The Army Finds out the Long Term Effects of Video Games

The Puppy Blender linked to the article The Army We Have in the Atlantic Monthly and it partially answers some of the questions I raised with a series of posts wondering about the long-term effects of video games on society.

Playing all of those video games does nothing for physical fitness.

Young people are fatter and weaker. They eat more junk food, watch more television, play more video games, and exercise less...Every platoon sergeant and squad leader I spoke with told me a version of this story: Many of the new privates are smart and eager; they’re quick learners and they know what they’ve gotten themselves into, joining the infantry in wartime. But too many are physically weak, are undisciplined, or have mental and emotional problems that should have gotten them screened out at basic training, if not earlier by the recruiter.

Playing those games does nothing for experiencing life outdoors. Additionally, I would argue that since it's such a great babysitter, there's less trouble to get into, requiring less parental control.

At the same time, Shwedo sees today’s recruits as the product of a society that can’t quite figure out how to raise its children. “Most kids coming into the Army today have never worn leather shoes in their life unless it said Nike, Adidas, or Timberland. They’ve never run two miles consecutively in their life, and for the most part they hadn’t had an adult tell them ‘no’ and mean it. That’s bizarre,” he says. “Our society says you can’t count in a soccer match, because you might hurt somebody’s feelings. Every kid is going to get a trophy, whether or not you ever went to practice or ever won a game.”

The article doesn't paint a totally dark picture of today's Army. As with all things, some parts are better, some are worse. I just took out the parts that applied to my question.