[Avengelique]

I can't say too much about social skills. I didn't come "online" until I was 21 and back then the internet was a much smaller place than it is now. I found that being on the internet at those times allowed me to actually grow my interpersonal skills. I was a pretty shy and boring person before I got my first modem. Quite a change from what I am today. These days however there are millions of people online at ANY given time. And with children in particular, the internet can be an emotionally and sometimes physically dangerous place. It' so much easier to "be yourself" and there are fewer means to know if someone is decieving you online. it can be very easy for people to manipulate or in some instances pervert a young person's forming sense of morality and proper social behavior.

As for videogames destroying attention span, I am living proof of it. In high school (at a time when ultima 6 was the most advanced game around) reading was my greatest hobby. It was nothing for me to sit down in one place for 4 hours or more at a time enjoying a book. and I did read about a book a day pretty consistantly all through highschool. In the years since I have spent more and more time playing increasingly advanced and realistic games. Now if I sit down to read a book I'm lucky if I can get through the first couple of pages without getting ansy. I don't know if it's reduced attention span but often I feel like if I"m not doing 2 or 3 things at once (which is pretty common to have to do todays computer or console games) then I get bored or feel like I"m not doing enough. I can see how this phenomenon would have an even greater impact on a younger child