PLAYING THE BLAME GAME!

THIS humble column’s acerbic comments on the possible perils posed by the current computer craze have been borne out by recent news stories. 

This week we learned that three children were rushed to hospital suffering from convulsions and fits after playing the mesmerising screen games. 

Psychologists, meanwhile, warn that violent versions of Nintendo and Sega games could spark post-Christmas outbreaks of mindless aggression. 

Not so long ago a Gameboy was thought to be someone Madonna went out with. Now, exposure to the likes of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog have turned some youngsters into fully-fledged computer junkies. 

And last year an 11-year-old boy was scarred for life after being set on fire by an older boy he had beaten at Nintendo Street Fighter (where warriors battle for world domination with a variety of weapons).
 

To be fair, all games carry warnings advising users to take regular breaks and doctors stress that the risk of normal healthy youngsters having fits is very low. 

Whether certain “macho” games (where Japanese warlords kill dragons or aliens nuke planets) make kids more violent is another matter open to debate. 

But in either event, shouldn’t parents shoulder some of the blame if their kids suffer after being allowed to play these things for hours at a time?

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GOING OFF THE RAILS!

IT NOW costs train commuters £3,544 for an annual season ticket from Kettering to London - a rise of 7.5 per cent. That is double the current inflation rate. 

When is British Rail going to admit it is literally, in the worse sense of the phrase, taking passengers for a ride?

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END OF THE LINE FOR WORDSMITH!

ALL things come to an end and the above column was the last Smith on Saturday after five years of weekly wind-ups. From 1988 to 1993 Tony Smith’s acid tongue and warped sense of humour entertained and horrified ET readers in equal measure. 

If you would like to check out previous SOS columns, just scroll up on this page but for earlier examples check out the Smith on Saturday Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Kettering.TonySmith/

 

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(This column was originally published in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph on Saturday, 9 January, 1994)