Impact of Technology on Family Card Games

As The Wall Street Journal reported, there has been a decline in family card games and according to the experts, some big benefits are being lost.

It is hard to imagine life without technology which is changing at a rapid pace. I can’t say that technology is not good for us but it can't be denied that it has had some negative impacts. For example, many kids spend a lot of time playing video games instead of spending some quality time with their families.

Card games and board games can be played online and with a packed schedule and digital distractions, children often choose technology over playing games with the family.

Many parents think that their children will be bored if they play cards but as WSJ reported, card games can entertain and teach kids. Psychologist and sociologist have done many researches and the results showed that kids can improve their math abilities, memory skills and strategic thinking by playing card games.

William Doherty, professor of family social science, explained that it’s very important for kids to have a chance to compete with their parents. By competing with their parents children can learn to win and lose gracefully without behaving badly. Children should learn at the young age that it is completely fine to lose sometimes and how to handle the defeat.

Despite being useful learning tool, card games are also very fun. Games also afford an opportunity to bond and many families that play cards said that the best part of it all is the conversation. It is easier to communicate and it is possible to learn much more about each other in a context of a playful setting.

Many young parents are still teaching their children card games as an alternative to video games even though video games are more popular. The good news is that sale of traditional cards have risen between 1% and 2% industry-wide in past two years.

Many in the poker community have first found out about poker in a home game with friends or family. According to WSJ report, skilled card playing often calls for different social skills and abilities such as bluffing. Matthew Siegel told WSJ that he was learning to keep his poker face while playing Texas Hold’em with his grandfather.

The Internet has revolutionized many different fields, especially poker industry. Although playing at a casino is great experience, playing online poker is becoming more and more popular with the young generations. Many professional poker players have started to play low stakes poker at online poker rooms before they participated in big live events such as WSOP.

While playing online has its advantages as well, the social aspect of playing with friends and family is something that shouldn't be neglected as it helps with development of many life skills that can come in handy both on and off the tables.

Photo: blackenterprise.com