreation, as long as it is taken in moderation. Computer-gaming binge is absolutely dangerous, but in that case, it is not the games to blame.

（檀东鍟老师　批阅）