I read about those otaku in Japan who don’t go out of their apartment and just play video games all day. They don’t seem to interact with people in a meaningful way. Don’t video games isolate us or reduce our possible interactions to pre-programmed or limited possibilities?

Good question -

I think the main idea of balancedgaming is to encourage gamers to think about their gaming in the context of balanced living.

Your point, though, brings an interesting idea to bear: extremes.

An extreme of to much gaming is unhealthy and isolating
An extreme of no gaming at all is kind of weird too - have fun in life!

Hey!

It seems though that youngsters with their preferable domains try do not try to balance but try to maximize their joy.  How can we introduce the merits of balance to joy-maximizing munchkins?

5-star question

How can we introduce the merits of balance to joy-maximizing munchkins?

Kids like to play. In fact, sometimes, that’s the ONLY thing they like to do! So how do we talk about balance with kids?

I think the answer is about doing other stuff in life. Here’s a small list, blatantly stolen from
this cool site about hobbies and stuff to do with your life!

# Aeromodeling
# Amateur Astronomy
# Amateur Radio
# Animals/pets/dogs
# Arts
# Astrology
# Astronomy
# Backgammon
# Baseball
# Basketball
# Beach/Sun tanning
# Beachcombing
# Beadwork
# Beatboxing
# Becoming A Child Advocate
# Bell Ringing
# Bicycling
# Bird watching
# Birding
# BMX
# Blogging
# BoardGames
# Boating
# Body Building
# Bonsai Tree
# Bowling
# Brewing Beer
# Bridge
# Bringing Food To The Disabled
# Building A House For Habitat For Humanity
# Building Dollhouses
# Butterfly Watching
# Button Collecting
# Calligraphy
# Camping
# Candle Making
# Canoeing
# Car Racing
# Casino Gambling
# Cave Diving
# Chess
# Church/church activities
# Cigar Smoking (ok, not for kids, but I think you get the idea?)
# Cloud Watching
# Coin Collecting
# Collecting
# Collecting Antiques
# Collecting Artwork
# Compose Music
# Computer activities
# Cooking
# Crafts
# Crafts (unspecified)
# Crochet
# Crocheting
# Cross-Stitch