Now, I’m just voicing it from their perspective. As a kid, my fellow skaters detested other kids who thought that they were real skaters just because they had a skateboard. We called them “posers” or “poseurs.” I think something similar is going on there.

I play guitar, and when I first saw Guitar Hero, I cringed. But once I tried it, I recognized the fun in it. In the end, it got me to play more guitar because I had to create my own sounds instead of being content with them being pre-packaged.

I know parents who are musicians who refuse to let their kids play the games. Instead they force them to hold real guitars that they can’t even begin to appreciate. Unfortunately, those kids are missing out on fun and learning some good skills like basic rhythm and tempo, and basic hand-eye coordination that could carry over to playing a real instrument.

Let the kids play!