Back in the day, the way people would have fun was without phones, television, and video games, but now, our society has begun using these types of technologies as a way of social interaction.

According to A Media Studies Blog-Video Game Statistics, 65% of American households play video games, and this number is still rising.

According to an Oracle conducted survey of 127 South students, about 55% play video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, Starcraft, etc., yet about 54% of those students say that video gaming is distracting.

Starcraft Club leader Tommy Hughey explained video gaming can also be connected to violence in kids.

“I think right now, video gaming has a negative stigma in today’s society” Hughey said. “[People who play violent video games] become desensitized to violence. Video games, on a whole, like anything else, should always be used in moderation.”

Hughey also thinks that violence from video games can be prevented with parent awareness, and that the parents know what content is involved in the games their child plays.

Some students are so involved in playing video games that GBS has clubs such as Starcraft Club. This is a club, which meets every Monday and Wednesday, that strictly plays the game Starcraft, and together, the members strategize.

According to Hughey, Starcraft is heavily based on strategy, which shows that video gaming can be very difficult.

“Starcraft is a real-time-strategy game, and arguably the fastest, and hardest to learn,”Hughey said. “I believe it has the steepest learning curve of any strategy game ever created.

According to Hughey, with the game being so complex, he spends a lot of time coaching and teaching newer and less experienced players good strategies.

Teaching other players is another way that video gaming is social. According to junior Roderick Pahati, a member of Starcraft Club, video gaming is a social activity.

“I could play a game at any time, but playing with my friends next to me just brings out the best in everyone,” Pahati said.

Senior Brian Pratt, another member of Starcraft club, agrees that it brings people together.

“I think it is a fun and relaxing way for people to connect and have fun,” Pratt said. “It is also very widespread so itis fun to connect with people you wouldn’t normally meet.”

Like many other things, video gaming is a controversial topic. Discussions revolve around whether they influence teens in a positive or negative way.

“I think certain games affect people in certain ways,” Pahati said. “In general, I believe video games have a positive influence for the simple fact that they create an interactive world where people can escape reality that we sometimes don’t want to deal with at that point.”

Hughey agrees that video gaming can take a person’s mind off the world around them.

“Video games can be an excellent way to escape from reality for a time,” Hughey said. “When I have just finished an intense StarCraft match, I feel a sense of returning to reality. I forget where I am, or what I’m doing. All I know in that time is the battle at hand, and it’s an incredible feeling. I live the strategy, and the thrill of the game.”

Pratt agrees, and thinks video gaming is good for teens at GBS.

“I think video gaming has a positive topic, because it provided a general topic for people to relate to,” Pratt said.

According to Pahati, gaming at GBS isn’t always positively talked about.

“Video gaming at GBS is very polarized,” said Pahati. “In general, a lot of gamers are close-minded on what it takes for a game to be “good”. But fun is fun, and if someone has fun playing one game, they shouldn’t bash that game just because you don’t have fun playing it. ”

There are a lot of different hobbies people take up as a teenager at GBS, but video gaming is continuing to gain popularity at South.

“Practically every guy I know plus some girls play video games,” said Pratt.